RE: HOBBY LOBBY - 401(k) plans are directed and invested by employees, not by employers

There’s been an absurd story from Mother Jones making the rounds this week.  Authored by Molly Redden (who has never signed the front of a paycheck, but does “spend too much time cooking and watching television,” according to her bio) and echoed here on Forbes.com by Rick Ungar, the argument is that Hobby Lobby can’t have religious convictions and a regular 401(k) plan for their employees at the same time.

Hobby Lobby (which is a closely held corporation with a few family owners) is suing the Obama Administration over Obamacare’s requirement that Hobby Lobby pay directly for drugs which can and do lead to early pregnancy abortions.  Being a material and proximate cooperator in such an action violates the business owners’ deeply-held religious views protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution.

Apparently, this also means that Hobby Lobby can’t have a 401(k) plan for their employees.  Why?  Well, according to Redden and Ungar, the Hobby Lobby owners are religious kook hypocrites.  The company 401(k) plan has investments which themselves invest in companies that make the abortion drugs.

This is a ridiculous argument for several reasons, all of which would be obvious to Redden and Ungar if they had ever run a business in their lives:

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