Fears of a Part-Time Workforce
COSTELLO: A nation of part-timers: it's a real fear thanks to Obamacare or at least that's what many Republicans say. They point to companies like Forever 21, a company that's demoting full-timers to part-timers, or many of them, anyway. Obamacare critics say that's to avoid paying health care benefits required under Obamacare. Papa John's has also threatened to cut hours. So conservatives are urging Republicans like Senator Lindsey Graham to keep their promise and defund Obamacare now.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator Graham, conservatives don't need a chicken when it comes to Obamacare. You said it yourself. Well, now it's become a big "f-ing" mess for the Democratic Party and the country as a whole. Avoid the mess, be a leader who will fight to defund it now. Call Lindsey Graham and tell him, if you fund it, you own it.</s>COSTELLO: Just to make clear on what we're talking about, beginning in 2015, companies with 50 or more full-time employees will face penalties if they don't offer health care. Full time means 30 hours a week or more. So, is it true? Is Obamacare pushing the United States into a nation of part timers? CNN business anchor Christine Romans and "The Wall Street Journal's" Stephen Moore both here to talk about that. Welcome to both of you.</s>STEPHEN MOORE, SENIOR ECONOMICS WRITER, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Hi Carol.</s>CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS ANCHOR: Good morning Carol.</s>COSTELLO: Good morning. So Christine, in the latest jobs report 65 percent of new jobs added were part time. Is that because of Obamacare fear, or not?</s>ROMANS: Well, the fact that we're moving toward a part-time nation has been happening since before - before these recent deadlines for Obamacare. To be clear, Obamacare has been pushed out a whole another year to 2015, so that companies have more time to adapt to it. But what we have seen is restaurants, bars, we've seen local governments, movie theaters, right down the line, a lot of different kinds of companies have been saying that they are moving to part-time work and some of them are saying it is because of Obamacare. Now one thing to say about Forever 21; Forever 21 says about 196 of its employees will be converted to part time. Forever 21 says it's not because of Obamacare but it's just because of the way the business is going and the kind of demand they are seeing. But Carol half the jobs created over the last years have been low-wage jobs, half of them. Part-time workers now 2.8 million people working part time but want to be working full-time can't find full-time work. This is a very -- whatever the cause, this is a very serious trend.</s>COSTELLO: Ok so Stephen could it just be because you know of good old fashioned capitalism and companies just want to make more money and it's really not about Obamacare at all?</s>MOORE: Well Christine is right. This is a trend that's been going on for the last two or three years, you know. When you've only got half of the jobs that are full-time you've got a real problem on your hand. My view is, Carol that Obamacare, the incentives in that law have actually encouraged this trend to accelerate. I talked to owners of franchise owners of Burger Kings, McDonald's, Wendy's, White Castle Restaurants and they are telling me in anticipation of this bill. Now look, Christine is right, you know, that it's not going to be until 2015, but remember it was only announced a month or two ago that they were delaying this for a year, so a lot of companies had put this in motion already. I'll give you one example, Carol. I talked to a guy who owns Wendy's restaurants and he was with the guy who owns Burger Kings and they have an arrangement where the workers work 20 hours work a week in the morning at the Wendy's and then they go across the street and work 20 hours a week at the Burger King in part to get around this law. So yes I think it is having an impact.</s>COSTELLO: But Christine let's just make this clear. We're talking about companies who are not losing money. They make a lot of money. Is that fair?</s>ROMANS: Well they did a lot of money when you look -- sometimes you look on the franchise level, they say we are small business owners actually. And our margins are very, very thin. And there are others who point out that the kind of work that's being done -- I mean these aren't careers in many cases. These are stepping stones to other kind of work but you have people who are because there aren't other jobs are making a career out of two part-time jobs and they just don't pay well. That's why you're going to see -- look you're seeing fast food workers take to the streets quite frankly organizing even more protests about the kind of quality of these wages. But you've made a couple of points about how it's the conservatives or Republicans who are complaining about this but there are union chiefs who have written a letter to the White House saying we're really concerned about the fact that the unintended consequences of health care reform could accelerate this trend. It could really push people to have a lot of part-time workers at the very time you don't have full-time employment that you can move into. You know the quality of the jobs and the quantity of the jobs is something we're really going to have to contend with. Health care reform or not that's a real serious problem in this recovery.</s>MOORE: You know could I just make one point about this Carol.</s>COSTELLO: Ok yes quickly though thanks Stephen.</s>MOORE: Ok you know the average franchise of a Burger King, or Wendy's, they -- those firms, those companies, make about $50,000 to $100,000 a year. We're talking the little restaurants not the -- not the major corporations that run those firms. So you know you add those extra costs it really cuts into their profit margin. It's going to mean either higher prices for the food or as they're doing now moving towards more part-time work to cut costs.</s>COSTELLO: All right. Stephen Moore of "The Wall Street Journal" and CNN business Christine Romans -- thanks as always for the great discussion.</s>MOORE: Thank you, Carol.</s>COSTELLO: We'll be right back. Happening now in the NEWSROOM, a big day for Bob Filner he's in mediation. He may show up for work and his supporters are finally speaking out.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's for more than sloppy kisses. Let the judge be the judge and let the mayor be the mayor.</s>COSTELLO: Also, Dick Van Dyke's narrow escape -- his Jaguar up in flames. The actor pulled out of the car just in time. And a second dog for the first family. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.