What can the democrats learn by the loss of Cockley

[Carmen813]

And you still have money problems? You don't know enough people.

Sadly they aren't those types of meds...and I'm not going to break the law even if they were.

 

[werepossum]

Sadly they aren't those types of meds...and I'm not going to break the law even if they were.

Seriously, good for you.

 

[Ozoned]

then its medicaid, foodstamps, welfare, pubic housing, free cheese. and if there are kids in the family, there is WIC involved as well.

yea that will teach them!!! oh wait we still pay for it.

so which one is less money? i really can not understand why people think this way.

Why should your kids that just graduated from college and have nothing except $200,000 in student loans to pay back have to pay (in the form of taxes for social programs) for my fat ass neighbors wife and her $200,000 a year in healthcare costs while they live in a nice completly paid for house, and live off of the nice inheritance that they have in the bank?

Maybe you think this is a better investment for your kids income.

i really can not understand why people think this way,

 

[Carmen813]

Why should your kids that just graduated from college and have nothing except $200,000 in student loans to pay back have to pay (in the form of taxes for social programs) for my fat ass neighbors wife and her $200,000 a year in healthcare costs while they live in a nice completly paid for house, and live off of the nice inheritance that they have in the bank?

Maybe you think this is a better investment for your kids income.

i really can not understand why people think this way,

I'm not sure what you are trying to say....but in order to be eligible for any of the programs he mentioned the situation you described is not possible. You should really look into the income requirements for things like Medicaid, Food Stamps, ect...they are strict.

 

[Ozoned]

I'll do my best to not let my kids get sick at the worst possible moment in their career development, thanks for the tip. Though I do suggest you spend some time learning how insurance actually works.

Anyway, I don't really want a handout. I just want things to be a little easier. I could afford $300-$350 a month for insurance for the two of us. It's just when it's costing as much, or more, than my rent for the month that I start getting pissed. I may end up going with a high deductible plan (see hnyhealthcore.com for the ones I'm considering), at least that way if we have a relapse we won't be totally financially screwed. I'm just concerned about my wife's prescriptions and some recurrent tonsillitis she has.

You advocate for a government solution for pre-existing conditions, and for cheaper insurance. The only way this could benefit you is if they can deliver it at a cost less than what you pay out of your pocket. This means somebody else pays. That is called a handout.

 

[PJABBER]

Double post, see below.

 

[Carmen813]

You advocate for a government solution for pre-existing conditions, and for cheaper insurance. The only way this could benefit you is if they can deliver it at a cost less than what you pay out of your pocket. This means somebody else pays. That is called a handout.

It's called insurance. If you paid premiums for your entire working career and then got sick, you would not pay anything near the total cost of your care. Statistically you will get sick at some point and require care, it's only a matter of when. In that case, you will be a "drain" on the system just as I am today. You will be getting "handouts" from others.

The costs of health care are incredible. After a cancer diagnosis you will easily run up bills of $500,000, and that's low balling it for a "cheap" cancer like the one I had. 2/3 men will get cancer at some point during their lifetime, so it's not such a crazy situation. That's just one illness, and doesn't include a multitude of other illnesses.

If you think those with pre-existing conditions aren't worth covering, than I suppose that is a perfectly valid opinion. Just don't make the mistake of assuming you will avoid the same fate.

 

[Ozoned]

I'm not sure what you are trying to say....but in order to be eligible for any of the programs he mentioned the situation you described is not possible. You should really look into the income requirements for things like Medicaid, Food Stamps, ect...they are strict.

The situation I described will be the norm if the government takes over the health care industry.

 

[PJABBER]

The work is not mandatory for my degree program. However I do get paid around $20 an hour to work 16 hours a week. That's pretty damn good money for a graduate student, but the hours make another job sort of impossible..or at least difficult. I can cut my living expenses some...but not anywhere near enough to pay for the insurance. Working two jobs is an option and I'm starting to think about it as a last resort, but I'm not exactly what I'd call healthy and it's hard enough just doing my part-time job and school. It's more important long term that I do well in my master's program.

