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I'll take a crack at it. Normally, a corp. puts up the capital that allows the work to take place. This capital is at some risk, and the corp. rightfully expects to get a return on the capital and also to recapture the investment(pay off investors) after some predetermined period. The workers provide the labor that makes the process turn raw materials into some product, which by its sale returns the $ to the corp., covering the risk, recapture and labor. Since medical costs are rightfully a cost of labor, it figures into the cost of the labor in the overall equation, which must end in a positive number, or the corp. dies or must find a way to make the number positive.
So, the labor cost must stay within its range in the equation, or something has to be adjusted. It times are fat, raises are given, health care is easily covered. If times are tight, little or no raises, and it is hard negotiating time for the health care. This has to come out of the corp. income, not some some open-ended government program. If the corp. truthfully can't cover these costs, then something has to give. If we are in a world economy and the other countries are paying for their corp. employees health care, in order to level the playing field maybe we need to do the same to help our corp. stay competitive. Very complicated and difficult question.
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