Mandatory Health Care in San Francisco

San Francisco Supervisor, Tom "Watch Out, I'm Coming to Get You" Ammiano, has introduced a resolution to the Board of Supervisors that would require all businesses in San Francisco over 20 employees to provide at least $345 dollars a month per employee for health care. He calls it Universal Health Care for everyone.

Of course someone will have to pay for this, and it will lie squarely on the shoulders of small businesses. Strangely, progressive values are "in theory" supposed to protect the little guy from the big corporate bastards that are trying to suck all the fresh blood from their veins. All the big businesses in San Francisco are giving benefits to their employees, and this effort, in reality, specifically targets businesses that operate under razor thin margins. Tom is effectively making them less able to compete against the "big guy." But fortunately, businesses can pick up and move out of the city where this progressive law cannot touch them. Here is what Tom had to say about that:

Ammiano doesn't buy the argument. "As to businesses moving, I haven't seen them move," he said. "They're not going to move."

Businesses that offer health care for their workers have higher productivity, he said, and do better in the marketplace.

Tom's has the faith of a mustard seed. Some day he'll grow up to be a big tree.

Chalk this up as another classic San Francisco intiative of "feels good, but dumber than a sack of hammers."