I get tons of emails each day from various liberal and progressive groups all trying to tell me what I should do to help promote the cause of health care reform. Some are adamant about a single payer system (which I support). Others are more conciliatory and could agree to a government plan to compete against private industry.
With all these sources hard at work on this issue, who I'm not hearing from are the leaders of our nation's businesses and industries. Something's ominous about this silence.
This should be a no-brainer, our secret weapon in the fight for true single-payer universal health care. For every health care dollar we as individual citizens overspend in this country, our employers are being hammered much more. With every paycheck these organizations sign, more profit is being siphoned off as they are burdened with helping their employees stay healthy and productive, a task that really has nothing to do with their business model in most cases.
And yet, we hear almost nothing from these business and industry leaders. Instead they still seem to be touting the Republican Party line that private health insurance (with the assumption that it is at least partially paid for by the corporation) is the only way to go.
Why are these heads of industry cutting their own throat? Don't they realize that once the burden of providing health insurance for their employees is lifted from their backs, their profits rise, they're able to pay their employees better, those employees go out and spend the extra cash, and the entire economy jumps into high gear? Don't they know that many of their employees are there for one reason only and that's because they need benefits? Wouldn't it be more productive all around if they had a more dedicated workforce?
Why aren't these folks at the forefront of the debate shouting down the neo-con voices of doom?
Just maybe we lowly workers out there aren't doing a good job of pointing out the benefits to our employers. Maybe it's as simple as going up to the owner of your company and saying "You know Mr. Big, it's absolutely unfair that you have been saddled with providing health insurance for me and my family. We're not in that business. We create widgets. It sure seems to me we'd be more profitable if the government would do the job we have no business doing and free up our company assets for what we're really good at. XYZ Insurance Company sure has been taking advantage of us all those years. Maybe it's time they got a taste of their own medicine."
I really think it's the answer we're all looking for. It takes all the wind out of the sails of the opposition if we can attack the message that things are better done through private enterprise. We just have to point out that because the government hasn't done their duty in taking care of an obviously social responsibility (similar to building roads and providing fire protection) our nation's businesses are not free to perform the capitalistic splendor they're capable of.
Instead of us lowly peons trying to take on United Health Care and Cigna, let's sic the giants of industry on them.