Corporations in this country have tremendous power

[OwnedByFerrets]

and influence. Why is it NOT in their best interest to push congress for a single payer health care system. I know the insurance lobby is very very strong, but does it have more power than all the other big corporations combined?

[Hydra]

1. The big companies don't care

Most of the places I've worked have bad or no coverage.

[GeminiProgressive]

2. First off

They don't care about our health. Secondly, why would they want a socialized medical system? They probably fear non-profit healthcare because if it worked people would start to wonder what other parts of the economy they could make non-profit. Energy? Transportation? Telecommunications? If universal non-profit care worked any other company that began price gouging would be looked at by the public. I don't think most CEO's want to open that can of worms.

[Hydra]

3. Word

and...look at all of those protesters in Europe. Can't have a safety net- the masses might actually start fighting for some of their rights!

Welcome to tinpotsville.

[OwnedByFerrets]

4. Bottom line, it would save them money and

money is the name of the game. What do you think the strike was all about. Health care. I would think that most corporations would be all for single payer.

[TahitiNut]

5. Insurance companies hold HUGE "reserves" -- full of corporate stock and bonds.

Those reserves, mandated by law, are needed to pay claims, particularly in the event of a catastrophic (insured) loss.

Since the deregulation of the financial sector, the same conglomerates are engaged in banking (retail and commercial), equity brokerage, and insurance of a wide variety. The reserves are NOT held at "arm's length" and are managed by these conglomerates themselves .. without much in the way of oversight to ensure fiduciary propriety.

Thus, corporations of all kinds are hugely influenced by their bankers ... investment bankers who "make the market" for stock offerings, who float their bond issues, who manage the 'float' on their accounts (both payable and receivable), and who facilitate the transfer of capital across national boundaries.

Once upon a time (ca. Gilded Age and Great Depression), manufacturers would participate in chartering banks - "Manufacturers' Banks" - in order to obtain 'services' more compatible with their needs and less interfering with the company management. (Ford and GM both did this, for example. Manufacturer's National Bank.) We're in an era that's eerily similar to the pre-Depression times of corporate excess. What's old is new again.

In short, the insurance companies have them by the short hairs.