Friday, January 09, 2015

Schadenfreude overload: Western Massachusetts update

If you enjoyed the wailing of Harvard elites complaining about Obamacare, you're going to love this development from the other side of the Bay State.  The most left-wing city here in Western Massachusetts is Northampton, which Wikipedia calls "the most politically liberal medium-size city (population 25,000–99,000) in the United States."

Without a doubt, the flagship store of Northampton is Faces, a quirky arts and clothing store.  It's right in the center of town and it's always packed with people picking up their "Faux News" magnets and Bob Marley posters.  But now, after 40 years, Faces is closing and everybody's upset.

What killed Faces?
Vogel said in a prepared statement he did not make the decision to close lightly, and cited the pressures of running an independent store, including the increasing costs of health insurance, personnel, taxes and business insurance, and utilities.
Health insurance costs rising?  Check.
Higher personnel costs?  Check.
High business taxes?  Check.
Higher utilities costs?  Check.

To paraphrase Obama, if the left-wing created a business model it would look like Faces.  Buh-bye.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Obamacare just killed this business... yet strangely, Romneycare didn't.

Eric said...

That's a very astute observation.

Anonymous said...

Yes, it's uncanny how the name change was the key destructive factor.

If Obamacare could be replaced by the more popular ACA, maybe this store could yet be saved.

Eric said...

"More popular." Heh.

It's always the marketing.

Anonymous said...

Heh.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/republicans-like-affordable-care-act-more-than-obamacare

http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/first-read/polling-obamacare-label-makes-big-difference-n102861

http://themorningconsult.com/2014/09/three-words-medicaid/

Eric said...

"Support for Obamacare continues to decline, with the law hitting a new low in approval, and a new high in disapproval, as the second enrollment period has opened for Americans, according to Gallup."

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/11/poll-obamacare-approval-112948.html#ixzz3OcxKJAdg

"More Still Say Health Law Has Hurt Instead of Helped Them
Nearly half in U.S. say ACA will make healthcare worse in long run"

http://www.gallup.com/poll/178094/say-health-law-hurt-instead-helped.aspx

Send more ad men!

Anonymous said...

What does any of that have to do with the people who, in poll after poll, say they oppose Obamacare but support the Affordable Care Act? They're your base, friend.

Getting back to the point, the claim is that Northampton's Faces was a flagship store under Romneycare before it collapsed under the oppressive weight of Obamacare. Even sweet schadenfreude should have to make logical sense.

Eric said...

You act as if it's only a name change. You understand that there are aspects of Obamacare that put additional burden on businesses such as the 30-hour workweek and the employer mandate.

You know that, right?

And since we're back to the original point, you also agree that Massachusetts' new minimum wage and higher electricity bills will hurt businesses, right?