*Edit* Forgot to point out that because I was offered a full scholarship, I am not eligible for work-study on campus. I would need to find an extremely flexible second job off-campus, I'm debating going to work as a checkout clerk at a grocery store. If that can give me benefits and only require like 8-16 hours a week it might be doable.

My wife will be looking for a job again soon, right now she is trying to finish her BA. She has significantly more medical problems than I do, but she can work full-time....hell, that's how we lived for the past year. I don't really care about being the low wage earner.

Eventually I will need to take a full-time position as an intern to graduate, probably this time next year. That's when my finances will really be a disaster since that position won't be paid.

I currently have relatively minimal medical expenses, but my wife receives lots of prescriptions for chronic pain. I need a PET scan once a year and my doctors like to take my blood every time they see me (*cough* malpractice concerns).

$20 an hour for a student is good, but the limited schedule of 16 hours a week ensures you are going to be living on the edge. If you can double the number of hours you should still have enough time to get classes and homework in and keep your grades up. Maybe dropping one class of your course load each semester will keep you financially viable and still let you finish the degree on a reasonable schedule.

The ideal is to keep your class schedule on all evenings or all days and work a part time/half-time job Monday through Friday. Use your weekends to put in a solid 16 hours of paid work in and study the rest of the time.

Start looking for more/maybe higher paid work NOW, devoting at least an hour or two a day if possible. Do not get caught up with a benefit package yet as you really need cash flow it seems.

Unless you and your wife are raising kids that are not in school themselves now, she should have at least a part time job on the same schedule as you do. Two incomes will really help. If she graduates soon she needs to look for good full time employment now before the graduation and summer vacation rush. Some companies will hire her part-time now if they are guaranteed her employment availability on graduation - public and private utilities, telcoms do this, especially if she will work in customer service. Also, the benefits with these kind of employers are usually very good. BTW, make sure she is buying meds at the least cost, ie Walmart. I was going to propose she buy pharma in Mexico, but that is a bit far from NY.

When you shop for an internship, do your absolute best to get one that pays real money. DO NOT WORK FOR FREE. Those are only for students that have Daddy paying for tuition, room and board. I paid all of my interns (international business grad students) around $6,000 per term AND paid for their class credit and was glad for the research and language skills they brought to the business. I always had at least one intern on staff, they are way cheaper than permanent employees and often brought in experience we did not have on staff.

Start looking for good internships NOW. Define your ideal job for internship and shop yourself to prospective employers now so that they can budget for you - I needed to budget six months in advance for internships, some companies require a budget a year in advance.

Sorry for posting such a long lecture. I have interviewed a lot of interns over the years and was regularly amazed that so few did not have a good income generating plan when they needed to pay their own way. And these were all business students!

 

[Carmen813]

$20 an hour for a student is good, but the limited schedule of 16 hours a week ensures you are going to be living on the edge. If you can double the number of hours you should still have enough time to get classes and homework in and keep your grades up. Maybe dropping one class of your course load each semester will keep you financially viable and still let you finish the degree on a reasonable schedule.

The ideal is to keep your class schedule on all evenings or all days and work a part time/half-time job Monday through Friday. Use your weekends to put in a solid 16 hours of paid work in and study the rest of the time.

Start looking for more/maybe higher paid work NOW, devoting at least an hour or two a day if possible. Do not get caught up with a benefit package yet as you really need cash flow it seems.

Unless your girlfriend is raising kids that are not in school themselves now, she should have at least a part time job on the same schedule as you do. Two incomes will really help. If she graduates soon she needs to look for good full time employment now before the graduation and summer vacation rush. Some companies will hire her part-time now if they are guaranteed her employment availability on graduation - public and private utilities, telcoms do this, especially if she will work in customer service. Also, the benefits with these kind of employers are usually very good.

When you shop for an internship, do your absolute best to get one that pays real money. DO NOT WORK FOR FREE. Those are only for students that have Daddy paying for tuition, room and board. I paid all of my interns (international business grad students) around $6,000 per term AND paid for their class credit and was glad for the research and language skills they brought to the business. I always had at least one intern on staff, they are way cheaper than permanent employees and often brought in experience we did not have on staff.

