My RW boss received an $1100 refund check from our health insurance company

[reflection]

and he is pissed. He is reflexively anti-Obama about everything. I will give him credit however, when we argue about politics, he keeps it professional. He'll get mad, but he usually doesn't get personal. So we have some spirited conversations.

Our insurance carrier sent our company an $1100 refund check. This sent the boss into a tizzy. He started ranting about "free money doesn't exist," (whatever that means) and that the country was going bankrupt because of policies like this. I explained that the money was previously being kept by the health insurance company, which brought nothing to the table, and the ACA mandated there were caps on revenue, so now the excess flows back to him.

He was still upset. I finally fell back on the same canard that the RWers use when we complain about tax cuts. I said "send it back to the insurance company, or even the government debt relief fund, if it offends you so much." He said no, Obama would just waste it. I said, "Ok, send it to Romney's campaign. You're a big Romney guy." He responded with a weak "no."

So, he's going to keep it, but he hates it. Here we have it folks, someone who was reimbursed by an insurance company because they are being made to cap profits and divert that money to care. And he's still pissed. There is no reaching these people.

I'm typing fast and don't have time proofread, apologies for any typos, malapropisms, or general dumb-assery. I am not the greatest storyteller. Just wanted to share.

[coalition_unwilling]

1. If he's working for a living, odds are strong your boss is not a 1%er or even a 10%er. If you think

reaching him justifies the effort, you might plant some 'concentration of wealth' factoids into your conversations. No need to cast blame. The mere assertion that the 6 Walmart heirs control as much wealth between them as the bottom 30 million Americans should give any non-1%er pause, I would think.

[SharonAnn]

41. The Insurance Company overcharged him and they're refunding the overcharge.

It's that simple.

They're only allowed to charge a certain percentage over the cost of what they cover.

They charged him too much.

[obxhead]

56. He's going to be one day though!!!

One day he's gonna be rich and use those tax loopholes to screw people just like him!

[NightWatcher]

2. He's upset because he knows he's wrong about ACA

And it's pissing him off. Enjoy your Happy Dance of the SelfRighteous today.

[KeepItReal]

39. +1

Enjoy the show

[rfranklin]

3. He's angry because he has been proven wrong (once again). ..the right wing fantasy world...

does not exist any more than the "workers' paradise" that we used to hear about.

[savalez]

11. Bingo. He's been caught in a lie.

[mopinko]

4. nothing you can do about people who wont take yes for an answer

is there?

[Oilwellian]

5. Does he pay your entire premium?

If not, you will probably get a refund on part of the percentage you paid as well.

Secretly, you have to know, your boss is loving his refund.

[reflection]

13. I don't participate in my company's health plan

my wife has better insurance, and so I am on hers.

He is a decent guy, as right wingers go.

If I am able to change him, it will be in the way that a rock in a stream is changed by erosion. Slowly and deliberately. But truly, I think he is beyond help. He is ultra-religious, the sort that will help on a micro-level, one-to-one. I've seen him in action. But he has no macro view of these things.

In other words, he'll help individuals, but programs which help large groups of people are evil and counterproductive to him because they foster dependence, sloth and such. Unless they are programs which help corporations, those are ok.

(In fact, now that I type this, I need to point out that if corporations are people, then corporate welfare should be no different to him than personal welfare. I think I just had an epiphany. But he'll probably fall back on the 'job creator' line and 'no poor person ever gave me a job canard.)

[onehandle]

6. Please tell him to get off our our road and to not call our fire departments.

'Free money doesn't exist.'

[meaculpa2011]

7. Yippee!!!

My health insurance rates have gone up 40% in the past three years and have more than doubled in the past ten. Close to $1,500 per month for a family of four.

Now they're gonna send me $138... maybe.

[SalviaBlue]

21. Single payer would be much better.

But that would be socialism.

[meaculpa2011]

38. Single payer might be...

might be marginally better, but I doubt it.

What we need is to do away with health insurance entirely. The health insurance model, whether private or public, puts the power in the hands of the bureaucrats while providers remain driven by the need to maximize profits.

Single provider is the only way to take the profit out of healthcare.

If it works for the VA and NHS it can work for all.

My Dad gets all of his heathcare (including dental, hearing, eye care) through the VA and his treatment is extraordinary.

[Scuba]

8. Remind him that if it didn't go back to him it would be in the bank accounts of a corporate....

... investors in London, Hong Kong and Tokyo.

