Sponsored Content




Intermarkets' Privacy Policy
Support


Donate to Ace of Spades HQ!



Recent Entries
Absent Friends
Bandersnatch 2024
GnuBreed 2024
Captain Hate 2023
moon_over_vermont 2023
westminsterdogshow 2023
Ann Wilson(Empire1) 2022
Dave In Texas 2022
Jesse in D.C. 2022
OregonMuse 2022
redc1c4 2021
Tami 2021
Chavez the Hugo 2020
Ibguy 2020
Rickl 2019
Joffen 2014
AoSHQ Writers Group
A site for members of the Horde to post their stories seeking beta readers, editing help, brainstorming, and story ideas. Also to share links to potential publishing outlets, writing help sites, and videos posting tips to get published. Contact OrangeEnt for info:
maildrop62 at proton dot me
Cutting The Cord And Email Security
Moron Meet-Ups

NoVaMoMe 2024: 06/08/2024
Arlington, VA
Details to follow


Texas MoMe 2024: 10/18/2024-10/19/2024 Corsicana,TX
Contact Ben Had for info





















« Overnight Open Thread – The End of the Gender Wars: Men Capitulate (genghis) | Main | Attention DFW Morons...Assemble! (Bumped And Updated) »
July 01, 2009

WSJ Opinion: Wal-Mart's Latest Move on "Pay or Play" Healthcare Not Necessarily Altruistic

MFO.

This week the nation's largest employer blessed an employer mandate, aka "pay or play." This would require businesses that do not offer "meaningful coverage" -- i.e., government-approved -- to pay some percentage of their payroll to a federal insurance plan. This mandate is one of the more controversial policies in the Democratic health package, and Wal-Mart's endorsement will help it along, or at least give liberals political cover against business criticism.

The Boys from Bentonville are a little more interested in the cover it provides them against assaults from the Service Employees International Union and the United Food and Commercial Workers, both of which have been fighting like hell to organize Wal-Mart stores (and losing) for 10+ years.

Not to mention giving themselves another competitive advantage over smaller businesses who can't afford to do what they already do, which is pay workers above minimum wage and negotiate powerfully better rates for private health care insurance because of their f'n' ginormousness.


Wal-Mart sees two other advantages in this beyond the PR win. a) They get to help steer the crafting of a public health care bill, and b) pushing the public health care plan helps them dodge a very real hit to the bottom line, a forced employer health care requirement targeted at businesses who employ lower-wage earners.

They're terrified of being shut out of Democratic health negotiations lest they get stuck with the bill. Wal-Mart may also be trying to pre-empt an employer mandate the Senate is considering that would target companies with predominantly low-wage, low-skilled or entry-level work forces.

The problem the rest of us face is that businesses would just as soon hand off this crap to government and pass along the incremental cost rather than eat it at the expense of competitiveness.

Meanwhile Obama continues to lie about his intent (to get rid of private insurance altogether, while saying he doesn't want that at all) by claiming all innocently "If it's such a great deal, why are they worried about competing against the public plan especially when they say government can't do anything?"

*coughBLOWJOBcough*

It's utter bullshit, but I repeat myself, because the public health option will not have to carry huge financial reserves that the private carriers must, and the public option will dictate the fees to providers for service (they already do), private carriers will continue to have to negotiate these things. And take into account the forced lowball from the other side.

Not exactly a level playing field.

The good news is that all Americans will get to enjoy crappier care, pay for it anyway in taxes, in many cases die waiting for care, and euthanize the elderly for the benefit of the greater good.

SO I don't see a downside to this, but I'm still working through the details.

digg this
posted by Dave In Texas at 11:01 PM

| Access Comments




Recent Comments
18-1: "Old saws no longer valid: Is the Pope Catholic? ..."

rhennigantx: "Putting it all together, we now know - as the Phil ..."

dantesed: "- - - - The AP After Reporting His Death Without V ..."

Thomas Bender: "@189 >> Trans grandma able to breastfeed baby w ..."

Cat Ass Trophy : "Joseph of Arimethia! ..."

Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden: "[i]Louis Gossett Jr is still alive but he has anno ..."

Lizzy[/i]: ">>[i]Okay, I'm going to give a Trump W this mornin ..."

Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea, Radioactive Knight: "He went off to Kathmandu. Posted by: Count de Mon ..."

Humphreyrobot: "Twinkle nuts. That's the bad fairy. ..."

Warai-otoko : "I'd laugh if the majority of crooked shit being do ..."

Count de Monet: "They catch P.Diddy yet? More coffee... Posted ..."

Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden: "[i]Well the Dark Money infusion - oh, I meant the ..."

Recent Entries
Search


Polls! Polls! Polls!
Frequently Asked Questions
The (Almost) Complete Paul Anka Integrity Kick
Top Top Tens
Greatest Hitjobs

The Ace of Spades HQ Sex-for-Money Skankathon
A D&D Guide to the Democratic Candidates
Margaret Cho: Just Not Funny
More Margaret Cho Abuse
Margaret Cho: Still Not Funny
Iraqi Prisoner Claims He Was Raped... By Woman
Wonkette Announces "Morning Zoo" Format
John Kerry's "Plan" Causes Surrender of Moqtada al-Sadr's Militia
World Muslim Leaders Apologize for Nick Berg's Beheading
Michael Moore Goes on Lunchtime Manhattan Death-Spree
Milestone: Oliver Willis Posts 400th "Fake News Article" Referencing Britney Spears
Liberal Economists Rue a "New Decade of Greed"
Artificial Insouciance: Maureen Dowd's Word Processor Revolts Against Her Numbing Imbecility
Intelligence Officials Eye Blogs for Tips
They Done Found Us Out, Cletus: Intrepid Internet Detective Figures Out Our Master Plan
Shock: Josh Marshall Almost Mentions Sarin Discovery in Iraq
Leather-Clad Biker Freaks Terrorize Australian Town
When Clinton Was President, Torture Was Cool
What Wonkette Means When She Explains What Tina Brown Means
Wonkette's Stand-Up Act
Wankette HQ Gay-Rumors Du Jour
Here's What's Bugging Me: Goose and Slider
My Own Micah Wright Style Confession of Dishonesty
Outraged "Conservatives" React to the FMA
An On-Line Impression of Dennis Miller Having Sex with a Kodiak Bear
The Story the Rightwing Media Refuses to Report!
Our Lunch with David "Glengarry Glen Ross" Mamet
The House of Love: Paul Krugman
A Michael Moore Mystery (TM)
The Dowd-O-Matic!
Liberal Consistency and Other Myths
Kepler's Laws of Liberal Media Bias
John Kerry-- The Splunge! Candidate
"Divisive" Politics & "Attacks on Patriotism" (very long)
The Donkey ("The Raven" parody)
Powered by
Movable Type 2.64