Or, stupid Democratic idea of the last, oh, decade.
Now, this is probably “fixable,” but it’s funny how the whole thing was designed to keep employer-provided health care where it was while instituting it where it wasn’t, and then employers who didn’t want it just–did what they’ve done all along.
Stupid DLC conservatism, the same damn problem since Hillary in the 1990’s. If you want to cover everyone, stop trying to kludge health coverage in through employers! But no, they have to be conservative!
Uh, please, if your definition of “tweak”, does mean “mistakes that are the most stupid in a decade” you can not even qualify to be the copy boy to a preschool dictionary editor.
Well, since it is not a deal beaker for Trumka I see it as likely that he did not see it coming, what I found elsewhere is that a huge chuck of context is missing here, the reality is that the cost of health care was going to come up, reform or no reform, IMHO this maneuver was coming from the assholeish companies regardless if Obamacare was coming or not.
And just to be clear, the “can not even qualify to be the copy boy to a preschool dictionary editor.” Was directed to foolsguinea.
I heartily concur with Comrade** FoolsGuinea** that this is reflects the menshevik, “centrist”, “business friendly”, Clintonista mentality. Its neither a Devils bargain or a dog’s breakfast, but a hybrid of each.
But I am continually amazed at the energy of opposition to health care reform. As bad as it is, I doubt anything better could have succeeded.
Am I the only one that looks at corporations giving their workers the shaft like this, and doesn’t think “See, Obamacare was a bad idea” but “our whole idea of health insurance tied to the fucking whims of your employer is a bad idea”? It seems like all these stories should be interpreted as a condemnation of the American idea of worker benefits, not as an attack on Obamacare.
Also, your wording is a bit uncertain, SB. I would quickly agree that basic health care should not be a “workers” benefit, but a citizen’s. But I’m not sure we mean the same thing about that.
Perhaps without intent, but your phrasing “…It seems like all these stories should be interpreted as a condemnation of the American idea of worker benefits…” could be given a somewhat Social Darwinist interpretation. Naturally, I am reluctant to take such an interpretation without first seeking clarification.
The actual amount of work that employers need to get done has not diminished thanks to Obamacare, presumably. So, some of the unemployed are going to get jobs out of this.
Only if you consider part-time job openings that are singularly unattractive to job seekers a success. If you got cut down to 29 hours a week or were offered a job that only paid 29 hours a week, at base wage at that, would you take it?
What’s probably going to happen is that the current workers will just have to step it up. Funny how that happens, and funny how the head of the largest labor union in the country could delude himself into thinking that everything would go in favor of labor, or that he would have the opportunity to get more people under his flag. He was probably twisting his moustache and cackling with glee while Obamacare was being passed, and when it dawned on him that businesses would cut hours instead of hire more of his dues-payers he cried out about the injustice of it all.
The ONLY way any of this will work is if healthcare is detached from employers. If they want to offer it, fine, but it shouldn’t be expected because employers will move heaven and earth to keep from having to assume such a large (and heretofore unassumed) cost that will almost certainly break some of them.
So greedy business takes out mandate to insure employees on employees, and this is the fault of Obamacare? Its those business owners who are at fault. Everyone deserves health care no matter what and businesses simply need to get use to that new reality that they can’t make their profits on the backs of sick workers.
Everyone deserves health care no matter what? How about some level of income? Make it high enough and I’ll retire tomorrow and live off the government tip.
As for “greedy business”, don’t make the mistake of thinking that all businesses are Fortune 500 companies. Go down to your local mom-and-pop pizza shop and tell them that they absolutely must bankrupt themselves and destroy their business because they have an obligation to cover their employees.
Uh, I can not find it now, but I can tell you that I have seen several examples of small business owners not making ends meet because of the costs they had to pay JUST A FEW YEARS AGO for the coverage of their workers, not likely that the small business in that article made it after the last recession. As I pointed before, the current situation is really a ball and chain for small business and it is mostly the big corporations that get the breaks, precisely because of their size.
The current system is like a feudal organization. And if you dare to go on your own outside the castle just being a few pounds overweight means that the premiums will be so high that many would be entrepreneurs just call it quits and return to work for big companies that offer health care.
This was reported on the local Chanel 5 news about 6 years ago, they followed an office lady that had the chops to start a business, but the premiums she had to pay for being on her own were a shock, so back to the old job with coverage she went, and likely the jobs of the would be secretary and other assistants that would had jobs disappeared, thanks to the costs of the insurance.
If the reform was available then I think that the end of the TV report would had been a different one.
This very true statement is at the basis of this issue. In the US health care coverage was originally an added perk that could be used to attract new employees and retain the ones you already had.
As little as 20 years ago most of the employer provided health plans were free to the worker. Then profit creep buy the health care industry and the ever rising cost of providing the service began to slightly impact the employee’s pay check.
First is was you are going to need to pay $28 per pay period to help meet the costs. Ok, that’s fine with most people. Then it became $128 and rising. But most people who are enrolled in a good health plan provided by their employer would be truly astonished by how much your company has to pay for this insurance. If your part of the insurance payment is $200 dollars per month, your employer’s part in around $2000.
This in itself wasn’t going to be sustainable for much longer. Obamacare has just pushed this inevitable train wreck to the front of the line.
In the US people are not going to accept the tax load that would be needed for a European model of health services, so where to get the money? From the corporations, of course.
But although there are “evil giant corporations”, most of the business that employ the hungering masses, are little, powerless businesses that cannot carry this burden or pass the costs along to the customer.
So all the businesses, that hope to remain in operation, are finding a way to work around these huge costs.
Dallas, the whole point of the exercise is to reduce those costs, and thereby bring them into rational focus. Were you as surprised as I was to hear that a regulation that insists health insurance companies must spend 80% of their premium income on health care for their customers was even needed? Much less resisted? What other industry gets a guaranteed 20% margin for expenses and profit?
And the insane charges for hospital care! How many times have you heard about a Tylenol no different than the ones you can get at a Dollar Store sell in the hospital for $20? Those stories aren’t made up, that is the “system” that we have now!
Certainly we can’t afford to put those expenses on anybody’s back, evil corporations or the most angelic of non-profits, because they are insane.
Question - does that 80% include things like salaries and benefits for their workers, and overhead like that? If 80% is strictly for payouts to medical care providers, then after paying the overhead, that’s a pretty slim margin of profit, if any.
