On Wed, 23 Sep 2009 19:53:26 -0500, krw wrote:

Second, non-employer sponsored plans will cost the employee much, much
more than the employer sponsored plan; and the employee may not be able
to afford it (note that the current figure for the average family
employer plan is $13k per year between the employer and employee for
premiums).

There is more than one employer. If you don't like you're benefits
package you are free to look elsewhere. If the employer has a crappy
benefit plan he won't have employees.

There IS a parallel universe! One where theory works out in practice.

Some of us may be in a trade or profession that allows changing jobs at
will, but most folks don't have that choice. Especially in a market
where there's 100 applicants for every job opening.

I was one of the lucky ones until I retired. But even then I found that
it became more and more difficult as I got older. After 50 it was almost
impossible.

As an example, try to put yourself in the shoes of a 50 year old retail
sales clerk whose employer has just cut benefits. You inquire about
openings at other stores and get responses like "you're overqualified" or
"we're looking for a trainee". You check into buying your own insurance
for yourself and family and find it would cost more than your housing and
food. Are you "free"?





--
Intelligence is an experiment that failed - G. B. Shaw