July 9, 2009 Low-Income, Minority Workers and Small Business Hit Hardest By HELP Democrats’ Job-Killing, Wage-Cutting Tax

Washington, D.C. – Lower-income workers, including high school dropouts,minorities and women, would bear the brunt of the job-killing, wage-cutting tax in thehealth bill offered by Democrats on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions(HELP) Committee, a Harvard University study shows. Small businesses would havethe most difficulty retaining employees and creating new jobs, according to theCongressional Budget Office (CBO).

“This new job-killing tax is going to force employers, especially small businesses,to reduce wages and cut jobs. Low-income workers, including women, minorities andhigh school dropouts are going to get hit hardest,” said Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.),Ranking Member of the HELP Committee.

“Under this bill, those with the least education and fewest opportunities will facethe highest risk of losing their jobs.”

The HELP Committee Democrats’ bill would impose new financial penalties onemployers who cannot offer health insurance. According to Harvard professor Dr.Katherine Baicker, the job-killing tax on employers contained in the bill woulddisproportionately impact low-income, minority workers.The study concludes “Workers who would lose their jobs are disproportionatelylikely to be high school dropouts, minority, and female . . . Thus, among the uninsured,those with the least education face the highest risk of losing their jobs under employermandates.”

The study is available at: http://www.nber.org/papers/w13528.pdf.Small businesses, which employ more than half of American workers, wouldhave the most difficulty absorbing the costs of the HELP Committee Democrats’ tax,representatives from CBO stated in a public meeting with the HELP Committeeyesterday. The job-killing tax would force small businesses to eliminate and outsourcejobs, or move full-time workers to part-time.

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