This will be a brief diary, in which I poop out a talking point I believe has been underreported if not ignored by the corporate media, likely willfully so.
For many of our most successful companies, medical insurance plans for employees now derided as "Cadillac" are the norm and have become part of "the cost of doing business." I work for one such company.
With the insurance industry raising premiums by 20%/year for these "Cadillac" plans, companies like mine can no longer afford to "take one for their team." At my company, our boss, an honest fellow, laid it all on the line for us- we were shifting to a self-insured plan, and our bonuses would be cut by one-half the amount of the last premium increase.
So, what am I trying to say here?
I'm trying to say that it is business, not the public, that has the most to gain from healthcare reform.
Business, the "Base" of the Republican Party. Business- the Chamber of Commerce, permitted to remain silent throughout the HCR debate, tacitly endorsing Republican demagoguery despite the fact HCR will benefit the Chamber of Commerce more than would the tax cuts envisioned in the jobs bill.
It's my suspicion the Republican Party now feels it has played its hand to perfection, and now needs to get out of the way so Healthcare Reform can pass without their fingerprints but to their benefit. If I'm right, the Republicans have indeed played this well, albeit with a major assist from the large corporations known as "media conglomerates."
The Tea Party trash have no idea they are about to be played, of course.
There's an interesting game of "gotcha" regarding the stimulus, calling out Republicans who wailed against it in public while cashing the political checks from it in private. Well, I'd like to see the members of the Chamber of Commerce treated similarly.