DaddySatyr
Posts: 9381
Joined: 8/29/2011 From: Pittston, Pennsyltucky Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: dcnovice quote:
Or maybe it's that they can't in good conscience let a service they provide be an enabler of "immoral" behavior. Emphasis mine. That turn of phrase caught my eye. Is health insurance a service that employers provide, or is it part of an employee's compensation? Historically, employment and insurance got coupled during World War II, when wage controls made it hard to attract talent. So employers turned to providing insurance as a backdoor way of paying more. We would all agree, I trust, that it would be out of line for an employer to tell an employee not to spend part of his or her paycheck on contraception, even though the money orginally came from the employer. Paychecks are an exchange. The employee works (hopefully) and the employer pays them (hopefully, well). Insurance, vacations, company cars, etc. used to be called "percs". They're little "gimmes" thrown in to sweeten the pot (presumably to lure the best of the best to that company). In the good ol' days, before lawyers and insurance companies (which are essentially the same things) became such powerful entities in this country, those "percs" were not required by law. It was companies, looking after their own best interests by "being nice" to employees. Those "percs" used to be tax detuctable. By-and-large, they're not, anymore. Some companies still pay a portion of the insurance premiums for their employess but, once the lawyers got involved and employees started being professional victims, the premiums cost the companies too much for them to be able to compete with over-seas companies, offering the same or similar products with much less over-head ("percs"). Enter Big Brother ... You MUST make health insurance available to your employees. They are entitled to it. The companies, still trying to be competative with one hand tied to their balls, insisted that the employees had to shoulder at least some of the premiums burden. Some companies are completely out of the premiums loop (my company, for example offers group rates to employees simply because they are a group by virtue of their employment with a certain company). They no longer pay any portion of the premiums. The employees only get access to those group rates because the company exists, at all. That's the only reason they qualify for such reduced rates. Was it unfair for Big Brother to insist that companies act as a conduit for their employees to have access to (more) affordable health care? Probably not. However, if the company were to just toss in the towel, the employees would be covered by COBRA for up to 18 months (in my state) and then, they'd be out on their ass. By the way, COBRA is, damn-near a quadrupling of the group rates, across the board. Now, enter in the current situation... The church(es) could absolutely, legally stop paying any portion of the premiums. So you say: "What's the fuckin' problem then, Michael?" That's an easy one. The church(es) are still required, by law, to act as a conduit for the insurance to get to the employees. DC, if you'll allow, I am going to give you an assumed position? You are 150% anti guns. You hate them. You want them all melted down. You think anyone other than military and law enforcement that owns a gun is a cold blooded killer, waiting to happen. Unfortunately, the law doesn't agree with you and anyone not convicted of a violent crime or having certain mental illnesses is legally allowed to carry a gun. I want you to try and get in that mental state for me. You live next door to me and one morning, I say to you: "DC, you work downtown, right? My car is in the shop. I need to get down to the intersection where you work so I can buy some bullets for my AK-47 and my M-60. Could you hook me up with a ride?" I'm asking you to be a conduit for me, re-arming myself. I'm not asking you to pay for the bullets. I'm not even asking you to drive out of your way. "Joe's Guns & Ammo" is catty-corner to the building in which you work. You're going there, anyway. Why the fuck would you say: "Sure, Michael! Jump on in!"? Of course you're not going to say that if you think that the activity in which I'm engaging is so wrong. The only difference between that analogy and the current BC fight is that your position on guns is deemed to be more politically correct than the church(es)' position on BC. It's that simple, really. It's intolerence and prejudice (which have always worked out well in this country. No?). Peace and comfort, Michael
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A Stone in My Shoe Screen captures (and pissing on shadows) still RULE! Ya feel me? "For that which I love, I will do horrible things"
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