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But to some extent this was the deal business made with government during the construction of the “military-industrial-complex”: the private sector will employ

But to some extent this was the deal business made with government during the construction of the “military-industrial-complex”: the private sector will employ people at wages and benefits that allow them to be supported during work and retirement in exchange for the govt providing tax breaks/incentives and business/work. Unfortunately the tax breaks and business is still around but industry has slowly wheedled its way out of its social responsibility which you can see in things like contractors everywhere and pushing health and retirement responsibilities back to the govt.

AnthonyMouse 7y ago
Having employers provide health and retirement instead of just paying higher wages was always one form of scam or another. It started off as a tax dodge (wages were taxed but not benefits), and then it became a way for corporate execs (and governments!) to commit accounting fraud by attracting workers with pensions without actually funding them. We should be rid of them and just have higher wages so people can choose what they want for themselves.
- votepaunchy 7y ago
  Note trust employer-funded health insurance started not as a tax dodge but as a wage-cap dodge during World War II.
  - AnthonyMouse 7y ago
    Interesting. I wonder if that's why it was never purged when they did everything else. There used to be a long list of benefits companies would provide, like company cars, that all went poof right after they started getting counted as taxable income.
  - keenmaster 7y ago
    >"Interesting. I wonder if that's why it was never purged when they did everything else." A combination of the endowment effect and inertia/status quo bias. When a Big Medicine lobbyist shows long government wait lines, that can be as effective, and as insidiously misleading, as a picture of immigrants waiting to gain admission to the country.

AnthonyMouse 7y ago

Having employers provide health and retirement instead of just paying higher wages was always one form of scam or another. It started off as a tax dodge (wages were taxed but not benefits), and then it became a way for corporate execs (and governments!) to commit accounting fraud by attracting workers with pensions without actually funding them. We should be rid of them and just have higher wages so people can choose what they want for themselves.

votepaunchy 7y ago
Note trust employer-funded health insurance started not as a tax dodge but as a wage-cap dodge during World War II.
- AnthonyMouse 7y ago
  Interesting. I wonder if that's why it was never purged when they did everything else. There used to be a long list of benefits companies would provide, like company cars, that all went poof right after they started getting counted as taxable income.
- keenmaster 7y ago
  >"Interesting. I wonder if that's why it was never purged when they did everything else." A combination of the endowment effect and inertia/status quo bias. When a Big Medicine lobbyist shows long government wait lines, that can be as effective, and as insidiously misleading, as a picture of immigrants waiting to gain admission to the country.