| My son was one of those union members howling about a tax on his health insurance. His one-hundred-dollar-a-year deductible health insurance. I finally had enough and asked him to defend his position. It came down to "I don't want to pay taxes on my health insurance. I have to buy a new truck." You know he got "the look" - the look that has so much power that just last night it got his 25 year old sister to give herself her own talking-to. In his case "the look" was accompanied by "You are going to have to defend that position and I raised you better than to think you can get away with a non-argument like that." Then I crossed my arms and waited.
It boiled down to "I still have to pay off my student loans, and I have to have a new truck, my next job might not be between your house and mine." When he realized that his argument boiled down to "I want to spend my money on other stuff," he started to shift uncomfortably in his seat.
"What about your sister? Would you be willing to pay a little more if she could have coverage?" This jarred him, and he looked at me with that expression that tells me he is going to be a great father once his girlfriend finishes med school and they get married. "She aged out on her birthday. Just like you did a few years ago." He looked ill. "Wow. I didn't even think about that."
Advantage Mom - make the case. "How about your co-workers? The old guys getting ready to retire - you think they would be willing to pay a little more to keep their kids on the policy you guys have a few more years, so they can finish medical school, or dental school, or law school, or a PhD?" He allowed that they probably would. Especially if they had ever gone out on the private market to help their kids get insurance once they aged out. Then I closed in - "You have been insulated your whole life. You have had our healthcare, and you have had Union health care. The year and a half you didn't have insurance doesn't even count because your Godfather is a doctor and I'm your Mom. If you needed something, between the two of us, you were taken care of, so you don't really get to bitch, Golden Boy." (Of course his sister has this same advantage over most kids her age, but you can't call in a pap smear.)
Then I told him about the people who I have seen with my own eyes.
And I closed with an appeal to his strong Union spirit. "We're all in this together. We need to pull in the same direction. I would think that someone who is as gung-ho Union as you are would be the first to understand that, not the last."
And with that, one charming, engaging and politically active Union member got with the program.
Now, this morning, we have a deal with Labor. And I got a text message from my son demanding to know why I was not answering my phone after 9:00 p.m. Like my powers would work on just anyone! |
