This seems like a false dilemma. Housing, food, clothing, and most other things are not directly provided by either employers or governments, and yet people are able to acquire them.
I started learning about housing, food, and clothing from my parents, when I was a toddler. They taught the basics, including how to cook, how to buy groceries, how to maintain a house, etc.. I had over a decade of practice under their watchful eyes before doing it on my own.
Then in school we learned more about food during health class. Those who wanted to learn more could take home economics. Also, many people purchased magazines to help understand and select clothing styles, participated in discussions on the topic, and spent a lot of time at stores evaluating the different options (i.e, "hanging out at the mall").
Even for housing, I did it in steps, with college dorm, then shared apartments, to shared houses, to my own apartment, to my own house.
By comparison, when I started my company, I had no corresponding practice or experience in selecting health care or retirement options.
Just like I had no practice in reading NDAs and consulting contracts, or setting up a company. But those are remarkably stable. A NoLo book on consulting and the advice of a friend who started a company a couple of years previous was enough. Then hire a CPA who has a legal obligation to work in my best interests.
An insurance agent does not have the same obligation. I also don't have the experience to judge between the offerings from the different companies, nor experience in the local hospitals or clinics to know who is in which system or what I should be watching out for.
That's straight 'paradox of choice', making it all the more difficult to figure out what to do.
It didn't help that every few months I would get a message that the health insurance rates were increasing, making my wonder if I had made a mistake and was being screwed over by the insurance company, who knows that most small business owners really don't want to deal with re-evaluating the insurance market all the time.
Then in school we learned more about food during health class. Those who wanted to learn more could take home economics. Also, many people purchased magazines to help understand and select clothing styles, participated in discussions on the topic, and spent a lot of time at stores evaluating the different options (i.e, "hanging out at the mall").
Even for housing, I did it in steps, with college dorm, then shared apartments, to shared houses, to my own apartment, to my own house.
By comparison, when I started my company, I had no corresponding practice or experience in selecting health care or retirement options.
Just like I had no practice in reading NDAs and consulting contracts, or setting up a company. But those are remarkably stable. A NoLo book on consulting and the advice of a friend who started a company a couple of years previous was enough. Then hire a CPA who has a legal obligation to work in my best interests.
An insurance agent does not have the same obligation. I also don't have the experience to judge between the offerings from the different companies, nor experience in the local hospitals or clinics to know who is in which system or what I should be watching out for.
That's straight 'paradox of choice', making it all the more difficult to figure out what to do.
It didn't help that every few months I would get a message that the health insurance rates were increasing, making my wonder if I had made a mistake and was being screwed over by the insurance company, who knows that most small business owners really don't want to deal with re-evaluating the insurance market all the time.