Whatever you think of Trump

[mat]

56 minutes ago, LumRaiderFan said:

The fix to me is for gov to move out of the way and allow businesses to expand and not be taxed to death.  Companies supplementing the employees insurance is what makes it affordable.  We can’t place unsustainable burdens on business such as a bogus minimum wage or cadillac health care plans and expect them to provide affordable healthcare.

Many of the same folks that complain about tax breaks for corporations expect them to continue providing endless services while paying such high taxes.

Let them keep the money...they can make it work for employees much better than the gov ever will.

One can dream, huh?

The fact that an employer may pay a good portion of the employees premium (which is mandated in some cases) doesn't mean healthcare is affordable. I just means your portion is more affordable. Inflated healthcare costs passed on to the employer reduces their profit and cost you in other forms of potential compensation from your employer. 

[stevenash]

13 minutes ago, mat said:

The fact that an employer may pay a good portion of the employees premium (which is mandated in some cases) doesn't mean healthcare is affordable. I just means your portion is more affordable. Inflated healthcare costs passed on to the employer reduces their profit and cost you in other forms of potential compensation from your employer. 

The government is an EXTREMELY poor money and/or business manager.  Once again, reference the VA

[mat]

24 minutes ago, stevenash said:

The government is an EXTREMELY poor money and/or business manager.  Once again, reference the VA

I agree completely, 100%. However, I also think it is a pipe dream to think a free wheeling healthcare industry will correct itself into affordable healthcare. I consider healthcare to be much more of a necessity than a luxury. We need to do what we can to make it available for as many as we can. I have random ideas but I certainly don't have the answers.  

I also agree the VA is a disaster, however where would many of our veterans be without it?

[LumRaiderFan]

1 hour ago, mat said:

The fact that an employer may pay a good portion of the employees premium (which is mandated in some cases) doesn't mean healthcare is affordable. I just means your portion is more affordable. Inflated healthcare costs passed on to the employer reduces their profit and cost you in other forms of potential compensation from your employer. 

Many of the folks that say healthcare is not affordable are paying more for a vehicle note, have satellite or cable TV, atv, boat, on and on.  

Not all, but many, because I hear it all the time.

I look at the healthcare costs that are absorbed by a company to be an extension of the benefits package.  If these companies are able to keep more of their profits and not get hammered by taxes, they can pass more of that benefit on to employees while even adding more.

[UT alum]

27 minutes ago, LumRaiderFan said:

Many of the folks that say healthcare is not affordable are paying more for a vehicle note, have satellite or cable TV, atv, boat, on and on.  

Not all, but many, because I hear it all the time.

I look at the healthcare costs that are absorbed by a company to be an extension of the benefits package.  If these companies are able to keep more of their profits and not get hammered by taxes, they can pass more of that benefit on to employees while even adding more.

My business' tax bite has nothing to do with my decision to provide health insurance for my employees. It has to do with retention of quality employees and minimizing turnover. The big companies don't pass more of their profits on in the form of much of anything.  Wages are just now starting to rise because the labor market is tight, not because the corporations got a tax cut.  Much of the money that they're getting back is going into stock repurchases, which drives up the stock price and helps those golden parachutes go from 18kt to 24kt.   Why do you all believe that big business is some sort of benevolent uncle?  They are focused on quarterly returns for their shareholders. Period. If that means shutting the GM plant in Ohio, tough do do employees, good business decision shareholders.

[mat]

You can leave my cable and internet out of this.

But for example, my employer pays a good portion of my major medical plan. I can upgrade to a better insurance for a nice increase on my part. If I want to include my spouse on the major medical plan its $750 or over $1000 for a plan with decent copays. If I were to need to insure my entire family it would be $1000 for MM and $1300 for better. That is more than my house note or all of my utilities combined. While a know and stress the importance if insurance it is also something (thank God) that I haven't had to even use. 

[stevenash]

22 hours ago, UT alum said:

And, Obamacare would have had a better chance if all states had participated in exchanges and the individual mandate had been left in place. Insurance is based on the law of large numbers. The larger the pool of participants, the more broadly and cheaply the costs are spread.

On 3/6/2019 at 2:30 PM, UT alum said:

Bash the past all you want. It’s who’s President now that’s relevant. So what about his healthcare promises? Or, “I like people who weren’t captured”. Or, not saying jack about the Kashoggi murdrer? Not a word about the botched Yemeni raid? I can keep going with more facts that’ll have you muttering, if not stuttering. You can’t see the present when you’re lost in the past.

 

[LumRaiderFan]

14 minutes ago, UT alum said:

My business' tax bite has nothing to do with my decision to provide health insurance for my employees. It has to do with retention of quality employees and minimizing turnover. The big companies don't pass more of their profits on in the form of much of anything.  Wages are just now starting to rise because the labor market is tight, not because the corporations got a tax cut.  Much of the money that they're getting back is going into stock repurchases, which drives up the stock price and helps those golden parachutes go from 18kt to 24kt.   Why do you all believe that big business is some sort of benevolent uncle?  They are focused on quarterly returns for their shareholders. Period. If that means shutting the GM plant in Ohio, tough do do employees, good business decision shareholders.

And you would have a business continue to run into the ground to simply pay employees as long as they can?

Companies are to make profits...nothing wrong with that.  The more profitable they are, the more folks they can hire, and the more competitive they can be as far as pulling in employees with better salaries and benefits.

Get over the fact that any company owes anyone anything.

[stevenash]

16 minutes ago, UT alum said:

My business' tax bite has nothing to do with my decision to provide health insurance for my employees. It has to do with retention of quality employees and minimizing turnover. The big companies don't pass more of their profits on in the form of much of anything.  Wages are just now starting to rise because the labor market is tight, not because the corporations got a tax cut.  Much of the money that they're getting back is going into stock repurchases, which drives up the stock price and helps those golden parachutes go from 18kt to 24kt.   Why do you all believe that big business is some sort of benevolent uncle?  They are focused on quarterly returns for their shareholders. Period. If that means shutting the GM plant in Ohio, tough do do employees, good business decision shareholders.

So somebody thinks big business is some sort of benevolent uncle?  Just as some believe the Federal Govt is the same?   In case you arent aware, businesses were NOT created to generate employee benefits.  They are established with a profit motive which is a very good thing.  Competition is what brings about compensation whether it be payroll or benefits.  Having quality employees and minimizing turnover also brings more $ to the bottom line.  Stock repurchases do not always drive a stock price up.   IBM has been buying back shares for years while the stock has continued to decline.  The main reason wages are finally beginning to rise is because the economy  is doing better than it has in a long time and much of that has to do with regulations strangling and stymying businesses to the point they would not reinvest their cash in any form for fear of  being short in the event of a downturn.

[stevenash]

By the way, those evil profits of British Petroleum stopped the need of some government payout and related tax hike to pay for the damages they did in the Gulf

[UT alum]

1 hour ago, stevenash said:

By the way, those evil profits of British Petroleum stopped the need of some government payout and related tax hike to pay for the damages they did in the Gulf

Took a court to make them. I’ve never said profits are evil.

[stevenash]

54 minutes ago, UT alum said:

Took a court to make them. I’ve never said profits are evil.

I dont care if a court made them or not.  The point is, they made a lot of money and were able to pay the damages without taxpayer assistance.