News – The number of newly laid off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits shot up unexpectedly last week, rising to the highest level in two months. The Labor Department reported that unemployment claims totaled 324,000 last week. Analysts said that the increase did not change their view that the labor market remains healthy.
Technically it is my choice that I do not currently have health insurance, but it is not a choice I am pleased about. Nor is it much of a choice.
My income is too low to afford the monthly payments, but I have too much in savings to qualify for govt aid.
More income would help, and I have been working on this. I do earn more than a few years ago- but not nearly enough. I am trying, but my successes are small.
I am not always in good health. I go to the doctor. Ohio does have a prescription discount program for low income, which helps.
Oh, yes, I could always blow my savings so I have no assets to qualify for government help, but I choose not to.
BelaVrana-
tsk, tsk, tsk.
Summer is here. That means the sun is up longer. You do not need electricity for light at night. Use the computer at friend's house or at library. Eat only fresh foods, that way you do not need the fridge. Barbecue if you must eat hot food.
In the winter, store food outside for refrigeration. Get rid of the fridge altogether. This will save you money. Close off all the bedrooms of the house. All the family can live and sleep in one large room such as the living room. People did that 150 yrs ago, you can do that now.
All of these are cost saving ideas so you can afford insurance and stop annoying saintid1@te with your whining.
"without healthcare by choice"????
you're crazy. no one is without healthcare by choice. I don't know what "young and in good health" people you know, but none I know want to be without health care.
They aren't stupid, they know a car accident means a trip to the ER they can't afford. And any dental work is out of the question.
saintetienne- having an education and job skills isn't a gaurentee one will get a job. why? because the jobs aren't there. I don't live in NYC, but I live in the area. I was born here and educated here. I didn't move here thinking "wow, that's the place to be!"
That's the story of most of the people that live in the NYC metro area, we've lived here all our lives, we're second or third generationers. And we can't afford it any more. Many are moving away. Others would like to but can't find anyone to buy their homes. And they can't afford to move until that is done.
cont.
Basing how healthy the labor market is on unemployment claims has always been stupid. What about all the people that had their unemployment benefits run out?
After 9/11, many businesses took a big hit here. My sister was an exec VP in an industry she had worked in for almost 30 yrs. Her company went under. So did many others in her industry. She had to take a waitress job & lost her home.
She went back to school to get another degree in a new field, did get a new job, but is starting low. She's only making 60% of what she made before. And with no health insurance. Her husband had a stroke last year, he can't work anymore. Oh yeah, it's their choice alright to be without healthcare.
Next time you're in Walmart, Target, etc. or a grocery store during the day, look at who is working there. Middle aged people. At minimum, or slightly above, wage. They aren't doing it because they're bored. They're doing it because they *have* to.
You live in a fanstasy land.
No, I live in the U. S. The "fantasy world" is cooked up by people like you who feel everyone in this country DESERVES to own a home, have a six-figure job, a new car every 3 years, eat well, travel everywhere, have all the latest toys and gadgetry for the kids, a coffee slurpee every day & a retirement fund.
GET REAL
Do you realize that even a person of moderate income in this country is in the upper 15% of human beings on this Earth, in terms of wealth, quality of life and life expectancy?
We've become a nation of whiners and complainers because we can't "keep up with the Joneses", or whatever bullcrapp is being sold to us on dumb-o-vision. Meanwhile, the other 85% of the people on Earth go to bed hungry, with no car, no home, no vacations twice a year and, here's the real kicker, no coffee slurpee! That's right, no Starbucks!
Try being grateful for what you've got, and that you're in this country, and not one of THEIR skanky countries.
people like me?
you made a lot of assumptions about me. none of which are true. No where did I EVER even IMPLY that "everyone in this country DESERVES to own a home, have a six-figure job, a new car every 3 years, eat well, travel everywhere, have all the latest toys and gadgetry for the kids, a coffee slurpee every day & a retirement fund."
guess what? the only thing I have on that list is a house. And I got the down payment from inherited money. I've only had one new car in my life and it lasted 16 yrs.
I dislike Starbucks, btw. I do my best to "keep down from the Joneses." I know full well about the problems of the rest of world. Check my history of comments. I've gotten nasty replies when I've pointed out the wealth of our country vs. the poverty of others.
What did I write that hinted I wasn't grateful in anyway for what I have? That's right, nothing.
I challenge you to find something in my comments to back up your attack on me.
Hey pal - now you are full of it and I'm going to blast your silly french nonsense. Clowns like you love to spout out these meaningless unsubstantiated figures "the other 85%". Why don't you try to compare our figures to the other "First World" countries? You won't like what you see.
I won't settle for less than our people living better than 100% of the rest of the world and having better health care than the rest of the world. And I mean all of our people.
Anything less is defeatism. Don't ever think that 85% is good enough.Oh,and please provide proof of that figure.
