🚀 go-pugleaf

I can say honestly that Rudeboy is a product and adherent of the 
capitalist, free enterprise system.  Please, Charlie, do not take
that as a compliment...

In article <38hjrp$2s6@mark.ucdavis.edu>, (Rudeboy) writes:
> Aaron Priven writes:
> > >Rudeboy wrote:
> >
> >>Not to belittle your girlfriend or her job skills, but why is she
> >>unable to find either a job with better benifits, or a job with a wage
> >>high enough that she could buy her own health plan?  
> 
> >I'm sorry, but I can't believe you said this.  "If you need health
> >care all you have to do is get a better job that pays more"?  Where
> >are you from that all it takes to get a better job is to "make a few
> >phone calls"?  Maybe you could get health insurance by doing so, but
> >you were already making the money that enabled you to buy it.  Not
> >everybody does.
> 
> Apology accepted.  You should reinterpret my words to read, "If you
> *want* health care, all you have to do is either (1) get a higher
> paying job *or* a job with better benifits, or (2) do without something
> else.  We make tradeoffs with every purchase we make.  Why is it so out
> of line to require a consumer to forgo some goods and services if she
> wants to purchase health care?

Sure, like heating, healthy food, etc., things that, doing without, 
might require them to use, all too often, that healthcare that they 
purchased by doing without the things they sacrified to buy the heathcare!

> >How much does your insurance cost?  Is it affordable for people making
> >$6/hour?
> 
> I suppose that depends on how many hours one is willing and able to work at
> $6 and hour, doesn't it?

Hmm, let's look at this thing holistically.  Someone works at XYZ Widget
Factory for $6 per hour, and little or no benefit package.  The widgets
that are made go into many products, such as your automobile, your stereo,
your computer, etc.  Those products are sold at stores, some of which pay
their sales staff and employees well, and have benefit packages, and some
do not.  You and most people who can afford it buy your goods from those
places which have the lowest prices.  

Since your saved so much money by shopping wisely, you can afford to buy 
health insurance if your company doesn't already have it.  Meanwhile, those
stores and factories which have benefits may have to lessen them or drop 
them all together because they can't compete with the stores and factories
who sell their products for less money.  They may even go out of business,
and their employees will be on welfare, unemployment, etc.

Ironic, isn't it?

As a capitalist, you may say "That's free enterprise, that's competition.
This is a great system, because it causes stagnation not to occur, like
it does in socialism."  And to that, I say, hogwash.  Certain aspects of
a community, whether it's a city or a nation, have to be standardized so
that the community can function and progress as a whole.  The health and
well-being of all citizens is paramount to a community.  The healthier a
community is, the better able it is to progress, whether they choose to
progress under capitalism, socialism, libertarianism (Hi, Pinhead!), or
some other system.  

I believe that this is one of the things that a community's government 
should be responsible for.  We all pay in, so that all of our citizens
can maintain at least a minimum level of healthiness.  Those of us that
want more health insurance can either pay for it, join other collectives,
or get it through their employer.  

Some of us in this community, however, believe it is more important to
keep taxes low or nonexistent, and keep prices low so that cheeseburgers
at McDonalds are not over one dollar, than to make sure that the workers
at McDonalds have adequate health insurance.  I say, I'd rather make
certain that they, too, are covered, as well as all in the community.
Dale
--
Dale Shaver, Systems Engineer, Corporate Sales         	Phone: (800)24-UNIFY
Unify Corporation, Sacramento, California              	  Fax: (916)928-6404
"Jeez O Pete !!" - me                       		Email: dxs@unify.com