09:48 – Spain has as much as said that it will require a full bailout imminently, although as a sop to their pride they’re calling their request a “bridging loan”. A bridge to nowhere. And Germany, Finland, and the Netherlands have as much as said that they’re finished subsidizing Greece. The next couple of months are going to be interesting, in the sense of the old Chinese curse.
What I find amusing is that nearly everyone is missing the point. They blame the so-called “austerity” measures for crushing the economies of the bailed-out countries. In reality, they’re misattributing the symptoms of the underlying disease to side effects of the treatment. The tanking economies of these countries are in the toilet not because of the mild austerity measures being enforced on them, but as a result of a decade or more of irresponsible spending and assuming commitments that were and are impossible to meet.
Austerity measures on the level necessary would in fact solve the problems. They would also reduce Greece, Portugal, Spain, and eventually Italy to the living standards of third-world countries. But that reduction in living standards is inevitable no matter what is or isn’t done. These countries partied on borrowed money for a decade. Now the money has run out, and no one is willing to lend them more. It reminds me of the days shortly after the Cuban revolution, when the USSR was heavily subsidizing Cuba.
Cuba: Send money!
USSR: Tighten belts!
Cuba: Send belts!
Due to the obesity epidemic, there should be plenty of no longer used, undersized belts available.
Austerity measures are happening in the USA also. I keep on noticing that prices for hard goods like food, gasoline and cars are jumping like crazy. Milk is $3/gal here. Wages are NOT rising and in fact are dropping as the labor market is gradually responding to the foreign competition. I highly doubt that we will reach the Chinese level of labor pricing but all the blue collar and low end white collar wages are dropping by 50%. I am hoping that they do not go down by 75% as that may be another civil war tipping point.
My daughter’s best friend just graduated from Texas Tech with a degree in Architecture and is desperately hunting for a job. When she does get a job, it will be in the $10 to $15/hour range. Maybe with benefits. She has been temping for 1 to 2 days per weeks at $15/hour contract. That means she pays her own FICA, etc.
And it’s not like the Greek problems have been solved.. they’re getting WORSE, as expected. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/24/us-eurozone-greece-idUSBRE86N11D20120724?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&rpc=71&google_editors_picks=true
The guy I share my office with at work has been there (with the organization) on and off, but mostly on, either as a temp contractor or a permanent employee, since Y2k. No raise. Minimal health insurance.
And Mrs. OFD and I discovered tonight that I have been paying a pretty good chunk of change for the past year-plus for health insurance for her, me and our daughter. Turns out there is virtually no medical institution here in northern New England that participates in the wonderful plan I have, and any who will actually see us for anything more than a hangnail are likely to charge us up front and then we are supposed to try and wring that money from the insurance company later ourselves, ha, ha.
We found this out because she had gone to an optometrist a year ago who told her the partial blockage in her left eye vision was “nothing” and the result of “ageing.” It has since gotten worse to the extent that now she can’t see out of the middle of her eye and is terrified of going blind, for obvious reasons, but also because she is a visual artist. She knows from medical stuff, having been the Medicaid/Managed Care Director for the state here for ten years. From what she can find out so far she would need some kind of laser surgery to fix this. She is also considering suing the original medico who blew her off.
So now we have this on top of being in the middle of trying to buy a house during the weeks when I am covering for every Tom, Dick and Harry’s apparently endless vay-cay and personal time at work and pulling nightly O.T. now after a full day. Meanwhile the part of our team that is down in upstate NY has half the responsibilities and number of systems to support yet keeps hiring people left and right. While I pretty much work alone AND help to cover their shit, too.
We will figure it all out and deal with it, but man, when it rains, it pours. Speaking of which, massive t-storms here yesterday and last night; 17k people without power (not us, but our internet was down, big surprise, since it goes down instantly whenever a dark cloud appears on the distant horizon and STAYS down for hours afterward). Some areas had one-inch hail and 60MPH gusts. Algore, check your messages.
Can you opt out the company’s insurance and just buy your own?
That is probably what we’re gonna have to do, though it will cost us dearly, to the tune of $700-800/month. If Mrs. OFD has to have surgery for that, or I have to get my head examined for not finding a better way around all this shit long before now, the insurance will pay for itself in a year or two or three, maybe.
Like lots of other things, one makes out pretty good if one is insanely wealthy, or dirt-poor and illegal. Those of us in middle carry those two groups one way or another and eat shit.
I also like noticing that I should have put the word “the” before the word “middle” just exactly as I hit the Post Comment button.
OK, this guy must be related to OFD and Bob:
71 year old Man shoots robbers – Caught on tape!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Mm9o3vhKoF8
Hmmm, I pay $2500 officially for health care per year. There’s a government subsidy of around $500 pa and as the Medicare levy comes nowhere near covering costs I pay some more through general taxation.
As always the US healthcare system mystifies me.
