by JOHN HAYWARD11 Dec 2015229
One of the myths that always needs bursting is that Big Business hates big government’ regulations, and supposedly prefers small-government Republicans to keep Uncle Sam off its back.
In reality, Big Business loves Big Government because mega-corporations can use their lobbying clout to get subsidies for themselves and regulatory burdens on their rivals.
But it is a basic reality that heavy regulations hurt smaller companies more, even when they are, in theory, applied evenly. Big companies can absorb expenses and compliance costs more easily, they tend to be more adaptable, and they can afford the analytical firepower to find profit opportunities hidden in complex regulatory mazes.
The latest demonstration of the principle is ObamaCare, which is absolutely devastating small insurance companies, and driving those fabled insurance co-ops out of business like lemmings marching off the edge of a cliff… but the biggest of the big players are doing fine.
In fact, as The Economist notes, even though the biggest of the big five companies, UnitedHealthcare, is having serious second thoughts about losing money on the Affordable Care Act exchanges, the share prices of those top five companies – also including Aetna, Humana, Cigna, and Anthem – “have all roughly tripled over the past five years,” as these companies have remained “consistently and highly profitable.” All of them are expected to report record profits over the next few years.