What the Affordable Care Act Really Means for Job Growth

Today, the White House released a new analysis of the relationship between the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and job growth on Tumblr in the form of an animated GIF.

Recent news stories have cited anecdotes that restaurants are cutting employees’ hours and refraining from hiring workers due to the ACA. In reality, however, restaurants have had the fastest job growth of any industry in the retail and food services sector since the Affordable Care Act was signed into law. The GIF also shows that restaurants have had even faster job growth than what would have been predicted from their growth in sales. Furthermore, workers in the restaurant industry have seen their average weekly hours increase since the ACA was signed, contrary to the notion that there has been a widespread shift to part-time hours.

During the four years since the recession ended in June 2009, 87% of the increase in employment has been due to a rise in the number of workers in full-time jobs. And looking at the period since ACA was signed in March 2010, more than 90% of the rise in employment has been due to workers in full-time jobs. Moreover, the length of the average workweek for private sector production and nonsupervisory employees has returned to its level at the start of the Great Recession.

And while the number of involuntary part-time workers has declined roughly in line with previous recoveries, it spiked up 322,000 in June. However, nearly 30 percent of the June increase was due to federal employees. This suggests that furloughs contributed to the pickup in part-time employment.

These observations strongly suggest that the Affordable Care Act has not constrained growth in hiring or work hours. So what is the ACA doing? It’s slowing the growth rate of health care costs for consumers, creating new incentives for providers to raise the quality of care, and adding new transparency and accountability in the insurance marketplace—all steps that help the economy.

What fast food restaurants accept ebt cards?

In an ever-growing number of states, if you crave a taco or fried chicken from a fast-food restaurant, you can pay for it with food stamps.
Food stamps - known more formally as the USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program - have been in use for grocery staples, such as bread and milk, since 1934, but now, for the first time, they can be used for fast food in four states across the country.
The number of businesses - including convenience and discount stores, gas stations and pharmacies - that have been approved to accept food stamps has increased by a third over the course of three years from 2005 to 2010,USA Today reports, and fast-food chains are working hard to get a cut of the federal dollars in Florida, California, Arizona and Michigan.
The funds allocated to the food stamp program have increased exponentially, from $28.5 billion to $64.7 billion in that same time frame, according to USA Today, and at a time when people have less money to spend, the bump in federal dollars can mean a lot to the fast-industry.
Yum! Brands, based in Louisville, Ky., which operates a string of restaurants that includes Taco Bell, KFC, Long John Silver’s and Pizza Hut, are among those applying for inclusion in the food stamp program, saying that elderly, disabled and homeless people have difficulty preparing meals, ABC affiliate WHAS reported.
Here’s a quick list of fast food restaurants in states that already accept food stamps for restaurant meals:
Michigan:
Church’s Chicken
Kentucky Fried Chicken
McDonald’s
Subway
Grandma’s Famous Chicken
Eight Mile Pancake House
Mr. T’s BBQ
Vito’s Pizza
California:
Jack in the Box
Subway
El Pollo Loco
Papa Murphy’s Pizza
Florida
KFC
Taco Bell
Pizza Hut
Papa Murphy’s Pizza
Arizona
Domino’s Pizza
Golden Corral
Southern Cuisine
Rally’s Hamburger

I saw Karl Rove calling the defund effort ‘shooting ourselves in the foot’.

The RINOS despise any attempt to actually win the day over the pinko swine in the rat party. You have Mighty Mouse Mitch, newly minted race-hustler Cantor, this idiot Cole from Oklahoma (who is this backbench troll?)... the list spirals on into an entire herd of RINOS.

We need to take this one to the wall, and shame on the senators who stood behind Mike Lee only to withdraw after pressure. They should ALL be primaried.

This is the final straw. This means WAR. The establishment has to be napalmed. Tokyo Rove be damned!

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.