Scrap Brain Zone

I walked into an Arbys the other day.  I generally avoid fast food at all costs, but Arbys (along with Wendys) actually has salads that are usually fresh.  Pair that with water or unsweetened tea to avoid the high fructose corn syrup, and you are almost eating healthy. It happenned to be around 2:00 pm, which is not only a good time to visit restaurants due to less crowd, but is also when many employee interviews are occurring.

As I was sitting eating lunch, the manager was interviewing a potential hire a few tables away.  Also, the 20 something year old that waited on me was sitting with a co-worker eating one table over from me, on break since there was no one in line.  I caught the potential hire asking the manager about health insurance.  The response was that only assistant managers and higher qualify for health coverage at Arbys. The two workers next to me heard that comment, and immediately began whining how it was totally unfair that they couldn’t get health insurance.

Now, restaurants have a different situation that many companies, in that turn over or rank and file employees is huge.  This increases the companys costs considerably, so they control that somewhat by limited who has access to health insurance.  However, this article isn’t about restaurants and their unique situation.  Its about the 20 something year olds and the LIES perpetuated by big government and most mainstream media outlets about the extreme cost of health coverage.

Being a small business owner myself (< 10 employees), I am intimately familiar with the cost of health insurance.  I just received 8 quotes for a new employee: single, 30 years old, that ranged from $285 per month to $372 per month.  This was for “good” coverage.  If we figure in a higher deductible, add a Health Savings Accounts to take care of the deductible pre-tax with payroll deduction, we are down at the $190 a month price range, and that assumes zero contribution from my company (which is not the case for me, but for this 20 something year old from Arbys, let’s assume he has to pay the full amount.)  And let’s assume that the 20 something pays the same rates as the 30 year old, which is also a conservative assumption, since his rate would in reality be even lower.

Now, for all you economics challenged people that think that is an absurd amount to pay to cover your health (which last I checked, is more important than just about anything else in your lilfe),  let’s look at this particular 20 something person.

1) He had tattos from the neck just below the hairline all the way down to his wrists, at least as far as his shirt allows.  He was wearing long pants and a short sleeve shirt, but since 90% of the people I know that get that many tattoos on their arms also get them everywhere else.  Just how much did he pay for all those tattoos?  According to some tattoo websites, that many tattoos would at the low end cost around $1000, and at the high end cost around $3000.  So, he could have paid for 5 to 15 months of health insurance premiums JUST by skipping the tattoos.  What a burden.  Not to mention that tattoos themselves increase your susceptibility to infection and disease…not a lot, but it certainly doesn’t BOOST your immune system.

2) He had ear rings in both ears.  Not the typical ones, but the larger ones that leave permanent holes the size of dimes in your ear lobes.  I doubt they were extremely expensive, but there is the added cost of the jewelry to go in them, and they are clearly frivolous expenses that he could have skipped.  Let’s say total cost $190 including all sets of ear rings, so he could have paid for one month of health insurance by skipping the ear rings.

3) After eating, he and the co-worker stepped outside to smoke.  Now, a little web research shows these average numbers for smokers: $3.50 cost per pack, 13 cigarettes per day (low end).  So, that comes up to be 19.5 packs per month, for a total cost of $68.25 per month.  So, 1/3 of the monthly health insurance premium can be paid for by stopping smoking, not to mention the fact that the chances of having to make use orf your health insurance increase when you smoke.

4) They got into a 2006 Mustang to get their cigarettes.  Now, I don’t know who owned the car, but the MSRP is $19,995 for the base model, which with a 5 year loan at 5% interest is $377 per month.  So, we trade in the mustang for a $4000 used car which suits a 20 something just fine, and we can afford health insurance for 5 years.

5) The insurance for a <25 year old male on a mustang is around $200 a month, at least. 

Oh my gosh.  The thought of paying $190/month for health insurance is such a burden on a 20 something year old.  Let’s run out a vote for National Health Care!  What kind of world we live in?!

Sorry, this kid could afford health insurance EASILY, all it would require is a change in spending habits.  And this was one of millions in this country doing the exact same thing.  To say that we can’t afford health insurance in the US is 100% wrong.  We CHOOSE to not pay for health insurance, because we are more interested in spending money on things we don’t need, and then want to run to the imperial federal government (or our local employer) when we actually need health coverage.

I ran across a publication about the benefits of vegetarian eating. In typical 21st century fashion, it was full of junk science.

First, it made the statement that 7th Day Adventists who eat meat don’t live as long as 7th Day Adventists who are vegetarian.  Now, why would you quote such an obscure statistic like that? Simple…because if you look at the general population, meat eaters live longer than vegetarians.  However, that doesn’t support their argument, so they do like a good politician, pharmeceutical company, or marketing expert, and the find some obscure statistic that supports their argument.

Second, they talk about how eggs are high in cholesterol.  This cholesterol argument is so bad, yet so overused, it boggles the mind.  Let’s talk some real science here, shall we.  The cholesterol in your blood stream that can cause circulatory problems and heart disease COMES FROM THE LIVER!.  That’s a scientific fact.  The cholesterol in your blood does NOT come from the food you eat…it comes from the liver.  So lowering your dietary intake of cholesterol to try to change the cholesterol levels in your blood is complete junk science.  To lower the levels in your blood, you have to get the liver to quit producing it. Now, if there were some KNOWN process that could link the two, then we could at least discuss it, but there isn’t, so quit throwing out that garbage like its science.

Third, they talk about how the pesticides used on grain used to feed livestock is a major environmental issue.  Excuse me…you are proposing to give vegetables used to feed livestock to humans instead, so explain to me how getting rid of the livestock is going to change that?

I could go on, but it would be pointless.  This article was crap because it inserts junk science under the guise of real science, and attempts to make its point based on emotion and not logic.

Unfortunately, I didn’t keep the article, so I can’t give you the title, but if I figure it out, I will add it to the post.