Serious question re: business and single payer

[fifthoffive]

To my little mind it seems obvious that corporations and small business owners would be clamoring for single payer. Corporations and small business would be off the hook for providing health insurance for their employees.

Why aren't industry spokespersons and Chambers of Commerce shouting long and loud for single payer? Would the additional taxes required offset any gains made by no longer having to provide health insurance for their employees?

[rusty charly]

1. I've been asking this for 10 years, easily.

Way before the HCR effort. Beats me. They keep screaming about how they can't compete with Europe because those companies don't have health care costs in their operating expenses.

[dhpgetsit]

2. It seems like a no brainer...

But I think it's really about BIG Corporations vs Small Businesses.

Single-payer would eliminate one of the big impediments to starting a small business and hiring away a few people who work for big corporations. They don't like real competition, just the illusion of competition.

[Cleita]

3. Corporations don't care because they know they can outsource labor to

countries that have health care like Canada or China. Small businesses should be on board but it seems a lot of them have drank the Kool-Aid about how awful NHC is in other countries. Most are too busy working to get up to speed on it. Chamber of Commerces are conservative and anti-union. Their version of health care is health savings accounts and tax credits.

[Laelth]

4. They like the control insurance gives them over their labor.

Workers fight harder for jobs to get health insurance, and they'll endure abysmal treatment to keep health insurance. Plus, workers are now forced to pay part of the cost so that health insurance rate hikes don't cut into the company's bottom line. What's not to like?

:dem:

-Laelth

[dhpgetsit]

5. And I understand corporations get a cut in the profits of employee HC Insurance.

[fifthoffive]

6. Thanks for your replies.

Sounds like there are some twisted reasons big business might want to maintain the status quo. None of which seem to be related to doing the right thing for their employees.

Providing health insurance is, of course, better than not in the current circumstances. But now we have an opportunity to make things better for everyone (except, perhaps, the health insurance companies) via single payer and companies aren't stepping up.

Discouraging.

[ljm2002]

7. Misguided ideology...

...pure and simple.

Not only Big Business but the Chamber of Commerce tend to buy into all of the positions that favor Big Business. They take a lot of it on faith. They don't actually analyze the overall effects of this or that program, and then come out on the side that the facts point to. Rather, they take free-market ideology on faith, believing it is the answer to each and every provision that society must make. And furthermore, they believe that any answer that involves government is a Bad Thing and must be fought tooth and nail.

Not to mention the CEOs of the various giganto corporations: they stick together. The CEO of GE would no sooner campaign to cut the health CEOs off at the knees than he would kill his own mother: they are "family" and good manners dictates they be treated with kid gloves. Kind of a twisted "Do Unto Others" kind of logic.