Start looking for good internships NOW. Define your ideal job for internship and shop yourself to prospective employers now so that they can budget for you - I needed to budget six months in advance for internships, some companies require a budget a year in advance.

Sorry for posting such a long lecture. I have interviewed a lot of interns over the years and was regularly amazed that so few did not have a good income generating plan when they needed to pay their own way. And these were all business students!

My wife and I don't have kids (thank god.) She will receive unemployment soon, but we're hoping not to use it for more month or two.

I appreciate the input. My classes are all at night, and my day job is from usually 1:30 - 4:30 (some of those hours are done at home, so the flexibility helps). Obviously, I've got some time where I can work. I'm thinking 16 hours on the weekend is doable. If I can pull in another $400 or so a month we'd be golden.

I'm not sure it's possible to get a paid internship in my field (Mental Health Counseling). I haven't heard of it. It's not really a high paying field, 35k-50k is probably about all I can hope for. That said if I can maintain good grades, I've got a good shot at getting an internship at the VA. That can lead to a paid position immediately after graduating, which would be incredibly good (the VA pays counselors much better than other businesses)

 

[spidey07]

The work is not mandatory for my degree program. However I do get paid around $20 an hour to work 16 hours a week. That's pretty damn good money for a graduate student, but the hours make another job sort of impossible..or at least difficult. I can cut my living expenses some...but not anywhere near enough to pay for the insurance. Working two jobs is an option and I'm starting to think about it as a last resort, but I'm not exactly what I'd call healthy and it's hard enough just doing my part-time job and school. It's more important long term that I do well in my master's program.

*Edit* Forgot to point out that because I was offered a full scholarship, I am not eligible for work-study on campus. I would need to find an extremely flexible second job off-campus, I'm debating going to work as a checkout clerk at a grocery store. If that can give me benefits and only require like 8-16 hours a week it might be doable.

My wife will be looking for a job again soon, right now she is trying to finish her BA. She has significantly more medical problems than I do, but she can work full-time....hell, that's how we lived for the past year. I don't really care about being the low wage earner.

Eventually I will need to take a full-time position as an intern to graduate, probably this time next year. That's when my finances will really be a disaster since that position won't be paid.

I currently have relatively minimal medical expenses, but my wife receives lots of prescriptions for chronic pain. I need a PET scan once a year and my doctors like to take my blood every time they see me (*cough* malpractice concerns).

Real life is hard. Get to work. I am seriously questioning why you got married if you could not provide for each other.

I hate to be a hard ass, but you put yourself in this situation. Now get a better job and get to work. I did it, so can you. You're scared of the real world, you're still a student, still a child. Get to work.

I know it seems like I'm trolling but this is how a child thinks, that one needs assistance from the parent. Get to work. It sucks, just do it.

-edit-
Just re-read your post. People like you piss me the fuck off. Learn how to take care of yourself and get that second or 3rd job to make ends meet. There are part-time jobs that offer health insurance benefits. Go find them. Get off your ass and pick yourself up.

 

[Carmen813]

Real life is hard. Get to work.

Thanks for the tip. I really need to get to work on that program that gives people cancer over the internet, see what kind of tough talk they can muster when their veins are on fire, their ass is bleeding, and their voice is completely gone from puking.



Anyway I was just venting a bit. Time to go do something productive.

 

[PJABBER]

My wife and I don't have kids (thank god.) She will receive unemployment soon, but we're hoping not to use it for more month or two.

I appreciate the input. My classes are all at night, and my day job is from usually 1:30 - 4:30 (some of those hours are done at home, so the flexibility helps). Obviously, I've got some time where I can work. I'm thinking 16 hours on the weekend is doable. If I can pull in another $400 or so a month we'd be golden.

I'm not sure it's possible to get a paid internship in my field (Mental Health Counseling). I haven't heard of it. It's not really a high paying field, 35k-50k is probably about all I can hope for. That said if I can maintain good grades, I've got a good shot at getting an internship at the VA. That can lead to a paid position immediately after graduating, which would be incredibly good (the VA pays counselors much better than other businesses)

Ugh, mental health counseling really doesn't pay that much at first. Reading this forum you should be able to pick out more than a few clients for distance counseling, though.

