Quote:
Originally posted by ltl/fb
I suppose that such a system could provide an incentive for employers to eliminate coverage for employees. However, that ought to result either in higher regular wages for the employees (or better other types of benefits) or lower prices for whatever the employer produces.
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Whether I pay for my employees' coverage, or I end that benefit and the state picks them up, the employees' compensation remains the same. I would certainly not pay them more unless I had to in order to attract workers. I might drop my prices to undercut my competitors who were still paying for coverage, and that would then pressure them to cut the coverage themselves, placing more people on the state program. Eventually, everyone who was paying for coverage for workers who
could go on the state system would stop. We'd have slightly cheaper widgets, and a hugely expanded semi-Medicare. Widget buyers would be happy, but that seems to be a poorly targeted benefit, for no real gain except an expanded role of government, and higher taxes to pay for the program.
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