At least we know where their priorities lie
By Ben Munson
I find it interesting that this article about GM reducing its healthcare liabilities thanks to a new arrangement with the UAW never mentions what specifically will happen to retirees and current employees. Will they have to pay more out of each paycheck? Will retirees have to get new jobs just to make ends’ meet? Nothing out of this story.
And then of course, there’s this little revelation:
The company has been losing market share to foreign rivals that operate at lower costs, partly because Japan, Germany and other governments provide universal health care for all their citizens.
Well, you don’t say. You mean, there’s a way for companies to be profitable *and* for people to get health care? Shocking, simply shocking.
On a possibly-related note, Beer Manufacturers are now sponsoring Beer Pong leagues. Corporate America really cares about the health of all of us, young and old, don’t they?
October 18th, 2005 at
There is a difference between health care and 100 percent health care. GM retirees have been getting everything for a long time, and if GM sinks completely, they’ll get nothing.
Paying a little for your health insurance can’t be all bad. Let’s say you have 100 percent of your bills covered, and all of a sudden, it hurts to fart. If you don’t foot the bill, you might rush to a fartologist, who will presecribe three weeks of fartoxium, or the generic fartoless. Or, if you have to pay for this nonsense, you may just stop earting three bean lunches every day.
October 18th, 2005 at
Hey, my alchoholic Alma Mater Bucknell University was mentioned in the beer pong article. Yes, those were the days. No cares and beer pong until the wee hours of the morning. Too bad we didn’t have Budwieser backed beer pong leagues in those days.
Charles R. Pollock, vice president for student affairs at Bucknell University, said many students were taking their cues from increasingly outrageous Web sites. Drinking game sites feature rules, merchandise and pictures of wild parties, with some students naked and others hugging the toilet.
“It’s a race to be the most extreme,” Mr. Pollock said.
Four years ago, Bucknell banned drinking games on campus. But last year, the university changed its approach and dropped the ban as part of an effort to encourage students to take more personal responsibility for their behavior.
October 20th, 2005 at
Kevin, I’ll have to split the issue with you here. GM needs to save money, and the union deal is a good thing. Ben, companies provide health insurance as a means of retaining their workers. There is no moral or legal imperative for them to do so. The GM employees are free to go elsewhere. They won’t because the perks they get are absolutely amazing by today’s standards.
BUT, universal health care coverage (100% not paid for by users) is not necessarily a bad thing. Kevin repeats the moral hazard argument that people are likely to be pigs in their use of healthcare in the same way they would be if someone were offering them any other good or service for free.
This argument is pretty weak in reality since most people don’t want to see the fartologist to begin with, regardless of how free he is, and they’ll follow his advice until their condition clears up. The vast majority of people will consume as much healthcare as they need. Want is not part of the equation, except for the rare hypochondriac.
Better than reading idiot me, check out Malcolm Gladwell’s take on the subject: http://americanmadness.com/?p=27