Meanwhile, the leader of the pack of predatory sub-prime lenders, Mr. Arnall, head of Ameriquest, gets an Ambassadorship. Oh yes, he did contribute about $8 million to the Bush campaign.
The sub-prime lenders contributed a total of about 200 million to both democrats and republicans. Wonder why there has been so little oversite of the industry and why there are so many forclusures now?
Ummm....because people were stupid, didn't educate themselves in real estate and money and property management, and they gambled with their futures and took a chance? Could that be it?
Any ding-a-ling with half a brain and one eye open could see the foolishness of the real estate "boom".
I think some people are just born victims and will always be victims.
It is silly to expect professional responsibility from bankers. How absurd.
We need MORE forcloses. We need MORE failures of lending institutions. We need MORE opportunities for the elite to suck money from the suckers that don't know how to use it.
We need more wild banking. After all, those fine banking practices lead directly to the crash of 1893 (largest economic crash in the countries histroy) that in turn lead to such wonderful investment opportunities.
Thank you for the information, iwant.
Maybe now some people will realize it's not the "GOVERNMENT" or the "EVIL CORPORATIONS" who are responsible for how people are. It's people THEMSELVES.
But that wouuld require growing up and accepting personal responsibility, and very few people do that these days.
Somehow I can't help but think, that since you've only really made about one valid point in all your thrashing, arguing, and namecalling, is that someone has pushed your buttons here and you're but just another corporate pig that can't stand up to the pressure of having someone tell you to stick it, that you have no control over. How close am I?
Not very.
You can tell me to stick it all you want, but at the end of the day I'm happy, wealthy, well-fed, healthy, still young, have a great body, am well-traveled, well-read, have a great family and fantastic friends and have many personal goals and projects I'm working toward to better myself and increase my breadth of knowledge. I even dress cool.
You, on the other hand, have your rusty trailer, your whiskey bottle and "American Idol". Congratulations.
Not a member? Sign-up today!
MacBookForMe
hatukabu
maneetion
hyooo25
nopatacious
harleyb761960
slashup67
rontravel
yarrkz24
Raiderwall
Varadinum
xikuraco
umiveqa
arekybi
ojyxena
geroqyhu
disecuwa
rolupica
ekizuqo
cysepova
amedubi
holigyne
adelivu
qilla
uncogito
justgotmarried
Radiofreeeuropa
RussianThreats
rebner
CrackTheSky
dandt1612
ispf
jesse60
idgoter
prevgofreka
saikarthikreddy
elenaadler
wroger
Yonkiemonster2
nbdd
trevnor
public20
dampalnews
dougsmith39
trnscndr
Redtail
161)
gireen,
I was one of those 40-50 million for 3 years AND I HAD NO CHOICE, so spare us your platitudes. As far as Medicaid is concerned, those people are usually underemployed or beyond employment (children and elderly) and they are insured, hence Medicaid. There's nothing like welfare any longer so don't even go there.
As for my case, my career has been outsourced AND nobody's hiring old guys (I'm over 50) other than to fill grocery bags at the local supermarket. There is age discrimination allthough it's extremly hard to prove. Nothing like putting "over 20 years experience" in your resume, or having to put your birthday on ANY application form to give one a reality check.
Platitudes???
Breaker threw out the numbers 40 - 50 million uninsured. If we are going to have an exchange of ideas should we just accept those numbers at face value or should we examine them and see what the numbers mean and what trends may exist within the groups of people that comprise this set of numbers? I haven't had health insurance for over 25 years because my employer (Uncle Sam) takes care of my health needs. So am I considered one of the 40 - 50 million uninsured?
If we as a country perceive this as a problem then we need to look at the problem, break it apart, and develop appropriate solutions. Not everyone needs or wants health insurance. People make choices. As far as Medicaid, these folks, just like me are taken care of by the Federal government, so if you are going to include them into the 40 -50 million then people should know their true status.
gireen,
If you have ANY health provider, be it Uncle Sam or Aetna, you're considered insured.
True, not everyone opts to have health insurance for various reasons, but the primary reason it's realtive expensive for the individual. I've known married couples that don't share health insurance because it's cheaper for each to pay, be it through their employer or individually, their own. At this moment in time, I have health coverage through Medicare but my wife has zilch. If she needs ANY operation she goes to Panama and pays for it, albeit at a substantial savings vis-a-vis American providers. I hate to think that she'd need an emergency procedure where she couldn't go to Panama to take care of it. Why, you may ask, doesn't she get insurance? Because it's not in our budget and she works in a 2 person business. My daughter is covered ONLY when she attends the university AND if she gets sick there, at a minimal cost of $150 per semester. My wife is one of the 40 million
I keep my fingers crossed all the time. Fortunately for myself, I've been lucky. When I began my last job 3 years ago, I was given a physical that found I had arythmia. Since I was already a cardiac patient and my cardiologist had taken care of me at cost - mainly lab work and EKG's 3 -4 times a year - he went out of his way to call in favors for 2 operations; one for a stent another for a difribulator. This occured when I had to get his okay to return to work, which he denied because of the severity of my arythmia (I had triple bypass in 94). I told him I had no way of paying him or the hospital. I'm forever thankfull, but between those 2 operations and January of this year I and my family went without any health insurance. Anything could have happened to anyone of us and we would have been screwed in more ways than one. This country's too wealthy financially and socially to have over 15% of its people in dire straits healthwise.