The VA, and any other federal health service, will be good career wise. As will the various state mental health agencies.

Have you checked out the UPHS? They are hiring and are excellent employers with good salaries and excellent benefits.

http://www.usphs.gov/
http://www.usphs.gov/Articles/Dod.aspx
http://www.usphs.gov/Profession/Behavioral/default.aspx

 

[Carmen813]

Thanks for the links PJABBER, I'll check them out. I've also considered working with the FBI as a Disaster Response Counselor. The field doesn't pay much, but I knew that when I chose it.

 

[PJABBER]

Thanks for the links PJABBER, I'll check them out. I've also considered working with the FBI as a Disaster Response Counselor. The field doesn't pay much, but I knew that when I chose it.

You can get more listings of current federal jobs here, including internships I believe. It is not a comprehensive listing as different agencies might maintain separate hiring registries, but clicking through by likely agency will let you know.

http://www.usajobs.gov/

Good luck!

 

[OrByte]

Real life is hard. Get to work. I am seriously questioning why you got married if you could not provide for each other.

I hate to be a hard ass, but you put yourself in this situation. Now get a better job and get to work. I did it, so can you. You're scared of the real world, you're still a student, still a child. Get to work.

I know it seems like I'm trolling but this is how a child thinks, that one needs assistance from the parent. Get to work. It sucks, just do it.

-edit-
Just re-read your post. People like you piss me the fuck off. Learn how to take care of yourself and get that second or 3rd job to make ends meet. There are part-time jobs that offer health insurance benefits. Go find them. Get off your ass and pick yourself up.

I told you Carmen!

You didnt work hard enough
You didnt sacrifice enough
You aren't successful enough

These are all your choices!! You choose to be poor.

Go get those 3 4 or 5 jobs like the rest of the republicans on this board! So that way you can be a good, millionaire, anglo-model bangin, faithful christian GOPer like the rest of them.

Us democrats....we must be wired funny to want to suffer and choose to suffer all the time!

 

[spidey07]

I told you Carmen!

You didnt work hard enough
You didnt sacrifice enough
You aren't successful enough

These are all your choices!! You choose to be poor.

Go get those 3 4 or 5 jobs like the rest of the republicans on this board! So that way you can be a good, millionaire, anglo-model bangin, faithful christian GOPer like the rest of them.

Us democrats....we must be wired funny to want to suffer and choose to suffer all the time!

I've been so fucking poor I worried about eating that day. And paying the 100/mo to live in a room just to have a roof over my head wondering why the oriental dude in the same house kept cooking chicken necks and rice every night. And the pizza delivery guy that was so fucking baked every night I wonder how he ever got to work. Yeah, I didn't know their names.

If my lazy ass can make it, anybody can. I guess I was raised by different folk, where taking assistance was a disgrace. My dad did grow up in the great depression so I thank him for what he taught me.

 

[PJABBER]

I've been so fucking poor I worried about eating that day. And paying the 100/mo to live in a room just to have a roof over my head wondering why the oriental dude in the same house kept cooking chicken necks and rice every night. And the pizza delivery guy that was so fucking baked every night I wonder how he ever got to work. Yeah, I didn't know their names.

If my lazy ass can make it, anybody can. I guess I was raised by different folk, where taking assistance was a disgrace. My dad did grow up in the great depression so I thank him for what he taught me.

Being really, really poor builds both character and characters.

 

[Carmen813]

PJABBER,
Reminds me a T-shirt I saw at some young adult cancer survivor website that stated something along the lines of "There are easier ways to build character." Always makes me laugh *Edit* Just to clarify, wasn't trying to sound like I think I'm special.

I think something that gets lost a lot when we talk about welfare type programs is that a lot of the people on these programs do want to give back. There is a sense of pride that comes with knowing that you chipped in. Sure, there are people who game the system...but I feel they are the minority. My mother in law is a counselor...one of the things her agency does is loan out books. People have to pay five bucks for them before they can take them out. You'd be amazed how often someone will show up with a big smile on their face and $0.17 to chip towards their book...people like having pride in their accomplishments.

Anyway, my situation sucks, but there are people a hell of a lot worse off than I am. At least I am in a position where I can do something about it.

