Back to School for Me

[Ted S]

If I can not find work, employer mandated health care means nothing to me

I think you misunderstood Don.

Right now it appears that employers are reluctant to hire people that either do, or they suspect may have serious medical problems because it will drive up the price they pay for health insurance.  I'm suggesting that health insurance should be like auto insurance. Prospective employers don't give-a-hoot about the health of your car or your ability to drive your car because they aren't paying for any part of your auto insurance.  Employees buy 100% of their own auto insurance.  Employers aren't any part of the equation so there is no financial impact on them.

If individuals purchased their own health insurance directly then prospective employers would only be concerned about the prospective employee's to actually do the job.

People with serious medical conditions still probably wouldn't be able afford insurance but that could be addressed in other ways.  The trouble today is that employers unwillingly get pulled into the doctor/patient/insurance company relationship and end up being just another cog in the health care delivery system gear that adds no value and has significant unintended consequences like you're experiencing.

[wbcoleman]

If I can not find work, employer mandated health care means nothing to me

I think you misunderstood Don.

Right now it appears that employers are reluctant to hire people that either do, or they suspect may have serious medical problems because it will drive up the price they pay for health insurance.  I'm suggesting that health insurance should be like auto insurance. Prospective employers don't give-a-hoot about the health of your car or your ability to drive your car because they aren't paying for any part of your auto insurance.  Employees buy 100% of their own auto insurance.  Employers aren't any part of the equation so there is no financial impact on them.

If individuals purchased their own health insurance directly then prospective employers would only be concerned about the prospective employee's to actually do the job.

People with serious medical conditions still probably wouldn't be able afford insurance but that could be addressed in other ways.  The trouble today is that employers unwillingly get pulled into the doctor/patient/insurance company relationship and end up being just another cog in the health care delivery system gear that adds no value and has significant unintended consequences like you're experiencing.

You not even mentioning how it distorts the tax system.

[Ted S]

After that diversion, back to the original topic.

I had my first 4 hours of defensive driving school last night.  As expected, I already knew everything.  There was nothing that was new or unknown to me. Everything that was taught would be obvious to drivers with any experience at all.

That said, it wasn't a bad class, it just wasn't useful for any reason other than to get me a 10% discount on my insurance.

The good news is that the instructor is a retired cop and he has some interesting stories to tell. I guess it's better than spending the night watching some reality (aka game) show on TV.

[wbcoleman]

After that diversion, back to the original topic.

I had my first 4 hours of defensive driving school last night.  As expected, I already knew everything.  There was nothing that was new or unknown to me. Everything that was taught would be obvious to drivers with any experience at all.

That said, it wasn't a bad class, it just wasn't useful for any reason other than to get me a 10% discount on my insurance.

The good news is that the instructor is a retired cop and he has some interesting stories to tell. I guess it's better than spending the night watching some reality (aka game) show on TV.

But you ARE missing CNBC Asia!

[Ted S]

I finished the class last night and guess what..... I PASSED!  Of course there was no test or no behind-the-wheel so if you had a pulse you passed.

We were taught things like:

• The faster the car is going the more severe the injuries will be.
• Don't drink and drive.
• Texting while driving is dangerous.
• If you have any choice in what type of object you are going to hit go for the least massive one.
• Don't drive while you are sleepy.
• Wear your seatbelts.

So I didn't learn anything that I didn't already know but there were some positives:

• Twenty old geezers got out of the house for a couple of nights.
• Some of the old farts got to reminisce about their driving history.
• A retired policeman got paycheck for teaching the obvious.
• The do-gooders got to create a program that makes them feel like they've done good.
• The evil insurance companies are forced to give a 10% discount to people old who may actually be poor drivers.