Oh cry me a RIVER!!!
When did Nutscape become a repository for people's personal problems?!?
Could we get back to the issue, er...NON-issue, of the jobless claims rising by a nano-percentage of a point?
Sheesh, talk about off-topic.....
etienne,
Go crawl back under the small pebble you popped up from.
You want to join a discussion you first have to learn to make a logical argument keeping personal out of them. In other words, behave your self.
Life is pretty good in your self-absorbed little bubble, isn't it?
It's great! I'm sorry you didn't have the gumption, the drive or the intelligence to create a good life for yourself.
Oh well, some people are just born losers with a victim mentality and a perpetually poor attitude. Don't know what I can do to help you, but good luck!
Are you naturally an a**hole? Or do you work hard to be one? I am middle class. A shrinking part of America.
I'm done with you, jerk!
I'll bet you are a real loser. Just reading your excuses for posts is entertaining for both the lack of substance and intelligence.
Oh, and if you are going to try to be a tough guy, don't use a moniker that makes you appear to be a French kitty like Pepe LePew.
loverman,
I understand what you are saying. But let's go back to Breaker's original premise, that the 40 - 50 million uninsured are a symptom of a weak economy. "If our economy was so good we would not have a record number of Home foreclosures.
40-50 millions Americans without healthcare".
Statistically 40-50 m ppl are approx 15% of the U.S. population out of approx 300 mil. I would contend that without a careful examination, the lack of health insurance for these folks tells us nothing about the true state of the economy. Economics 101: the economy is the sum of the human activities related with the production, distribution, exchange, and consumption of goods and services. So without a careful examination the 40-50 mil is just empty numbers (granted, not for those that need health insurance and they fall bwtn the cracks in the system). Therefore, Breakers statement is the real platitude because it doesn't prove anything; it is just an unsupported statement.
gireen,
I understand what you're driving at. The real meaning of the 40 uninsured is not just economics, but it's not about individual choices either. You, sir, are correct.
loverman,
By the way it is not "gireen" the correct spelling is "Gyrene". The term came about during WWII when people started referring to soldiers as G.I.'s. Marines don't like being called soldiers (that refers to Army doggies). Gyrene came about as folks started combining the term G.I with the word Marine, hence "Gyrene".
Gyrene,
That'll teach me to not assume and go to my dictionary. Thanks.
BTW, you didn't happen to serve in Vietnam did you? I had some schoolmates who did post 69 in Danang.
I missed Vietnam, I enlisted in 74.
Gyrene,
You got lucky. One of my schoolmate came back twisted. He said he saw things he couldn't tell anybody. I never learned what those things were and I lost contact with him more than 30 years ago.
Oh horrors!! The dreaded "saw things he couldn't tell anybody" !!!
It's a testament to what a non-issue this jobless claims story is, when the discussion has devolved to being about some loser schoolmate's of loverman's Vietnam war stories.
God you people truly have NOTHING to do, do you?
You obviously don't either. I do, but effing with you is my entertainment tonight.
etienne,
You must be going for a record on 2 fronts; pi$$ing people off and getting more negative votes and comments on Netscape.
Go f8ck yourself.
If anybody wants I will describe things that can't be talked about...
Do you think saintetienne would like it?
crespi:
"If anybody wants I will describe things that can't be talked about...Do you think saintetienne would like it?"
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE describe the things that can't be talked about.
Part of the story being a non issue is how little of the picture it truly represents.
loverman,
WAAAAAAAHHHHHH! My heart BLEEDS for you! Your career's been outsourced! You're over 50! You've experienced age discrimination!!!!!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Here's a reality check, ya big crybaby: LIFE IS UNFAIR! WAAAAAAHHHHH!!!
So what are you going to do about it, huh?
- Go back to school? No, you say you're too old for that.
- Find a new job and work hard, to improve your lot? No, you lack gumption for that.
- Learn new skills to make yourself more marketable? No, you seem too lazy for that.
- Start a business of your own? No, you seem too stupid for that.
You're right, lovelessman, there's nothing you can do but sit in the corner and chew on wet cigarettes like a dog, waiting for the government to save you.
But cheer up. There's still time to make something of your life. Something BIG! Why, one day, you may even stop a bullet meant for the PRESIDENT! Wouldn't that be fun?!?
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!
etienne,
YOU'RE AN A$$HOLE. GO SKREW YOURSELF TO A FLOATING PIECE OF HORSE MANURE.
"Screw" is spelled with a "c", not a "k".
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
etienne,
And ass is spelled with "s" not "$". How's your mental myopia?