Unintended Consequences....

Several years ago I started a novel. I do that a lot. Try to start writing a novel and then seemingly like a certain 6 year old I know with a sandwich, lose my taste for it and simple walk away. Often leaving the sandwich or in this case story on the ground. To rot.

This story however, dealt with a man who's life had little meaning, he was successful but alone and had made his money and success off products that harmed others. So he decided to take one final noble, in his mind at least, action. He found a woman widowed by his product and made her his life insurance beneficiary. He purchased dozens of small insurance policies with high payouts and proceed to attempt to place himself in situations where he would probably die. Cut rate sky diving. Amateur drag racing. Going to a biker bar and hitting on all the biker "mommas" etc and so forth. Over the course of this he and widow, who is in on the scheme eventually grow close and fall in love. The protagonist is forced to decide what would be the best way to show his love. Attempt to die as planned and provide for her monetary future or live. That's where I got stuck. I couldn't decide. So that will be another part of my "choose your own ending" anthology.

Currently the President, government, politicos of all sorts are in a similar situation with The Affordable Care Act. Ideally it was meant to take a step towards universal health care of some sort. While still trying to please the insurance companies, business owners and work within the existing insurance structure in some what. In short. It's a colossal mess. With some potentially serious unintended consequences. Like less full time jobs.

Behold The Part-Time Worker Society: "We Won't Start Hiring Full-Time People"

Ok. Yeah. It's a weird website. The story is written by someone claiming to be Tyler Durden. I get that. But it points out something that has been worrisome to me for months. Why?

Because if I owned a company with 50 more hourly employees. It's what I'd do.

Cut. Hours.

Because if I didn't, I might not be able to pay anyone anything any more.

Many small to medium sized companies can't absorb the extra cost added by insurance. It's not about them being evil. It's about survival. It's adding another bill each month. One that most businesses hadn't expected or planned for. So raise prices in a slow to ugly economy where many workers are having their hours cut or higher more workers.

It's said that 50% of restaurants fail in their first year. Even the ones who survive basically never make five years. With that slim a chance at continued success, any business owner would be foolish to add another cost when it can be easily avoided.

My grandfather worked one job, 9-5, with one company for his whole life. Those days are over. I will probably never be able to retire. I have for most of my adult life had more than one job and expect that to continue. 

That's the real crime. There's an out. Hire more workers, every one works less, no insurance. It was a loop hole that will make it harder for hourly workers to get enough hours. Eventually, health insurance will be like car insurance. On the individual. Perhaps run by the government. But we will all have it in some way. We just might all have three jobs too.

The individual may be healthier with "affordable care" but I'm not sure the individual can afford it.