Why is it that employers must provide/subsidize healthcare?

[treestar]

27. Right, wasn't it a way to get around a wage ceiling?

And then it became almost like canon law. We need to get away from it. If people had to cover themselves with their earnings - say they were paid the amount the insurance cost by being the conduit for it - they would be much more likely to support single payer.

It's like the way the IRS takes taxes out during the year. Wise, but people don't "feel" the taxes this way. They rant on about being tax payers. But if they had to write the check themselves each year rather than having their employer pay it and then get back the excess, well they'd be a lot less likely to support the wars, etc. They'd know now much they were paying and feel it.