I’m gonna take a wild guess and figure that our yearly cost is gonna end up being around ten grand. Four times what you pay in Oz, with no subsidy from Uncle. This system mystifies us, too, and then every so often an administration comes along, usually from the hard Left, to push a new and “better” massive system that will fix everything for us. HILLARYcare failed back in the day, but Nosferatu II and his minions have finally put a sort of capstone on their Long March with this latest caper at the SCOTUS.
My healthcare premiums are $1,200 a month of which I pay $350.00 for myself and my wife. It is a high deductible plan where the insurance pays nothing until I have paid $4,000 at which time they pay 80%. Once I have reach $8,000 then insurance will pay 100%.
Only one year in the last 10 has insurance paid anything. That was last year when my wife had hip replacement surgery. I also had some stuff done that I had put off as the $8K was quickly reached and my stuff was effectively at no cost to me. Had three back injections at $1800 each and a couple of MRI’s.
But the insurance company now is going to raise my rates because I am not profitable having caused the insurance company to actually pay for something. For the last 10 years they have received $100K plus, paid out $40K last year and the remaining $60K+ they have earned is not enough profit.
From what she can find out so far she would need some kind of laser surgery to fix this.
Don’t mess around with eyes. Anytime there is a problem see an opthamologist, a real eye doctor, immediately. Get referred to a retina specialist as quickly as possible. You may be out of pocket but losing vision is not something to trifled with over money.
She is also considering suing the original medico who blew her off.
Good luck with that. That is like mud wrestling with a pig. You both get dirty but the pig likes it. An optometrist is not a eye doctor and any diagnosis would be invalid and any missed diagnosis would not hold up in court. An opthamologist should have been consulted.
Having gone through multiple eye surgeries it is amazing what can be done with the technology of today. The key is to not delay anytime there is any change in vision.
Those of us in (the) middle carry those two groups one way or another and eat shit.
100% agree. If I was on welfare I would be given access to multiple treatments for health problems at not cost to me with the taxpayers funding all care. I know one lady, on welfare, that goes to the emergency room six to eight times a month. Even just for the sniffles. Her response when asked why is “Why not? It’s free and does not cost me anything.” It is not free. It costs the rest of us. The demand for free goods are infinite.
Hmm, I worked with a chap in the Nineties who did not have health insurance for himself or his family. He just salted away a fixed amount per month and didn’t touch it. When an emergency came along he’d hopefully have the dough in a special account waiting. You need self discipline though not to spend it on a new car or holiday.
The trick here in Oz i to lie about having private insurance if you go to a public (i.e. state funded) hospital. That way you get stuff for free or almost. If you admit to having private insurance then major surgery is performed on your wallet.
Dropped off to sleep with my glasses on a few weeks ago, when I woke I couldn’t find them, so I had to go searching for an emergency set in the kitchen. I could then see well enough to find the glasses, which I’d gone to sleep on and ruined, so I was up for a new set, and I decided to get a fresh prescription. Myopia was the same but astigmatism was worse.
I’m going to an ophthalmologist in about November and I’ll be asking him about surgery, even though I loathe hospitals. The idea of being able to dispense with glasses (been wearing them since 1974) is wonderful.
I’m going to an ophthalmologist in about November and I’ll be asking him about surgery, even though I loathe hospitals.
I am going to guess you are talking about lasik. That is a completely trivial procedure with amazing results. However, I do have some advice.
If you are starting to have cataracts (I don’t know your age), then consider having the cataract surgery instead. That is covered by insurance where lasik is not. They can easily correct your vision with the inter-ocular implants. If you have lasik such correction is more difficult when having cataract surgery.
My vision has gone from 20/400 to 20/20 for distance with the surgeries. I still need reading glasses because my eyes no longer can change focus. But that was happening anyway because of age.
Additionally the cataract surgery markedly improved my vision. Clarity and color were dramatically improved. The lens in the eye deteriorates over time so you never notice the change. Once I had one eye fixed with an inter-ocular implant I rushed to get the other eye done with the same procedure.
I can also tell you that both procedures, lasik and cataract, there is absolutely no discomfort or pain. The procedures are done at eye clinics, not in hospitals. In my case an IV for the cataract procedure but not for the lasik. Even the IV was trivial.
Next day you are good to go about your normal business.
I’m 54 and not interested in Lasik. I have the makings of cataract/s in my right eye, but not in my left as far as I know. Last year at the ophthalmologist his nurse tested my vision in my right eye (it was very poor) and then put something like a tea strainer over that eye. The improvement was remarkable. She said that was a sign I would be needing cataract surgery sooner rather than later. The conventional wisdom was to wait until the cataract was “ready” but IIRC someone authoritative said they can be done earlier. The “operation, I’m told is fairly trivial. Just day surgery I think.
