How the health care bill will affect businesses...

More than a year in the making the health care bill has finally passed. If you have recently awaken from a coma, or were too busy Tweeting about what you had for breakfast to know whats going on, I'll fill you in. The health care bill will enact many changes in our health care system over a period of 8 years. Some notable changes: individuals will be required by law to carry health insurance, the insurance industry must pay an annual fee of 8 billion dollars to the government (I think it should be more if anything though), and pro-rated subsidies will be given to people below just above the poverty line anywhere below it. What I want to focous on though is how the bill will effect businesses. It is proven that the free market is perhaps the most efficient system to encourage institutional, commercial, and economic developments. However, we don't yet know how the mandates of our government will effect the businesses we rely on to spearhead progress. Here's what the bill means for businesses:

• Subsidies begin for small businesses to provide coverage to employees. (2010)
  
• Employers with more than 50 employees that don't provide affordable coverage must pay a fine if employees receive tax credits to buy insurance. Fine is up to $3,000 per employee, excluding first 30 employees. (2014)
• Subsidies for small businesses to provide coverage increase. Businesses with 10 or fewer employees and average annual wages of less than $25,000 receive tax credit of up to 50% of employer's contribution. Tax credits phase out for larger businesses. (2014)
• Businesses with more than 100 employees can buy coverage on insurance exchanges, if state permits it. (2017)

These facts are from the Wall Street Journa. If you interested in the year by year components of the check out the link : http://tinyurl.com/yg8yqnw

It is my opinion that by mandating that businesses supply their employees with health care the current average quality of business owner-employee relations can only improve. By carrying the responsibility of providing their employee's with health care, business owners will think twice about who they hire, and develop stronger relationships with the people they do hire. This is because their cost per employee is higher, so the risks of hiring a sub-par employee are higher. Basically, I predict that employee retention rates will rise, although many analysts state that we are growing into a more transient job market. However, the potential downside of this mandate is that the additional costs of providing health care might limit new hires for small and medium sized businesses. Hopefully by the time that businesses must start providing these services-starting 2014-the economy will have recovered to a state that more closely resembles 2006. By providing subsidies for small businesses this year, the Obama administration is trying to pressure the private sector into making the change now, instead of waiting for 2014. Overall, I think this bill is good thing for businesses and consumers because it provides more opportunities for coverage. Of course, I personally believe that health care is a basic human right and should be guaranteed to all citizens at birth- so I might be a little biased when analyzing how the bill will effect small businesses. In the end, it is up to economic s to decide how it will all turn out. And economics is often counter intuitive to say the least.

Jackson Esate signs huge deal with Sony

Since his death 9 months ago, Micheal Jackson has sold 31 million records worldwide. That's quite the accomplishment for a deceased person, and although the singer himself no longer benefits from his status as a Pop legend his estate and record company do. It was announced this week that Sony Music has reached a deal with the Jackson estate to release 10 albums, some containing unreleased material, from now until 2017. In return, the Jackson Estate will receive up to $250 million in advances and royalties over the next 7 years. But this is more than just a record deal, it is a publishing contract as well. Just as MJ famously bought the publishing rights to the majority of the Lennon-McCartney catalog, Sony has bought the rights to publish and license Jackson's songs. As music becomes more accessible and 'free' everyday online, musical copyright owners are shifting their focus to publishing deals-such as playing a song in a TV commercial-to pursue income.

So you may be asking, why is this significant? Well first off, expect more MJ songs in commercials and internet advertising. Sony has to make up for the downsizing of the record business by focusing their publishing company initiatives. Although you might not want to see the King of Pop exploited into selling Insurance or the new season of The Wire, keep in mind that his estate, particularly his father, probably has less integrity that the music giant company. Also, the possibility that the Jackson Estate will sell the publishing rights to the Beatles catalog is not completely out of the question-especially in light of this deal with Sony- although MJ did tell a British tabloid that he intended to leave McCartney the catalog in his will (according to sources at AOL music.) But of course, he died before legal action could make his 'wish' come true.

Public School Curriculum Standardization?

I found this article that directly relates to this morning's discussion of the American educational system. A panel, that includes representatives from 48 states and numerous federal councils, made recommendations for standardizing curriculum on a federal level. Although the recommendation is by no means a sure sign of things to come, it is interesting to think about the impact a bill standarding education would have (good and bad implications.)

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/11/education/11educ.html?hp

Ameriville

Ameriville, written and preformed by 4 members of the Bronx based theater group Universes, was a blistering performance that blended music, politics and drama into a compelling piece of theater. The piece was made up of many segments- some entirely music and dance focused, some strict monologues, and others in between- to create a overarching narrative of life in post-Katrina, and post-Bush America. Ambitious and sometimes polarizing, the political subject matter ranged from gun violence to the KKK to health reform. As each segment presented a new problem, or different views of the same probable, I became more aware that the play had no motive in answering of the questions it posed. Perhaps that was our job- to go forth and start solving the county's problems- however, if that was their intent it might have been more effective to only address key issues. Musically, the show was gripping. The blend of gospel, hip hop, soul and pop was very entrancing from the audience's perspective. Also the the singing and acting was great from all four cast members. After reading in a review of the show that the performers also wrote the piece, I am not surprised at all. Their passion on stage was not missed by the audience, who gave them a standing ovation at the play's conclusion.

Will the songs and stories of Ameriville stick with me? Probably not. While I found the performance entertaining and undeniably original, I feel that the play presented many opened ended, ambiguous questions. Some segments were particularly moving, however many also fell short from striking a real chord in me. Overall , I liked the play, I feel they may have tried to do too much.