Climbing Out From Under The Geico Rock

This (at the link below) may simply be the best example of "political spin" today or an example of a reporter (or reporters) climbing out from under the Geico rock.

This is the headline: U.S. chief executives can't break cost-cutting habit. It's a Reuters article which explains some of it, but my hunch is one, two, or all three of the reporters recently lost their jobs, or knew family members who did.

Read the article at the link. See if you can discover the 800-lb gorilla the reporters forgot to mention.

Yes, you are correct. O'BamaScare.

How many articles have we seen in the past year about companies changing hiring practices in preparation for ObamaCare?And ObamaCare is not even mentioned in this article, unless I missed it. I scanned through the article fairly quickly and did a word search but no ObamaCare was mentioned.

I guess there's a reason these folks are reporters, and not CEOs.

Talk about a weak lede:

A disconcerting trend lurks beneath the recent round of solid profit forecasts announced by companies ranging from United Technologies Corp to Wendy's Co. more than three years into the recovery, CEOs are still relying on cost cuts to prop up earnings.

While the cuts are not as severe as those that followed the 2008 financial crisis, companies remain cautious, mindful that revenue growth is still tepid. As a result, many appear to be more comfortable wringing efficiencies out of their businesses than gearing up for accelerated production.

The risk is those cuts may be too deep at this stage in the economic cycle, and prevent companies from responding if and when demand takes off.

Wendy's reported an outstanding quarter and their share price surged. 

I particularly like that in bold: "more than three years into the recovery."

We've had three years of recovery? Wow. My hunch is this story originated as a press release out of the Obama Department of Labor and was edited by Reuters.

There are many reasons to cut the workforce, none of which are different from years past: with one exception -- ObamaCare, which will cost employers $2,000 to $5,000 per worker.

The reporters need to look at these articles:

• CiCi's pizza franchisee to sell two restaurants, close a third due to ObamaCare
• Applebee's franchisee won't hire because of ObamaCare
• ObamaCare is turning Wal-Mart workers into temps
• Surprise: ObamaCare-wary employers not hiring, cutting hours

If anyone can find one article in which there is valid data to suggest full-time hiring will increase under ObamaCare, I would love to see it. (Other than in the insurance industry, and the "navigation" industry.)