Re: MSNBC (Oberg) - Deadly space lessons go unheeded

From: JazzMan (No_Spam_at_airmail.net)
Date: 01/29/05 

Date: Fri, 28 Jan 2005 22:15:49 -0600

Rand Simberg wrote:
>
> On Fri, 28 Jan 2005 10:59:14 -0600, in a place far, far away,
> "Christopher M. Jones" <christopher.m.jones@gmail.com> made the
> phosphor on my monitor glow in such a way as to indicate that:
>
> >JazzMan wrote:
> >> I have what's considered fairly decent insurance through my
> >> employer, coverage that I could in no way afford on my own
> >> since it runs upwards of $6,000/year, and even with that my
> >> annual out of pocket costs are over $3,000. That's a $1,200
> >> deductible, and the rest is 20% copay up to a maximum copay
> >> of $1,800 in any given year.
> >
> >Here's a quiz for you. Your employer pays "their" share of
> >your medical insurance, why? Obviously it is because they
> >consider the value you provide to the company to be worth
> >that compensation. Will they continue to pay that
> >contribution if you no longer work there? Obviously not.
> >The only possible conclusion from these two incredibly
> >obvious facts is that the "employer contribution" to your
> >health insurance premiums is, in fact, nothing other than
> >compensation for employement, just as any wage would be.
> >The only difference is that it is kept on a different
> >balance *** so that you do not perceive it to be such.
>
> The fact that it's not taxed if your employer pays it, but is taxed if
> you do, is one of the fundamental problems with the system.

Not only that, but for someone making 5$.15 an hour it doesn't
matter simply because even if they spent 100% of their net
income on medical insurance to the exclusion of food, shelter,
child costs, etc, they still wouldn't be able to get good
medical care.

I challenge all you allegedly intelligent people here to sit
down and write out a simple budget using real world numbers
and show proof that someone making minimum wage can afford
health insurance and live a minimal life out of the rain on
at least 1,600 calories a day. Electricity, phone, entertainment,
and education costs extra, of course.

Hehehe...

JazzMan 

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