I believe that every employer should offer health insurance to employees but it is costly. Without our Kaiser coverage, we would add an additional $3000.00 - $4000.00 (3-4% on $100,000.00 monthly revenue), depending on the number of employees on active coverage. Add to that, the recently enacted Cobra extension of benefits for laid off or individuals who quit and one can easily add another $700-2000.00 to the monthly bill for an every growing number of additional months. This is a true commitment on the part of the employer to do the right thing but in today's economy it is difficult to do "right" when everything else seems to be going "wrong."
We all have our economic worries today but those of a small business owner are onerous: risk everything or lose everything - bad choices. I've learned not to worry excessively over this reality after 40 years of practice but sometimes that first waking thought gets me out of bed quickly - getting up helps but the daily routine normally deadens the worry and the cycle continues, day-to-day with hope and blind anticipation.
I have mixed emotions about the health care debate that currently grips this country. Anyone can see the need but when I look at my bi-weekly pay stub, as a single person with no dependents who actually declares such, I receive 59% of my modest salary (below 75K per year) with 8% dedicated to health insurance premiums. If it weren’t for the write-offs afforded me for my risk taking, I would be crazy to continue such madness for my efforts. The real rub is that the government, at all levels, does not manage my dollars as well as I can and yet they want more for the sake of a more equitable distribution of wealth – to provide the less privileged with more of what most of us earn to have.
Ultimately, a free society needs a division of labor based on education, skill sets and ambition. What to do with those who choose to skate is the issue. There are many history lessons on this subject, none of them too enticing beyond what we have created in this country. To the victor go the spoils and everyone should be afforded the opportunity to be a victor. If they choose not, then they live the life they earned as well. In the final analysis, a flat-tax seems to be the best choice for all citizens of a free country to embrace today's issues.
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