"Get your Republican party to enact a $10 an hour minimum wage by Dec. 2007, and until you do, we will not go to the following restaurants and GOP contributors Wendy's, Outback Steakhouse, Olive Garden, Red Lobster, and Dominos Pizza who cannot afford to lose a large sector of the publics business and money.
It was from someone signed 'the Liberal Democratic Party of America', so we know where they stand. However, this is how things are going to change - when people stop, or threaten to stop, buying stuff. You can't be me, I'm taken
Hey, does anyone have the deeds to Planet Earth? I thought not..... You can't be me, I'm taken
Hey, does anyone have the deeds to Planet Earth?
Mother Nature enters stage left with a broom shouting "shoo !! shoo !!" keep to the Fen Causeway
If one were to set up a mutual as a "Guarantee Society" on a partnership basis (which is what Muslims do on a massive basis incidentally, because conventional insurance is impermissible or "haram" - they call mutual insurance "Takaful") then it is a simple matter to work with a managing/operating partner.
The shipping industry has long had what is called "P&I Clubs" insuring hulls mutually in this way with managing agents such as Thomas Miller.
The innovation I would add to the above is an LLP/LLC "Capital Partnership" enterprise model, of course. Any necessary Capital will be obtained from investors in the future cash flow.
The predatory outcome is that the premiums a mutualised "Not for Loss" operation charges can always undercut those charged by the toxic "for profit" variety.
It's called the "Cooperative Advantage".
Where it gets interesting in the medical area is the "partnerising" of hospitals run "For Profit" to create a partnership between the community of people using the service, and the community of people providing it.
Basically the deal is of a "Community Buy Out", funded by selling future revenues to local investors.
The deal for the staff is this.
"You've got $y to play with this year. We want this (agreed) level of care. You get to keep x% of any savings you make in administration, innovative treatments, preventative measures, and so on.
And its up to you how you organise yourselves and share it out.
If you see new treatments, or need capital expenditure on new kit, lets agree the investment case and how to fund it,and the effect on premiums into the Pool.
For the existing investors it's great too, because they get an "exit" at a level they would otherwise never get.
The reason for this is that the Community's "cost of Capital" ( a reasonable "index-linked" return) is less than the daft rates demanded by the greedy bastards in the City and Wall Street.
The "predatory" aspect of the competition was the majors came in an sold policies below the correct risk-price. Illegal as hell but the regulators didn't do their job. A doo run-run-run, a doo run-run
It can be done, for sure, and it is innovative use of LLC's etc that make it possible.
<sigh> A doo run-run-run, a doo run-run