Well, here we are at Independence Day. What does this day represent to me now that we have a couple of decisions from the Supreme Court of the US (SCOTUS in case you don't know the acronym)? Well, there were actually 2 decisions that came down yesterday that focus on individual liberties VS corporate liberties.
If you look at the 2 decisions, they are very much pro corporation (something that the current SCOTUS has shown themselves to be over more than a few years). The second of the 2, the decision on whether individuals that benefit from collective bargaining of Unions, was less watched or spoken about. Essentially, Unions that fight for better wages and treatment of employees could charge to recover fees spent in court or otherwise even to the non-union employees that benefited from the fight. This essentially will weaken the union ability to fight for betterment of their members. We will see what the long term affect is, but I worry that this again weakens their ability to collectively bargain for wage increases, benefits, etc. Again, very pro-business, very anti-individual.
The other of the two seems to be the most vocally discussed, especially across multiple social media platforms. This was the "Hobby Lobby" case. At the heart of the matter, this case was not about religious freedom, it was about access to healthcare. I read a number of posts from friends on social media, both supporting and reviling the decision. Because it appears to be about religion, it has inflamed both groups. But, again, I say it is not about religion or religious freedom, it is how businesses have the ability to pick and choose what laws they do or do not need to follow.
The Hobby Lobby folks decided that they did not want to be forced to pay for certain insurance coverages. I get that, and there is an out for religious organizations for sure. But businesses that serve a large and diverse workforce need to not only think of what they may or may not want to support, from their own beliefs, but need to consider what their potential employees may want or need. In a number of comments I saw over the past few days, Here is the one that popped up the most - "(I, We, They) can get free healthcare and birth control by going to the free clinic" - my response to that is - "You understand that the Conservative party is trying to defund those clinics, right? What happens when your free birth control is no longer free, especially when your company or organization will not allow you to sign the exemption form to allow your insurance company to actually provide you your insurance for free" because even that is against their beliefs. And if you think that can't happen, then guess what, it already did.