[4th law of robotics]

9. I'll take it if he doesn't want it.

[begin_within]

10. What's he doing talking politics on company time?

He should be fired for it.

[reflection]

16. I'll get right on that. LOL n/t

[DenverDad]

12. If I'm not mistaken

1. This isn't "free money". This is money that HIS company paid (or overpaid) to an insurance company, and is now being refunded.

AND

2. Because this refund comes from an insurance company and NOT the government, it won't bankrupt the nation and certainly won't add to the deficit.

[klook]

20. I've heard RWers assert that retirement benefits are

"free money." some of them will never let reality kill their fantasies.

[savalez]

14. Didn't Bush give everyone $300 of government money?

Was he mad about that?

[ieoeja]

36. No, the Democrats did.

Bush spent the election saying we should cut taxes because the economy was good. When the economy turned sour, he said we should cut taxes because the economy was bad.

Democrats only agreed to the tax holiday if we included a $300 pre-emptive tax refund. Bush agreed then made certain every check was emblazoned with "Bush Tax Cut".

All in all, one of the Democratic Party's stupidiest moves.

[savalez]

44. Since Bush took credit for it

I still wonder how the OP's boss felt.

Bush spent the election saying we should cut taxes because the economy was good. When the economy turned sour, he said we should cut taxes because the economy was bad.

Yikes, that's some logic.

[pepperbear]

15. a rebate is not free money

it's either a discount or it implies that one payed too much in the first place.

[Lex]

17. So ask him if he enjoys OVER-PAYING a vendor for something?

Because that's what he's been doing.

[NNN0LHI]

18. I have explained why small businesses don't like ACA here

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002891855

[reflection]

37. That's a good read

and I think there is validity to it. But that's not this guy's hot button. He's just eaten up with the 'socialist' and 'you didn't build that' type stuff, whatever they tell him to hear on the local AM radio station, where we have RW talk radio from dawn to dusk. His stance is rooted purely in emotion, most of it loathing for Obama.

When Obama won in 2008, I brought in a bunch of donuts and offered him a glazed O as a peace offering, since we clashed a lot leading up to the election. He wasn't happy about that either but ate the donut. I think I see a pattern...

[Blanks]

40. He is aware that Bain owns hate radio?

Of course hate radio doesn't like Obama; he doesn't own their sorry asses.

[tjwash]

19. Keep it but he hates it...let me guess...

...he's the type of boss who will say "I screwed you on your performance eval, but I feel real bad about it"

[reflection]

35. No, actually he doles out raises and bonuses quite often.

Like I said elsewhere in the thread, great at one-on-one relationships, horrible at seeing the larger picture. I definitely work for an unusual company.

[TeamPooka]

22. You can't fix stupid.

[Courtesy Flush]

23. Ask him if he keeps his tax refund.

If you over-pay your taxes, they give you the money back. If you over-pay your insurance premiums, same thing.

[LondonReign2]

24. Huh?

So he is mad that a corporation can no longer enrich itself (as much) at his expense? He is siding with excess corporate profits over his own wallet? That doesn't make sense even for a right winger.

I think someone above nailed it: he is mad only because he was wrong about the ACA and now his nose is being rubbed in it.

[NNN0LHI]

25. This is no mystery. Read post #18 for a complete answer to this

[SunSeeker]

31. Is that provision in force yet? I bet dolts like this boss don't even know about it.

I think this boss is just one of those Fox News brainwashed racist a-holes that reflexively hates anything connected with Obama.

But he did keep the check.

[Pakid]

26. Glad this idiot is not my boss

If this fool own the business it a miracle that it still in business If he just runs it for someone else who have to wonder just how stupid they are to have hired this fool to run it!

[reflection]

34. We actually have 3 equal partners running the business.

one is an extremely informed liberal, very far to the left.
one is a minimally informed conservative, very far to the right (this is the guy in the OP)
one is a completely politically uninformed conservative, VERY far to the right.
I admit they are all very nice people on a micro level. Good bosses. It's their macro policies that really highlight their differences.

It takes any two of them to make something happen. Surprisingly, most of the policy ends up being shaped by the liberal boss. His arguments are generally so airtight and well-constructed that they can't successfully be countered. And most of the employees gravitate to this guy as well. He is the unofficial alpha male of the three bosses.

The model works, surprisingly. We are turning great profits and by and large, most people are happy (except when the they get eeeeevil rebate checks in the mail. )

[arcane1]

27. How is a refund of money he paid somehow "free money"?

I suspect, like many have already said, he's mad because an Obama policy actually benefited him

[Proud Liberal Dem]

28. He's a business owner who HATES getting money?

Well, I'm sure the envelope has a return address and the insurance provider won't mind.

