Forty-eight percent of small business owners in the United States say Obamacare is bad for business, according to a recent Gallup poll:
Similarly, 52 percent of owners say the [Affordable Care Act] ACA is going to reduce the quality of healthcare they and their employees receive. This contrasts with 13 percent who feel it will improve the quality of care their employees get, and 30 percent who see no impact.
Additionally, 42 percent of small business owners say they are not hiring new employees and 38 percent have "pulled back on plans to grow their business" in response to Obamacare.
About four in 10 say they are holding off on hiring and new growth plans. About one in five say they are letting people go or cutting employees' hours. Even after discounting small-business owners' political views, these actions suggest the ACA could be a significant drag on the U.S. economy -- at least in the short term.