Recently we went to San Francisco and were eating at a restaurant on the Wharf. On the bottom of the menu there was an added fee that my daughter explained was to help cover health insurance costs for restaurant employees. (There is a Health Care Ordinance requiring coverage for employees in SF. There are certainly more specifics involved but the idea of everyone helping a little bit really got me thinking!)
I have been a server in many restaurants over the years, I put myself through school that way, and have worked in only one restaurant where there was insurance for the employees. Owners say it is just too expensive.At the bottom of the menu there was a 4% added fee to every meal to help cover the cost of insurance for everybody who worked there.
So, take this a little further, suppose there was an added fee of 4 cents on the dollar, or whatever, on all the staples that everybody eats. Like milk, flour, tortillas, meat, fruit, vegetables...staples. Everyone eats, whether they are legal or not. If this money couild be set aside AND NOT TOUCHED, but put in a fund just for health insurance everyone would pay their fair share and there would be money available.
I know darn well that there will be those who say...the poor can't afford it!!! That is rediculous. A few pennies wan't make a difference when everyone shares the expense. A huge number of people not contributing and getting the major portion of uninsured benefits is too great a burden to pass along to a few.
If you can think of a better solution, more power to you. I thought this was a terrific one!
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