[CanonRay]

29. He should give it to you as a bonus

for putting up with his bullshit.

[bulloney]

30. He'd rather receive Bush's free-for-nothing $300 rebates because it encourages us to buy more stuff.

This country has gotten so politically polarized that I think most people would cut off their noses to spite their faces if it was in line with their politics.

[spooky3]

32. If his employees paid any part of the HC costs, they may be entitled to some of the rebate.

OP's boss needs to read the letter that accompanied the check.

[DaveJ]

33. Maybe he's mad because...

He doesn't know how to evade taxes on the $1,100 check. Or perhaps it foils some other aspect of his accounting.

[Blanks]

42. A lot of people seem to be under the impression...

...that taxes have been going up because even though they've gotten a raise they take home less money. Meanwhile their insurance rates are what have been increasing.

If be interested to know what percentage of people toil away angrily under that misconception.

Obviously your boss isn't in this category, but people are surprisingly stupid.

[Tsiyu]

43. Saw this on another site as well

Someone saying, "Just got a check from my insurance co and I am PISSED."

I can only assume they are pissed because:

A) They don't want to admit that the evil Kenyan Socialist Muslim Marxist could do anything economically to help the "job creators."

B) They know there will be a lot of happy people getting a little break in life due to this, and they're afraid they may vote for Obama because of it.

These are people who do not want a better nation, when you look at how they act. They only wish to be RIGHT about their fantasies and illusions and hatred. Who cares if people overpaid before, taking money out of our economy? Who cares if ACA makes insurance companies do what they're supposed to do?

You've really got to be nuts to think a rebate - extra cash - is something to be upset about. Proving - rightwingers are NUTSO.

[grantcart]

45. should tell him that only RW states get the money back because their legislatures are in bed with

the state lobbyists who allow the health insurance companies to overcharge him, up until now.

In Texas 92% of the policies will be getting a refund.

In Hawaii none.

He's been ripped off for years.

[JI7]

46. probably Angry for the same reason some are Angry Obama had Bin Laden Killed

they can't stand that Obama is right.

hahha, love the no to the romney campaign though.

[reflection]

48. Yes, during the course of the conversation

He revealed that he is voting for Romney, even though, quote, "Mormons are nutjobs. Anybody but Obama, though."

All you can with a guy like that is continue to throw his knowledge balls. If he chooses not to catch them, so be it. Maybe someone around him will catch one or two.

[Zoeisright]

47. Wow, your boss is an idiot.

I mean, a real, real stupid idiot. Sounds racist too.

[Tennessee Gal]

49. "the country was going bankrupt because of policies like this"

Is it a United States government check? Of course not! It is a check from the insurance company. Therefore, that statement he made exhibits excessive stupidity.

One way to make a valid point with him would be to search for the profits made annually by that insurance company and show them to him. That company has been over charging and now that is being stopped. This is a good thing to any logical person.

[area51]

50. "the country was going bankrupt because of policies like this"

Actually, our country is going bankrupt due to a huge military, black ops organizations, and multiple wars of choice.

[southernyankeebelle]

51. Face it friends people like your boss is to embarrassed to admit Obama was right. They will

back pedal all they want. You answered him the right way. They never know what to say when you give them that type of answer. I bet though he'll save it for a rainy day.

[Gman]

52. "There is no free money" is right

That's why they had to give this back to you.

[crazylikafox]

54. Best answer yet....

[reflection]

57. Oh man...

I wish I had been quick enough to think of that.

Opportunity lost.

[Gman]

59. Slip it in on him next week

"you know, I've been thinking about what you said about no free money, and you're right..."

Maybe he'll think about it differently.

[notadmblnd]

53. He aint pissed because he got a check. He loves the money

he's pissed because he was wrong. Wrong on all counts of his reasoning. Pissed because he believed all the BS sold to him. I'd bet your boss almost never admits that he is wrong about anything.

[kestrel91316]

55. Why, of all the corporations he deals with

(you know, suppliers and such), does he choose THIS one to be unhappy about a refund with???

Any other company he deals with, if they admitted they overcharged and sent a refund, he'd be thrilled.

RWers are clinically insane.

[fascisthunter]

58. brainwashed

[Monk06]

60. No love is greater than that of the slave for his master. I believe Marx said that.

[spanone]

61. he sounds like a raving lunatic