Larry Blanchard wrote:
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"?

Uh, yeah...