Please explain to me why corporations large & small are not rallying like crazy behind HCR?

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

I just don't get it. I understand the vested industries not being for it - the health insurance industry in particular, but what about everyone else? The manufacturers, the defense contractors, the retail stores, the service industry, the media, and all the many others?

I am shocked if only because I would have thought that the flat out GREED that drives many of the upper echelons would just see this as a chance to free up and grab some more dough for themselves. If American business didn't have the monkey of healthcare on their backs, wouldn't that add an amazing amount of dollars to their bottom lines?

I would think the business right wingers would be for it because what is one of the major carrots for unionization? - BENEFITS!

What the heck is going on?

[sweetpotato]

1. Corporate "persons" apparently have the backs of other corporate "persons"

If one corporation suffers - then it could be a slippery slope for the rest of them - more regulations, more oversight, more control.

Scary stuff - to the corporate "person."

[LuvNewcastle]

2. The only thing that keeps many people

from quitting their shitty jobs is fear of losing their health care.

[guitar man]

4. Ding ding ding!!!

you win, right on point :thumbsup:

[endarkenment]

15. Well that is a good point.

I'm not convinced that it is sufficient or that it negates the increased productivity through decreased labor costs gained from SP-UHC.

[Skink]

3. The big companies have good healthcare.

the small ones are scrambling to get things done and they don't have lobbyists.

[endarkenment]

14. The big companies with good healthcare are exactly the ones that would benefit most.

It is their costs, their per employee overhead, that would be reduced, it is their global competitiveness that would be increased.

[Cronus Protagonist]

5. The threat of unemployment is more profound when benefits would be lost

Fear of losing one's job makes for very obedient wage slaves who will take pay cuts, more hours, less pay, worse conditions and so on in order not to lose the health "insurance benefits". Take that stick away and they'll have to use carrots, commonly called CASH, to keep good employees, and they hate that.

[Cleita]

6. They aren't interested in making money the old fashioned way.

They make money running companies into the ground and getting out with the gold mine while everyone else gets the shaft. Health care for workers isn't a priority. Workers aren't a priority if they can outsource.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

9. Which is really a reason why they should WANT to pass the healthcare buck.

If they don't see healthcare for workers as THEIR priority, then they should be happy to pawn it off on government in general.

[Cleita]

10. Honestly, they don't care. The small business owner does but he has

about as much power in this as we do even though we are the majority. We are ruled by mega-corporations and they have their finger in our taxpayer money sucking it up like a vacuum. We might as well have kings and be serfs at their mercy because that is what is going on.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

7. According to this, the cost of benefits as % of compensation was 30.2 % in 2007

http://www.ebri.org/publications/benfaq/index.cfm?fa=ovfaq1

[librechik]

8. HCR would erase the competitive advantage other countries have against us

witht the govt paid healthcare they enjoy. I just don't get it--why don't small biz at least get on board with us?????

IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

11. No, IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE. nt

[zbdent]

12. a few years back, I remember the mantra of the "business types" was

"Well, the unions are demanding 'affordable health care' ... imagine what we could pay you if we didn't have to provide you with a health care plan."

Implying that they're not able to pay you thousands of dollars more, because you have to have health care ...

So, what happened to that mantra?

[endarkenment]

13. They are worried that we might figure out that this is our country, not theirs.

[ljm2002]

16. Because the monied class that runs things...

...is generally loathe to turn on its own.

Kicking those bloated, overpaid CEO's in their collective ass, well, it just wouldn't give them the same sense of satisfaction that it would you or me.

In fact, it would make the rest of the downright uncomfortable too.

That is one slippery slope they do not want to start sliding down!

[Xolodno]

17. I remember our CEO...

was visiting our office awhile back and he stated should universal health care come up to please support it....

Some people did not like that idea as they perceived it as the company wanting to shed its health care plan....and of course they perceived a public option as always being less high quality. And if large companies did get behind full boat on this, imagine the smear campaign against those companies that come out for it? They will be accused of at least of trying to stiff their employee's of health benefits and of course called boycotts would follow. Of course Wal Mart has come out for health care reform, but...they are already perceived as stiffing their employee's...what do they got to lose?

Then of course, small business owners tend to have the view of....oh crap, more paperwork, laws, red tape and maybe...another "payroll tax" to administer. Plus when they are "healthy" they tend to not think about it until its too late.