Comments on: No-Smoke Insurance

By: Kate

Kate — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 15:21:25 +0000

One other thing comes to mind when ever smoking is an issue. If the politicians weren’t such booze hounds that would be an issue too. I’m am far from an advocate for smoking BUT I personally would much rather meet a person smoking than to meet a drunk on the road! Of course ‘they’ wont take the stats of deaths due to alcohol and alcohol related and set them side by side, as it would make them look like the fools they believe ‘we’ are.
Sorry to twist this thread on a different subject, I personally feel that if they are going to health police the American public then they should be looking in their own back yards as I’m sure the skeletons more than likely have meat left on the bones!
Rant over…hehehe

By: Manfred

Manfred — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 22:43:43 +0000

Good point. And you can bet those top execs are sucking up to the big shareholders in order to keep their jobs–and their salaries.
It’s a frat club at the top, but the insurance companies are well entrenched members.

By: Kate

Kate — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 20:26:19 +0000

I have seen insurance in one factory (auto) change about 5 times in 5years. I understand health issues and how employers pay for unhealthy behavior, but if the top CEO’s wouldn’t take such a cut in the pay market then the workers could be put in a better light than to be ‘greedy’ as its the workers that are the heart of the company. But its the poor ‘man’ that pays with either sweat or comprimise to appease the upper administration.

By: Manfred

Manfred — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 12:36:21 +0000

US insurance has become, in recent years, one of the largest and most powerful of the special-interest groups. They have virtually taken control of the way business is done in America, forcing employers to offer packages that put the burden of insurance on the worker, or to outsource US jobs completely.
Conservatives like to blame “worker greed” for this problem, but the way I see it, insurance rates bear much of the blame for both falling wages and loss of profits.
Don’t expect anything to change soon if either a Republican candidate or Hilary Clinton is elected president. My vote will go to John Edwards if he is on the ballot, Barack Obama if not. Both of those candidates are making an attempt to break the special-interest grip on government. Most of the others are in favor of the status quo.

By: Kate

Kate — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 23:23:53 +0000

Employers having control over your life outside of work is a major mistake. Just one more freedom taken away. Why did our forefathers fight and die for freedom when “we” sit back and allow people to take it away.
Smoking is definitely bad for you health but do we want to sit back and allow the health police to take over? Americans are now being treated as though we were too juvenile to make our own decissions either bad or good. That to me isn’t America.

By: Manfred

Manfred — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 10:15:25 +0000

Thanks, Harry–I’ll keep an eye out for your blog.

By: Manfred

Manfred — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 22:24:53 +0000

Thanks for the advice, VW. Am I really that bland? I’ll try to do better.

By: Forrest

Forrest — Fri, 25 May 2007 18:20:57 +0000

I like your site. Well done!
I’ll come by again soon.

By: Manfred

Manfred — Tue, 15 May 2007 22:59:50 +0000

Thanks Benny; I thought I explained my position pretty well, but hey, if you think that employees should be so beholden to their employers that they have no say, I can’t argue with that. Many people believe they are shit and the boss is a god who has the right to rule their life. I’m just not one of them.

By: Manfred

Manfred — Sat, 12 May 2007 10:31:38 +0000

Could you explain exactly what you find to be hard to understand?
I know sometimes I get caught up in the moment and miss some necessary details. Sorry if that was the case. If you could clarify your difficulty, I’ll try to explain further.

By: Manfred

Manfred — Sun, 17 Dec 2006 11:45:51 +0000

As a smoker, I can affirm that it is the worst, most destructive habit that I ever picked up, and I would never recommend it to anyone.
On the other hand, it is a very difficult habit to give up, despite what the “just say no” crowd would have you believe, and I find it to be an abuse of power for one’s employer to determine how much one should pay for company insurance due to a legal addiction. Especially in this day of already ultra-high insurance.
Of course, employers will say that this is an insurance-driven measure; if so,� it is a form of discrimination that an outside party should not have the power to impose. They may also say that smokers are less productive workers. This is pure crap, unless one subscribes to the outdated “time-stealing” theory. Slackers will find a way to slack, weather they smoke or not.