Unintended Consequences

Whenever I type this title, I feel as if I'm flogging a deceased yearling. According the a McKinsey study summarized in this WSJ article, many employers are planning to drop health coverage for their employees once the new health care overhaul takes effect. Oh, the horror! The health care overhaul, designed by the democrats and intended to increase coverage for those that most need it, will actually result in a decreased level of coverage for a large segment of the working population? However could we have predicted this? As I fit in the Republican and conservative bucket better than the democrat bucket, it annoys me to no end when the Democrats support something positive (I too want increased health care coverage for all) and then proceed to ignore the how or the common-sense implications. The general public isn't smart enough to analyze the outcomes after-the-fact and the dems only get graded on their good intentions, even though the deliverance was never possible. The simply fact here is employers are going to pay a fixed amount for their labor. If you increase their labor costs whether through raising the minimum wage, or forcing them to pay for more health care coverage, employers will respond by cutting hours, wages or people. The idea that they will sit back and let their costs increase and profits wane is inherently incorrect and frankly irresponsible. The refusal to consider what will actually happen is ignorant, dishonest and a poor reflection on those entrusted with guiding our country.