I don't think Republicans are evil people who don't care about the poor, and I don't think Democrats have all the answers (or even the right ones). Frankly, and I think a lot of other people would agree with this, I am sick of demagoguery.

 

[OrByte]

Being really, really poor builds both character and characters.

is there any room for building sympathy?

or are we just concerned about character building?

seems to me Spidey and Carmen should be able to relate on all sorts of levels based on the hardships eachother endured.

instead...all we get is condescension, which is typical around here.

nah....nevermind. My heart isnt even in this exchange.... cheerio!

 

[Nemesis 1]

Stop being corporate whores and tying to pass it off as populism. People are not stupid.

Stop treating terrorists as criminals worthy of our constitutional protections. Kill and/or imprison them until war is done.

Zebo this one is for you.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s21bWLFtAoA&feature=fvw

 

[Carmen813]

is there any room for building sympathy?

or are we just concerned about character building?

seems to me Spidey and Carmen should be able to relate on all sorts of levels based on the hardships eachother endured.

instead...all we get is condescension, which is typical around here.

nah....nevermind. My heart isnt even in this exchange.... cheerio!

Not every conversation on this forum takes place in public.

One of the areas I struggle in as a counseling student is trying to relate with people who have different backgrounds. So, that's what I'm working on.

 

[Carmen813]

Ugh, mental health counseling really doesn't pay that much at first. Reading this forum you should be able to pick out more than a few clients for distance counseling, though.

The VA, and any other federal health service, will be good career wise. As will the various state mental health agencies.

Have you checked out the UPHS? They are hiring and are excellent employers with good salaries and excellent benefits.

http://www.usphs.gov/
http://www.usphs.gov/Articles/Dod.aspx
http://www.usphs.gov/Profession/Behavioral/default.aspx

God those links had me so excited so I started the pre-screening qualifier:

In general, the following medical diagnoses or conditions are disqualifying. There are occasions in which very mild, non-progressive, or asymptomatic forms of some diseases may be permitted an interval of observation (a "Medical Limited Tour"), subject to reevaluation after a trial period on active duty.

1. Diabetes, types I and II (and prediabetes to frank diabetes due to multiple other risk factors, such as overweight, hyperlipidemia, or hypertension).


2. HIV, Hepatitis C, or other serious chronic infections and associated diseases.


3. Inability to see or hear or potentially-progressive diseases leading to blindness or deafness.


4. Ulcerative colitis or Crohn's Disease (exception: well-controlled ulcerative proctitis).


5. Presence of extensive orthopedic hardware (e.g., spinal fusion devices; artificial joints; any screws, rods or pins which cause pain or other symptoms).


6. Any significant alteration of essential internal organs (e.g., gastric bypass surgery, cirrhosis, colectomy, tracheotomy).


7. Cardiovascular disease, including atherosclerosis or any condition requiring implanted devices or anticoagulation.


8. Chronic pain syndromes (anything which requires daily medication or therapy; e.g., low back pain; fibromyalgia).


9. Any malignancies or pre-malignancies (other than basal cell or squamous cell cancer of skin), unless in remission with no evidence of recurrence for at least 5 years. This may include cervical dysplasia.

Son of a bitch. I'm at 3 years right now so maybe when I graduate I'll be eligible. See what I'm talking about?

 

[werepossum]

God those links had me so excited so I started the pre-screening qualifier:



Son of a bitch. I'm at 3 years right now so maybe when I graduate I'll be eligible. See what I'm talking about?

So the freakin' Public Health Service is requiring that applicants be cancer fee for five years?

Sheesh. I can't wait until these guys control my health care.

 

[Carmen813]

So the freakin' Public Health Service is requiring that applicants be cancer fee for five years?

Sheesh. I can't wait until these guys control my health care.

It's a uniformed branch, similar to how the military services are run...which means it has similar criteria for health and physical fitness. In fact its benefits are nearly identical to those of an officer/enlisted person in the armed forces.

They don't list Licensed Mental Health Counselors as one of the positions they hire, but sometimes you can fit in under "Health Services." I'm going to look into it because I had originally planned on a career in the Air Force. This looks really, really cool.