Caterpillar Corporation, still struggling in this economy in spite of Barack Obama’s much-vaunted claim in February 2009 that his stimulus bill will enable the company to rehire laid-off employees, has announced the pending seizure of the healthcare and insurance industries will cost them $100,000,000 once enacted.

In February 2009 Obama said at the Caterpillar plant, “Jim, the head of Caterpillar, said that if Congress passes our plan this company will be able to rehire some of the folks who were just laid off. And that’s a story I’m confident will be repeated at companies across the country, companies that are currently struggling to borrow money selling their products, struggling to make payroll, but could find themselves in a different position when we start implementing the plan…”

Well, we all saw how well that worked out as unemployment skyrocketed in to double digits in most states.

Unfortunately, in regards to Obama’s claim, ‘Jim’ said, “I think, realistically, no. The honest reality is we’re probably going to have more layoffs before we start hiring again.”

A year later and facing another of Obama and the Dictacrat cartels brilliant plans, Caterpillars vice president and chief human resources officer, Gregory Folley sent a letter to the Queen bee herself saying, “these provisions would increase [our] insurance costs by at least 20 percent, or more than $100 million, just in the first year of the health-care overhaul program.”

Folley also said, “We can ill-afford cost increases that place us at a disadvantage versus our global competitors.”

We are also told “more than 130 economists predicted the legislation would discourage companies from hiring more workers and would cause reduced hours and wages for those already employed.”

Let’s hope that come November, we can finally stop these Dictacrats from “helping” us so much. The country can ill-afford much more of their help.