Philly ADA

Why haven't the Democrats and the Obama Administration framed the health care issue in terms of economic stimulus? Better yet, why hasn't the issue been framed in terms of saving the "American Dream"?

American manufacturing is failing because of our health care crisis. American jobs are moving overseas because the American health care system is the most expensive health care system in the world.

The high costs of the American health care system - the highest in the world - have decimated our country's manufacturing industry. American workers remain the most productive in the world. It's just that buying health care for the most productive workers in the world makes hiring the most productive workers in the world impossible.

Unless we do something about health care costs, Americans will continue to lose their jobs and our country's dying manufacturing industry will completely disappear taking with it the jobs that once were the backbone of the American middle class.

The folks John Cougar Mellencamp sings about, they're losing their jobs because their employers can't afford to pay their health insurance premiums.

In other words, health care reform is about saving the American Dream.

The following is an excerpt from a post that previously appeared on the blog TBFKAP* (aka "The Blog Formerly Known As Phillyville"). We're re-posting it here as it lays out the effects of the high costs of health care on the competitiveness of the American auto industry. The full post can be read here.

By way of background, TBFKAP* just happens to be written by DeWitt Brown who also happens to be the chairperson of Philly ADA. In the post, he makes the point that universal health care would be a far more effective stimulus program than handing out bags of cash to Wall Street or any of the other "Stimulus programs" since dreamed up by the Obama Administration.

G.M. spends $5.6B per year on health care. Its health care costs add approximately $1,500 to the price of each car G.M. produces.

Chrysler spends in excess of $2.3B on health care each year. "Chrysler spends more on health care than it does on steel."

Similarly, Ford spends in excess of $2.2B per year on direct employee health care costs.

So, the Big 3 spends approximately $10.6 billion each year on direct employee health care costs. Problem is, "direct employee health care cost" is not even close to the total amount the Big 3 spends on indirect health care costs, that include (1) health care pension costs and (2) the pass-through costs of all the health care for the employees and retirees who work for the Big 3's suppliers.

G.M.'s health care cost are so effing huge that in 2005, G.M. won concessions from its union that allowed G.M. to reduce its health care costs by $1B per year.

And that wasn't even the big story.

The big story was these savings were a pittance compared to what the concessions allowed G.M. to save in relation to retiree health care costs. The concessions allowed G.M. to reduce by $15B the money it sets aside each year to fund its retirees' health care benefits. On that news, G.M.'s shares jumped 12.6%.

Wouldn't it be nice for the entire stock market to jump 12.6%?

In terms of just health care costs for employees and retirees, universal health care would save G.M. over $20B per year. Throw Chrysler and Ford into the mix and we're way past the amount the Big Three's proposed bailout.

In other words, Universal Health Care would do more for the Big Three than any TARP fund or bridge loan.

That and take the $1B Philly's currently budgeting for health care cost in 2012 off the table and instead of closing libraries, the Nutter Administration is not only extending library hours, it's closing casinos, building a new waterfront complete with a tunnel for I-95 and topping things off, the Phillies have won their fifth straight World Series!!!

Okay, maybe that last bit is fantasy.

But the rest ain't.

Universal Health Care isn't about warm and fuzzies. It's about job creation.

It's about saving our municipal and state governments. It's about saving our largest employers. It's about saving our rapidly disappearing manufacturing jobs.

And it's about allowing small business owners, the proverbial backbone of the American economy, to go out an hire another employee.