Oh noes...

[altivo]

This is not good. We've been short-handed at work for a while, and demand has been picking up. Now a long term staff member who really knows the ropes has announced that she is leaving. The reason? She only works part time, and therefore the city does not provide her with health insurance. She and her husband have been paying their own insurance on a self-employment group plan, and the rates have just doubled. By returning to a previous employer, she will be able to have health insurance coverage again at reasonable cost. This is really a serious issue in the US. Why are we spending billions to blow up foreign cities and have our own citizens blown up in return when we cannot seem to provide basic health care to all residents at home?

No prospect to replace her at the moment, though I imagine we will eventually hire someone. The problem with that is that until she has a replacement and that replacement is up to speed, I'll be the one who has to pick up her work. And she was extremely productive for a half-time staff member.

This oughta be blue at the moment:

VIOLET You surround yourself with art and music and are constantly driven to express yourself. You often daydream. You prefer honesty in your relationships and believe strongly in your personal morals. Find out your color at Quiz Me!

Comments

[drelonek.livejournal.com]

I'm disappointed. I've got a health issue of my own that's been about(I've posted a few times), but I don't earn enough to see doctors really, nor am I covered with insurance.

I have to instead go to this volunteer place, but from what I've seen, you get what you pay for, there. I didn't like it at all, and I'm actually scheduled to go back again tomorrow to get another opinion on things. Meh.

I seriously wish we could do something about insurance instead of killing others, too.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I know you live in a red state, but you still should write to your senators and congresscritters and tell them exactly what you think about this. Tell them that you *do* vote, even though you aren't a wealthy person.

[drelonek.livejournal.com]

I'm not any good at writing letters and fail to see how it'd do much for me. :/

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Oh come now, Drel. You are literate and articulate here, there is no reason you can't write a short letter.

What good it might do is hard to tell. It won't produce an instant result, I'm sorry to say, but the reason politicians do the stupid things they do is because they think it will benefit them. Knowing that their constituents disagree and want them to do something else does at least rattle them. If enough people do the same, they do change their minds.

When Chicago was considering a gay rights law ten years or so back, the alderman from my district was one of those who opposed it. "People don't want it," he said. We all told him otherwise. He actually changed his mind and voted for it.

All you have to do is tell them that you are a voter in their district and you think that the government should stop spending so much on military campaigns and instead spend it at home to provide better health care for everyone. :) Two or three sentences is all it takes.

[lobowolf.livejournal.com]

Because blowing things up is fun, while keeping your own taxpaying citizens healthy isn't very exciting.

Seriously, though, I've been asking myself the very same thing. People are all afraid of socialized medicine in the US....and then I ask them "Okay, say you were unemployed...which would you rather have? Fancy private healthcare that was unavailable to you because you couldn't afford or get it, or socialized healthcare?

Yep, it's possible that socialized healthcare would have problems, but I rather be taken care of by government doctors then to be told "tough luck, pal...hope that kidney heals up by itself." It would be in the government's best interest to keep people healthy....it's hard to pay taxes when you're dead (although I've heard they're working on it).

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I know what you're saying, though I've never seen the fun in blowing things up, especially when the things are people.

And you have it precisely right. Socialized medicine is far better than no medicine at all, which is what a very large percentage of the population in the US has, despite all the claims to the contrary.

My mate of 23 years was covered under my insurance at the last job, but when I lost that he lost his coverage. My present job pays half as much and does not offer any way to get insurance for him. And of course we can't have gay marriage because it would force employers to provide that coverage in at least some cases and (gasp) it might be against their religious opinions. Like, what does religion have to do with health insurance? Bah.

[lobowolf.livejournal.com]

Well, most of the people I hear complaining about socialized medicine have insurance coverage. If people wanted better health care, it would always be available if you wanted to pay for it. I think as part of the contract between the government and the citizen should include..say..oh..keeping you from dying. I would say that "promoting the general welfare" covers that.

The government is spending billions of dollars going to war to "keep us safe from terrorists." Apparently they don't want us to die in a terrorist attack, but they're pefectly okay with any of us dying from a ruptured appendix.

[chibiabos.livejournal.com]

You don't like to blow things up? I thought you liked balloons and inflation? ;p

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Heh. I'm not an inflatophile, if that's what you mean. I do find the RP aspects of it rather entertaining, though. Otherwise it's rather a puzzlebox to me, though at least not one fraught with moral issues. ;)

[animist.livejournal.com]

I agree with your political commentary. It is a ridiculous situation.

[songdogmi.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry to hear that your co-worker is leaving, and the reason why she needs to do it. I agree that it's a ridiculous situation that the U.S. can't do anything about health insurance for all but we can sure attack other countries.

Your color seems to fit you very well, by the way.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Heh. True purple is a color I don't much care for. But shade it into violet or lavender and I don't mind it so much. Push it toward indigo blue and then I like it a lot.

Yes, I'm not sure what the overall implications of Carolyn's departure are. She's not going abruptly at least, and will be around until we figure out what to do, which is good. I'd hoped to be able to talk to the director about it this morning, since Thursday mornings we are usually the only ones here and can have our little "librarian chats" without interruption. But she's busy with family house guests I think and didn't come in.

[pioneer11.livejournal.com]

This seems to be a common dirty trick. Get the part time
person to keep working (with some sort of ephemeral carrot)
and save on the health insurance. My union fought this out
so I've ended up with an odd fifteen minutes of vacation time
from when I was working part time and got "adjusted".

Still, its better to have odd bennies then no bennies.

That blows dude.