Originally Posted By DAR Ed I'm sorry that happened to you. I understand that there are jobs that aren't safe. Heck my dad is a principal of a school and even he has to cut teachers sometimes. So unlike jonvn says I do realize that the job market is unstable. All I'm trying to convey is that I'm fortunate to be where I am. <<I designated my beneficiaries on-line... who knows where that information went. India maybe? As for processing payments, that can easily be outsourced. Most likely in the U.S., but perhaps to South Dakota, or Mississippi?>> I prepare and process close to 150-200 of these forms a week. Nothing can be processed without it coming to the home office in Milwaukee.
Originally Posted By DAR Here's an interesting articles on the advantages and disadvantages of government run health care. <a href="http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/44240/the_advantages_and_disadvantages_of.html" target="_blank">http://www.associatedcontent.c om/article/44240/the_advantages_and_disadvantages_of.html</a> I thought this was the most interesting point: "For America to keep the best health care in the world it is necessary to allow freedom in the market place to encourage drug companies to invent new drugs and hospitals to have the most recent equipment. Without competition there is no reward for doctors or companies who supply speedy, reliable service to patients. The more government intervention and decisions made by bureaucrats can only make the current system in the United States worse. Medicare and Medicaid are both already big parts of the government in Washington, D.C. and in each state and they are both in severe need of reform. In the United States and furthermore in Canada, a more consumer-directed approach would be beneficial to all. Allowing individuals to search for themselves for the best healthcare will force the insurance companies to be competitive and create a much better doctor-patient relationship. Being forced to go to a specific doctor and company can result in more distrust for the treatment. With a trusted doctor-patient relationship “physicians will be free to act as the agents of their patients (NCPA)†with health care providers. The systems of the two countries are very clear and the benefits of each are obvious to anyone. When analyzing both systems one must look at the program that helps the most and whether the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. After decades of debate and concern over the problems of each system there comes a time when actual reform needs to be enacted. Both countries have a chance to do this and should start passing initiatives before it is too late. "
Originally Posted By mrichmondj Nice conservative propaganda piece there, but it doesn't address the millions of people in our society who have no access to any health care at all.
Originally Posted By jonvn "Yeah you are telling how thing are at my job. " Uh, no. I am telling you how things are in America.
Originally Posted By DAR I've explained over several posts that the life insurance industry is different, my company in particular is different. Yet you won't listen. <<Nice conservative propaganda piece there>> Ah I see so that opinion is not valid. Point taken.
Originally Posted By jonvn "once it becomes a middle class problem, it will be a done deal." Well, that is starting to happen more and more. as more jobs get exported, more people slip from industrial type work to lower class type work. As the baby boomers get older, they will no longer be employed, and will depend on whatever they can to have medical care. For most, that will be medicare, which is not really the best. So lots of people are going to somehow foot the bill for this, too. It's a serious problem, and people who think they're immune are fooling themselves.
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Originally Posted By DAR Everyone else besides jonvn. Do you understand what I'm saying? That while I realize the job market is unstable. I'm fortunate to work at a company where growth is happening.
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Originally Posted By fkurucz >> I'm fortunate to work at a company where growth is happening.<< I work for a company that hit $90B in sales last year and is expecting to hit $100 Billion by 2010. Do any of us feel safe about our jobs? Nope. Our CEO wants to reduce operation costs by about $6B by 2010. The great American layoff machine rolls on.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan >>Everyone else besides jonvn. Do you understand what I'm saying? That while I realize the job market is unstable. I'm fortunate to work at a company where growth is happening.<< Truly, I hope you're right. In fact, I'm sure you are, that you've worked hard to get where you are, and that your company will continue to make all the right moves in the years ahead. They have a great track record according to that article, so that's great. But at the same time, I have seen enough movies to know that whenever somebody driving a getaway car says something like "Nothing can stop us now!" that's the precise moment everything unravels. I'm just sayin'... you know? And I've seen my dad work his whole life and play by the rules and then his pention was threatened at the time he was told he'd be able to take it easy and enjoy the fruits of his labor. Stuff happens. Heck, that's the why people GET life insurance to begin with, right?
Originally Posted By fkurucz ^^BTW, (the now deceased) founders of the company where I work did not believe in laying people off if it could be avoided. In the 70's the company hit a rough patch. Instead of layng off 10% of staff, everyone took a temporary 10% cut in pay. We didn't have our first mass layoff until the last founder passed away (and it was just months after he died).
Originally Posted By jonvn I hope he's right, too. I don't want to see him or anyone else laid off. But to think you are immune? No.
Originally Posted By EdisYoda DAR, yes, I do understand what you are saying. I was in a company that was growing at the time. And while your company TODAY, might process all it's forms in house, that's no guarantee that they will continue to do so. Now, I hope I'm wrong, BUT, time and time again, the American Corporate mindset has proven me right.
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder DAR, what we've been trying to say is you're entitled to think you're immune, but experience tells us no one is. No one. You'd be wise to keep a network going, save money, make investments, plan ahead. As I said before, there are just too many 50 and 60 somethings out of work right now who thought the same thing you do now.
Originally Posted By DlandJB Health care, like food and shelter, requires choices. Sometimes you have to decide whether you can afford a steak dinner or need to have hamburger.>>> I used to work for a low income senior citizen independent living and assisted living facility. A good majority of the residents struggled with paying for health care and especially for their medications. Some had to choose between eating breakfast and lunch and having their medicine (dinner was mandatory, so they got some nutrition during the day). It isn't a choice for everyone.
Originally Posted By ecdc DAR, I understand that you're saying that you're fortunate. I get that you don't work for McDonald's or a call center that could be outsourced and that you have more security than that. And hey, you're the one that works there - I'm not going to pretend to know more about it than you. But that said, I think you've opened yourself up to the skepticism and criticism (though not the baiting). It's one thing to say you're fortunate to have a very secure job. It's quite another to guarantee you cannot, even if the apocalypse came tomorrow, be laid off. To quote juror #8, "nothing is that certain." To portray it as if there is no possible scenario...well...it certainly invites chances to prove you wrong. I think the only way anyone could guarantee they won't be laid off is if 1) the service their company offers is literally the only one in the world and there is no competition, and 2) they are literally the only person in the world who can do that job. DAR, surely you won't be working for this company forever - you'll retire someday, I assume. And given that you won't be there forever, surely you're not suggesting that when you leave they won't survive?
Originally Posted By fkurucz <<"once it becomes a middle class problem, it will be a done deal." Well, that is starting to happen more and more. as more jobs get exported, more people slip from industrial type work to lower class type work.>> Agreed. It will eventually get to the point where the middle class will DEMAND national health.
Originally Posted By fkurucz >>For America to keep the best health care in the world it is necessary to allow freedom in the market place to encourage drug companies to invent new drugs and hospitals to have the most recent equipment.<< Sure, I'ld like a BMW too. We have created a system that we can no longer afford. And big pharma and all the other players in the industry like it that way. While we are talking about how the free market will meet our needs, I am reminded of an article I read not too long ago about big pharmas priorities. It turns out that we are quickly running out of antibiotics that still work. Since antibiotics are not quite the moneymakers that ED pills are, big pharma isn't doing a whole lot to keep ahead of todays microbes (the ROI just isn't there). So if an infectious disease claims someone we love, we can console ourselves with that fact that we can be as hard as Chinese algebra.
