In the current issue of the Business Advocate ,
David Olson, President of the local Chamber, makes a strong case
for
outsourceing. In the concluding paragragh he spells
out what needs to be done to improve the economic climate for
business. Among those objectives is lowering health
care care costs which are rapidly escalating and an increasing
burden, especially for small business, who now find
tnemselves in a global market place.I wonder if David realizes
that prescription drugs are a major portion of
health care costs and that outsourceing is strictly prohibited. Not
only
is foreign competition disallowed, our government
bars bargaining in prescription drugs.
In this global economy it is imperative that we
make every effort to maintain the ability of our companies to
compete
Some of our elected officials have recognized the
problems and are trying to rectify or alleviate these impediments.
Governor Pawlenty has acted, despite cautions, as
have some other heads of state. Representative Gutnecht has
also taken some initiatives.A forthright statement
on this issue by the local, as well as state and national units of
the Chamber would do
much to help level the playing field.
Evetrt Salo
