Are We Underpaid?

Two things really stuck with me over the weekend;

1. In a story about Fortune magazine's number one place to work in America, CBS Sunday Morning cited some poll that stated most American workers are overworked and underpaid.

2. A customer complained that dry cleaning prices are much lower in Houston. This was the second complaint (in one week) about Pensacola dry cleaning prices being higher than dry cleaning prices outside the area.

On the idea that most workers are underpaid and overworked, I tried to imagine how that polling went; Gee, do you think you get paid enough? Do you think your employer expects too much work from you, the right amount or not enough? Is it any surprise how these were answered?

The people I've met that think their pay is adequate can be counted on one hand. You may wonder how this ties into the number two issue; dry cleaning prices being too high. Well, read on...

I am fascinated with people's inability to understand that the private sector typically prices goods and services based on cost and adding some profit. Contrary to popular belief, most small businesses are not adding anywhere near the 100% profit some would have you believe. By the way, our dry cleaning prices are lower than the two larger dry cleaners in the area.

In the Pensacola area we are unable to hire people at minimum wage. We may pay more for supplies than some areas because of transportation costs (e.g. different geographic areas have different fuel costs and that affects the cost of supplies and wholesale goods). Since labor is the single biggest expense in most businesses, it seems to me that complaining about pricing is almost like saying "your people get paid too much."

We want to buy big screen tv's for under $1,000, computers for less than $500 and we expect to get our shirts cleaned and pressed for $1.99. But we don't even consider taking a job that requires significant manual labor or getting dirty. We wouldn't dream of working in a factory. When we do consider a job with a big company, we expect tons of benefits, great salaries and great working conditions. Then when all the manufacturing jobs go overseas, we get mad at the companies for "giving our jobs away."

The next time you hear someone complain about the prices of some good or service, ask them if they'd be willing to take a pay cut in order to keep prices down.

Government Waste

Thank goodness our government is finally gonna get a handle on the U.S. deficit. What? You're surprised? Well, consider that this week our president announced the formation of a "bipartisan" panel to focus on reducing deficits. Yep, you can rest assured that they'll get to the bottom of our deficit issues.

Now I don't know about you, but I thought that was the job of our elected representatives. And who do you think will make up that "bipartisan" commission? Do you think it will be independent auditors that have no ties to the elected morons who've helped create this mess? I doubt it.

So once again, the federal government will pay people lots of money to tell us what we already know; the idiots responsible for oversight of our federal spending have been derelict in their duties for many years and it needs to be stopped. But no one will be fired, tried or even slapped on the wrist. The final report probably won't even be shown to the public. If it is, it will only be after somebody twists the findings to show that the irresponsibilities were the fault of people no longer in office ('cause God-forbid one of our esteemed politicians be held to account).

Please encourage your friends to pay attention.

Healthcare "Reform"

If you read nothing else in this posting, please read and heed the last paragraph.

Our local daily newspaper has been printing regular letters to the editor, touting the need for a government healthcare option or immediate healthcare reform. These writers say we have got to get control over the glutenous insurance companies.

Here's the problem with the current healthcare system; it relies too much on insurance. Think about the following scenario (PLEASE FOLLOW THIS THROUGH); patient goes to doctor when too sick to remedy with an over-the-counter medicine. The doc visits with the patient for five minutes, writes a prescription and sends the patient on their way. Patient pays the $20 copay (usually before even being seen) and goes off to the pharmacy. When the patient sees the "explanation of benefits" he sees the following; doctor's office charged $115, insurance allowed $85, patient paid $20 copay so the insurance covered the remaining $65. Sounds okay until you remember the patient is paying $200+ per month for his insurance premium. So the patient is paying $2,400 per year, employer is paying (at least) another $2,400 per year for health insurance. $4,800 per year for single coverage health insurance and the patient maybe goes to the doc 2-4 times per year.

Now, let's say we started buying health insurance like we do car insurance; only for the unusual or unexpected expenses that would cause us unusual financial hardship. Now the doctor's offices would have to charge "market rates" or fees that patients can afford out of pocket. Thus, maybe the doctor visit only costs $35-$50 which sounds like much more than the $20 copay until you realize that now the monthly insurance premium might be more like $75-$100 because it is only covering major medical expenses. In this example the patient is paying half the annual premium, thus saving $1,200 per year. Even if he goes to the doc 4 times during the year, at $50 per visit, he is still saving over $1,000 per year. The employer is also saving on the premium, allowing them to invest that money in development/growth of the company.

I submit to you that anyone demanding a "government option" health insurance to lower the cost of insurance has never fully understood the disastrous homeowner's insurance situation in Florida. Basically, the state got into the insurance business to be the insurer of last resort. But the state required the private insurers to keep rates artificially low. Ultimately all but one of the major private insurance companies left the state. Thank you politicians!

There is not one federal government program that has proven to be at least as efficient or beneficial as promised. We are supposed to be The United States of America, not the Federally Dictated States of America. Think about what that means.

Educated people have said to me they don't voice their opinion because they think it doesn't matter. Thank God the founding fathers of our country (and all the militia men) didn't think this way!