Getting fired isn’t easy. It puts a person into self-doubt that can lead to depression. The future can be uncertain. Where do you go from here?  How are you going to pay your bills?  Where is your next meal coming from?  In extreme circumstances, getting fired can lead a person to suicidal thoughts or even suicide.

Ronald Reagan once said, “Governments first duty is to protect the people, not run their lives.”  However, here in 2021, the tides seem to have turned.  With the Covid-19 pandemic going on, many people have chosen not to get the vaccine. To combat this and try to get people vaccinated, many businesses have started terminating employees that are not vaccinated. Some have chosen to quit their jobs rather than be forced to receive a vaccine that they don’t believe in.  With so many people out of work, this has caused a huge strain on the labor force. Drive around your own town or city and almost every business has a “now hiring” sign in the window.

With the recent push by the Biden administration to get Americans vaccinated, he has introduced what he calls a “a six-pronged, comprehensive national strategy” to combat Covid-19. In it, he says that this plan will ensure that they are using every available tool to combat COVID-19 and save even more lives, while also keeping schools open and safe, and protecting our economy from lockdowns and damage.  While I can admire the administrations attempt to combat the virus, I believe this plan will do more harm than good.

The reason that I believe that this plan will backfire is because of the mandate that is requiring all employers with 100+ employees to ensure their workers are fully vaccinated or tested weekly or else pay a fine of $14,000 per violation.  While this mandate will not affect business like Wal-Mart, Amazon, Costco, Lowe’s Home Depot, or any other big businesses, it has a detrimental effect on small businesses. According to the Small Business Administration or SBA, a government entity, in a 2019 report said, “Small businesses are the lifeblood of the U.S. economy: they create two-thirds of net new jobs and drive U.S. innovation and competitiveness.”  They also account for 44 percent of U.S. economic activity and produce 43.5 percent of the US Gross Domestic Product (GDP). That’s huge. 

Most, if not all, small businesses cannot afford a $14,000 fine for every single violation. A small business may not even make that kind of money on a daily basis. So, this leaves the small business with a dilemma.  Either they can shut down completely or they can start to lay off employees until their total staff is at 99 employees or less.  I can only assume that closing a business is off the table.  No one wants to close a business that they started from the ground up.  This leaves only one alternative which is to lay off employees. Once a small business owner can get their employees below that 100 employee mark, then they will be free of any fine or mandate that the Biden administration can put on them.  Another, not so desirable, outcome is that many employees have already vowed to quit their jobs if such a mandate is pressed upon them.

Whether people decide to quit their jobs, or a small business feels it is being forced to terminate employees just to stay open, this will have a huge impact on the US economy. With more people out of the work force, the labor crisis will continue to grow ever so scarce, and inflation will continue to skyrocket.

While Biden touts that his plan will boost the economy and save lives, I honestly think this plan will have just the opposite effect. While it may save lives, it will in no may boost the economy.  I predict that it will only make it worse.