Monday, November 12, 2012

Medicare for All

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And now, perhaps, the BEST argument for a single-payer system--Medicare for All--or, at least, a public option.

The situation begins, finally, to highlight why it is essential that health care be completely and forever severed from employment. Until that happens, the banker-owned companies, and the CEOs that run them, will continue to whine and moan and screw employees in the name of keeping their "shareholders" happy.

You see, the oligarchs are grumbling, frothing at the mouth, shaking their fists and stomping their tiny, little, Louis Vuitton-clad feet over ObamaCare.

Surely, you have already heard about the miserable jerk (Robert Murray, CEO of Murray Energy--you know, the ass hat who ordered his miners to take the day off, without pay, to show up at a campaign rally for Mitt Romneywho recently prayed over his employees before letting approximately 150 of them GO. But, wait, it's about to get better.

Papa John's Pizza CEO John Schnatter, who has declared he will cut employees' hours to bring them below the full-time threshold which would require him to provide full coverage for those employees. Evidently that 14 cents per pizza is just too heavy for Wall Street to bear.

Schnatter also said he has a legal duty to shareholders to provide the maximum rate of return. Might be worth knowing who the shareholders are? Seems 74 percent of Papa John's stock is institutionally owned; that is, owned by investment firms and other Wall Street funds.

Darden Restaurants: i.e., Red Lobster, Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Bahama Breeze, Seasons 52, The Capital Grille, Eddie V's and Yard House

Yes, Darden Restaurants which is a public corporation, but largely owned by bankers and hedge funds to the tune of about 84 percent.

Darden's solution to the problem is, also, to cut employees' hours so that those hours are under the minimum required to provide health insurance because Darden's just will not tolerate the idea of actually doing something that might cost a little bit in order for employees to live better,  happier, healthier lives.

Zane Tankel, CEO of a large New York Applebee's Franchisee

Zane Tankel, the CEO of a very large Applebee's franchisee in New York (only in New York), explains how he will jack the rules in order to avoid providing health insurance to his employees.

This one is particularly nasty, because other Applebee's franchisees--in other areas--do offer health insurance to their employees.

"Bad Actors"?

Each and every one of these greedy CEO's is NOT trying to figure out HOW to get health insurance for their employees. NO, they are trying to figure out ways to avoid paying the penalty for NOT providing health insurance. Because they have no intention of providing health insurance to their employees despite the fact that in every case they could, in fact, adopt a nationwide group insurance plan which would be less costly after tax deductions than paying the penalty. You see, it is a temper fit--you know, like a two year old would throw?

Next?

It is time these corporations and banker-owned franchise chains learned they must play by the rules. If they don't like the employer penalty, perhaps the government could slap a transaction tax on share trades to help pay for the health care benefits they don't give a damn whether their employees get or not! And with Elizabeth Warren on the Senate Banking Committee, we just might get it.


Medicare for All

(Different links to different sites)
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4 comments:

  1. Thanks for such detailed information. I get so angry with a CEO is more worried about stock holders than they are employees and/or customers. I don't know anyone who work for Walmart now. But years ago they kept people part time to avoid paying benefits. I never shop at Walmart, haven't for years.

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  2. Ahh, a kindred soul: I, too, avoid Walmart--like the plague. And, yes, those @*$(# CEO's make me spitting mad--they've all got homes in the 10's of 1000's of square feet of living space & yet care so very little about the people who do the work that has made them rich. I mean, how many bedrooms can one man sleep in? I mean it. Really.

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  3. Reality will correct there stances when they come to release that for every three employees they cut to30 hrs they have to hire a fourth to make up the loss in man hours for unskilled positions while skilled position employees flock to companies not so idiotic.

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    1. Oh, if only "reality" were true. You are correct insofar as skilled workers. Those referred to as "unskilled" seem to have little choice. And the employers of the "unskilled" don't seem to care--low wages, no benefits--it's a sweatshop mentality nirvana.

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