A very valid point. My advice was not clear enough. I have updated the original post with your comment and added:

"I was certainly not trying to be whiny. This is just business after all. I was just trying to point out how a single minded focus on costs without relation to benefits helps neither the company or you as a contractor. But just to be clear, my advice is to open up the conversation from just costs to a negotiation which includes other things, including the benefits."