posted by Alan Greenblatt
Seeing the pictures of same-sex marriages taking place throughout California puts me in mind of another "only in San Francisco" phenomenon I experienced the last time I was out there, a couple of months ago.
San Francisco, as you may know, is engaged in a unique and controversial experiment to become the first municipality to mandate universal health coverage. Restaurateurs have been among the unhappy business owners opposing the policy, but in the meantime they are learning to live with it -- by passing the cost directly onto their customers.
One fancy-pants restaurant I ate at announced on the menu: "In order to provide the very best health benefits for all of our employees, a 4 % surcharge will be added to all food and beverage sales."
Slightly off topic but this is the feeling I get when visiting the US and trying to tip the appropriate amount to service staff. Why can't the employer just pay a decent wage and include the cost of it in whatever they sell or the service they provide?
Posted by: Jim Shorts | Thursday, June 19, 2008 at 10:58 AM
Many scoff at new/differnt attempts to control the cost of health care, but one needs only to realize that within six years companies will find that comprehensive health insurance for their employees will exceed the cost of their salaries........Nijm
Posted by: Nijm | Tuesday, June 24, 2008 at 02:24 PM