BALKEMA: CBO SHOWS OBAMACARE DESTRUCTIVE TO JOBS, CREATES WELFARE-LIKE CULTURE

Joliet, IL -- Chris Balkema, the 11th Congressional District’s Republican candidate, today said Obamacare “is destructive to full-time jobs” and “will create a welfare-like culture,” based on the most recent non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report about President Obama’s 2300 page legislation. 

Balkema said the CBO report shows Obamacare will cause a decline by about 2.0 million in the number of full-time-equivalent workers in 2017, and 2.5 million fewer full-time workers in 2024, mostly among lower-wage earners.  “That’s like taking 30% of the entire workforce out of the state of Illinois ” explained Balkema.

“The CBO’s report makes it clear that Obamacare is destructive to full-time employment in the US.  We will continue to feel the damaging consequences of Obamacare all the way to 2017 and beyond. Thanks to a bevy of new taxes and other disincentives to work, Obamacare will cause workers not to seek employment.  Most of the decline will occur among lower-wage workers,” said Balkema.

The decline in full-time-equivalent employment stemming from Obamacare will consist of some people not being employed at all and other people working fewer hours.

The 11th District’s current Congressman, Democrat Bill Foster, voted for and has continued to defend ObamaCare. And while a former Foster staff member, Sue Klinkhamer, used to defend Obamacare with her boss, she no longer does. One reason: skyrocketing deductibles and premiums.

“The longer this 2300 page monstrosity stays in effect, the more constituents will get hurt. Not only have we witnessed over 4-million people all across the country losing their health insurance that they liked, they have also seen premiums and deductibles skyrocket. It’s a $2-trillion experiment that’s playing with people’s lives. We need to repeal Obamacare and replace it with proven free market principles like selling insurance across state lines. We need to get government out of the way, and let proven, free market principles work for the people,” explained Balkema. “Obamacare only continues to take us on a downward spiral.”

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Chris Balkema is a 20 year veteran of Caterpillar, serves on the Grundy County Board, and previously served the Minooka County School Board District 111.  Chris earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Systems from Taylor University and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Bradley University. He is married to Jill, his wife of 15 years. They have two small children.

www.balkema.org    /  Facebook: BalkemaForCongress   /   Twitter: @chrisbalkema