Steve B wrote:
wrote in message
...
On Feb 1, 3:57 am, "John R. Carroll" wrote:


Passing Tort Reform might be only good for psychological reasons,
but it would help.

We need to look under all the rocks for the money.

Ok, but starting with boulders rather than pebbles is only good
sense.

--
John R. Carroll

Normally I would agree. But in this case I think passing some sort of
Tort reform would take away the claim that the Democrats are not
serious about reducing costs ( because they are not addressing tort
reform ).

There is no argument that tort reform will significantly reduce health-care
costs Steve.
What the Dems really ought to do is tort reform on its own rather than as
what is effectively and earmark stuck on unrelated legislation.


I would agree if there is a portion that reforms the worker's comp
laws that allow workmen to be screwed by the "law".

I guess you, and a lot of other people, haven't figured out that workman's
comp coverage would look a lot different if basic health-care coverage were
universally mandated. Hell, homeowners, or really any, insurance rates would
drop if they had a health-care component.
Health-care is the single largest component, by far, in any workman's comp
claim. Wage replacement as disability income payments is a tiny portion in
comparison.

Workman's compensation policy premiums would go nearly to zero and that
would be a real BOON for business, especially small business. They are
unfairly dissadvantaged the most because of the nature of underwriting in
that area.
In the skilled trades, it would amount to a decrease in real wage labor
costs of between ten and twenty percent here in California.

Were anyone to do the math on the tax credit being extended for new hires VS
the unemployment insurance fund payments if you lay that new hire off, it
becomes easy to see that the tax credit isn't going to get a single new hire
into a place that has anyone with an IQ higher than a pea running it. You
get an opportunity to expose yourself to ten or fifteen thousand dollars of
payments if you lay off the hired person for a one time shot at five grand.
It's the dumbest thing I've seen yet.
Well, almost.



--
John R. Carroll