Ocean City Patch Letter to the Editor: Business Owners Should Consider Employees' Needs

To the Editor:

The Executive Director of the Ocean City Chamber of Commerce urged people to lobby and cajole members of the NJ State Senate to reject the $15 livable wage law.

No different will be the appeal of all Chambers throughout our country. This is not surprising as Chambers are funded by the business community.

Surely such a law could hurt many small businesses especially ones in Ocean City, which are seasonal.

However the total indifference to the needs of the working poor was brought home to me this weekend.

We attended an event at Stockton where one of the musicians fell off his chair. Everything came to a stop. There was a request for a physician and I went to help. The young man was as white as a ghost and sweating profusely. His first words were: "I have no health insurance. Don't let them send me to the hospital. It would financially devastate me."

So my question to Chambers of Commerce everywhere is where do you stand on healthcare as a human right for all Americans? I understand how a livable wage of $15/hour might not be feasible for all employers. There is no excuse for the Chambers to ignore/deny Medicare-For-All. Your dues paying businesses need a healthy workforce.

Senator Bernie Sanders has shown that this is not only economically feasible but makes good economic sense.

With healthcare costs being the single largest cause of personal bankruptcy, and millions of citizens refusing to access healthcare because of legitimate fears of economic ruin, this is an opportunity for Chambers of Commerce to prove that they really care for business owners and essential ingredient of their businesses: the employees.

Sincerely yours,

Steven Fenichel, MD