I’ve not had much joy with contact lenses, I asked my optometrist when I saw him a couple of weeks ago but he didn’t think I was suited. I remember one splitting while it was in my eye back in 1978 or so. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. I’d be overjoyed to be able to stop or at least reduce my dependence on glasses.
<i.The “operation, I’m told is fairly trivial. Just day surgery I think.
The procedure is indeed trivial. You are the one that determines when to have cataract surgery, not your doctor or insurance. If your vision is affected then you need to have it done as soon as possible. Once you have one eye done you will immediately want the other eye done and kick yourself for waiting. It is remarkable how much your vision will improve.
When I had my eyes done I was sent to an eye surgery center. I was prepped by having to remove my shoes and my shirt. I was able to leave my walking shorts and socks on. They started an I/V shortly before the procedure. They then added drops to deaden my eye. After a small wait I was wheeled into the procedure room and an anesthesia inserted into the I/V. Not enough to put me out, but take the edge off.
A slit was made in my eye and the old lens cut up and removed. Your vision goes to hell immediately. Then a new lens that is rolled up is inserted into the slit and ejected from the insertion tool. The lens unrolls and is positioned. Vision improved immediately.
Then a patch was placed over the eye, not stitches were required. I was sent home for the day. Next day was followup and I was cleared for normal activity. Immediately asked when I could have the next eye done, that day if possible, because the vision was substantially better. Better blues, crisper image, a wowser effect in my opinion.
Before the procedure is scheduled they will measure your eye and determine the correction needed. This is done by some laser machine that never touches your eye. It does require dilation which is probably the biggest annoyance of the entire process.
You will be given the choice of distance or near correction. I chose distant as reading glasses are easy to get and I wanted to be able to see when water skiing.
You will not regret having it done.
I agree with Ray that the likelihood of recovering any worthwhile funds by suing for misdiagnosis, is minimal—and a trial would be an ordeal. Only when the diagnosis was so far off that it caused permanent harm or death, is there likely to be any worthwhile settlement.
Two examples from my experience. A woman was misdiagnosed by the same doctor more than once as having swollen glands in her neck, when it was the beginning stages of lymph cancer. She died a few years later, after a correct diagnosis showed it was too late for treatment to save her. Her family will get lots and lots of money.
On the other hand, a guy was fitted with a hip replacement, where the ball was too small for the socket (new procedures make such a mistake nearly impossible now, as the parts are precision-matched by the manufacturer and never separated, in addition to being double-checked by scanning barcodes on the two items during surgery to make sure they match). He sued for negligence. As soon as the problem was found by follow-up examinations during recovery, the doctor and hospital scheduled corrective surgery. The guy got only 2 weeks of lost pay for the second procedure, and therapy costs for the second operation, because otherwise the medical outcome was the same as if they had done the first surgery correctly.
I am no lawyer, but based on what I see all the time in my work of videotaping court testimony, I don’t think your wife has even suffered monetarily yet, nor is her ‘pain and suffering’ of a level that would stir a court to compensate her. Incompetence during the examination does not rise to the level of an acceptable lawsuit, unless there has been some provable damage that it caused.
The law varies from state to state, but here in Indiana, they focus on outcome. If you can correct a problem medically, and have an acceptable outcome that is the same as anyone else would expect with the same procedure, then there is no damage, even if there is some impairment to the quality of life (for instance, you may never play tennis as well with a hip or knee replacement as you did with your own, but you will not be compensated for that degradation of your life, as it part and parcel of getting the replacement). Since your wife has not yet had the problem corrected, there is no way to judge whether she has some measurable impairment to the quality of her life that is above and beyond what is to be expected from whatever procedure is necessary.
Additionally, most people are not prepared for the grilling that goes on during a trial. The opposing attorney’s job is to make you look as bad as it is possible to look, and believe me, they stay awake nights looking into every aspect of your life to make you look bad. One doctor was elected to the chief position in his Synagogue, and during his several-year tenure, spent considerable time filling the job. He was accused by the opposing attorney, of neglecting medical research reading while in that volunteer post—even though he demonstrated that he filled the job in what were his normal non-working hours.
One tactic used with non-professionals (people who are not doctors, nurses, or lawyers) is to ask questions that make the person answering as mad as hell. Often, I have seen people really lose composure, focus, and concentration—which only serves to lessen their chances of winning. Few people get to see this side of a legal proceeding, and even TV does not accurately portray the difficulties. I abhor shows like Judge Judy, where the judge screams, rants, and acts like a lunatic bitch herself (even though I have close friends who work on that show), because no judge should conduct themselves like that, and Americans have a right to expect more from their legal system than such imbecilic activity. But, stupid people in large numbers love to see her berate participants on that show, and I can tell you that it actually influences how real judges act in court. Earlier this year, I heard an attorney say that a judge in their case had given the same rant in court that he saw on Judge Judy the previous day. Sad commentary on our disintegrating society.