- FrontPage Magazine -
http://www.frontpagemag.com -
Obama Takes on Staples, Shows He Doesn’t Understand Business
Posted By Daniel Greenfield On February 11, 2015 @ 10:44 am In The Point | 16 Comments
Everyone had predicted that ObamaCare would lead to a serious loss in income for part-time workers. Which is a problem since the disastrous Obama economy mainly creates part-time jobs.
And it’s happening.
A number of Staples store managers are now threatening to discipline part-time workers—”up to and including termination”—if they clock in for more than 25 hours on the job per week, a new report reveals.
Those draconian threats at the office-supply store giant coincide with the start in January of Obamacare regulations that require large employers to offer affordable health insurance coverage to employees who work 30 hours or more per week, or pay a fine of up to $3,000 per worker.
Obama gave an “interview” to BuzzFeed and decided to blame Staples, for the effect of ObamaCare on jobs.
“There is no reason for an employer who is not currently providing health care to their workers to discourage them from either getting health insurance on the job or being able to avail themselves of the Affordable Care Act,” Obama said. “I haven’t looked at Staples stock lately or what the compensation of the CEO is, but I suspect that they could well afford to treat their workers favorably and give them some basic financial security, and if they can’t, then they should be willing to allow those workers to get the Affordable Care Act without cutting wages.”
ObamaCare isn’t healthcare. It consists of garbage policies that subsidize his base by taxing workers.
Staples stock went into a serious decline last year. The company is closing hundreds of stores and downsizing the stores that will stay open. (There’s a little thing called the internet, that Obama may have heard of that’s impacting retail.)
By the end of 2015, Staples plans to close up to 225 stores in North America, more than 10% of its store base. Some of these stores are already unprofitable, while others are marginally profitable but don’t meet Staples’ long-term strategic needs.
An even more promising long-term strategy is the downsizing of individual Staples stores. Whereas a typical Staples store today is around 25,000 square feet, the company has developed a new 12,000 square foot store prototype.
Staples is also merging with Office Depot, a lot of whose stores are even less profitable. And Staples itself isn’t doing so well.
Over the past three years, the company’s operating cash flow has decreased by -29%, plummeting from $1.576 to $1.108…
The company’s profits declined at a steep rate of -37%…
I do not like the fact that Staples’ ROA decreased from 6.38% in 2010 to a current -1.64%, as I am always looking to invest in companies that generate increasing metrics. The company’s ratio is evidence of it generating less from its assets than it did in 2010, which is somewhat concerning in regards to profitability.
Now Staples has some 85,000 full time or part time employees. Even Obama ought to be able to do the math on that.
Article printed from FrontPage Magazine:
http://www.frontpagemag.comURL to article:
http://www.frontpagemag.com/2015/dgreenfield/obama-takes-on-staples-shows-he-doesnt-understand-business/
