The businessman and the immigrant

A couple voices from the day —

I talked with a businessman based in Colorado Springs who said he was in favor of a 4 percent payroll tax in order to cover his employees — and that's even though he's not paying for health insurance now.

How about a 6 percent payroll tax?

Hell yes.

He said that right now his cost for employing his three employees was 25 percent of his budget. Not payroll, budget. He wants to insure his people, but who can spend 25 percent of their budget on it?

At the 208 Commission meeting yesterday, there was the clear implication that single-payer wouldn't be fair to small businesses, which couldn't afford a 6 percent payroll tax. It makes you wonder how many couldn't.

The San Francisco Chronicle has a piece today on businesses supporting single-payer. Turns out that 42 percent of them do. In fact, 55 percent would be willing to pay into a state fund to help cover their employees.

The other conversation was with an Englishman who had immigrated here. I didn't ask the circumstances, but he said he hadn't taken into consideration what losing the NHI would really mean in his life. He says that the enemies of single-payer make preposterous arguments. Nicely said.