# 'If Obama wins, you're fired!' **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 10, 2012, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-obama-wins-youre-fired/637326 "2012-10-10T16:47:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2012, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-obama-wins-youre-fired/637326/21 "2012-10-11T16:19:55Z")
> [@L. G. Butts](#): > > Why? The could have stopped offering insurance last year or the year before with no penalty, but now that they will be fined for not offering insurance they stop? What’s the rationale? If the company had done that a year or so ago they would still be fined in the following years. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2012, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-obama-wins-youre-fired/637326/22 "2012-10-11T16:23:43Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > They expect the fine to be cheaper than the insurance premiums. That still makes no sense. There didn’t used to be a fine. So wouldn’t not paying the fine or the premiums have been cheaper than paying the premiums? ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2012, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-obama-wins-youre-fired/637326/23 "2012-10-11T18:14:52Z")
how is it not ‘voter intimidation’ ? ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2012, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-obama-wins-youre-fired/637326/24 "2012-10-11T21:15:19Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > That still makes no sense. There didn’t used to be a fine. So wouldn’t not paying the fine or the premiums have been cheaper than paying the premiums? > **[Health insurance in the United States](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_insurance_in_the_United_States)** > > In the United States, health insurance helps pay for medical expenses through privately purchased insurance, social insurance, or a social welfare program funded by the government. Synonyms for this usage include "health coverage", "health care coverage", and "health benefits". > In a more technical sense, the term "health insurance" is used to describe any form of insurance providing protection against the costs of medical services. This usage includes both private insurance programs and soc... > [@](#): > > Employer-sponsored health insurance plans dramatically expanded as a direct result of wage controls imposed by the federal government during World War II.[16] The labor market was tight because of the increased demand for goods and decreased supply of workers during the war. Federally imposed wage and price controls prohibited manufacturers and other employers from raising wages enough to attract workers. When the War Labor Board declared that fringe benefits, such as sick leave and health insurance, did not count as wages for the purpose of wage controls, employers responded with significantly increased offers of fringe benefits, especially health care coverage, to attract workers.[16] Until recently, employers had to offer insurance, for fear that their competitors would lure away their best workers. Today, it’s the workers who have to compete for the jobs. And if the employer stops offering coverage, the worker can go to the government health insurance exchanges. Take a look at the Wikipedia entry on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: > **[Affordable Care Act](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obamacare)** > > The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and informally as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. Together with amendments made to it by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, it represents the U.S. healthcare system's most significant regulatory overhaul and expansion of coverage since the enactme... Look at the stuff that goes into effect in 2014. Lots of stuff that will make insurance more expensive and more bureaucratic for employers. For a mere $2000.00 per worker, they get to walk away from the whole mess. Republican conspiracy theorists believe that the Democrats designed it that way on purpose, in order to drive everyone to the government exchanges, and get rid of private health insurance altogether. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-obama-wins-youre-fired/637326.md?page=1)