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Finally someone is speaking my language. I had to rep you here sobroguy. But then again one can live very comfortable on NYC pension in parts of the cheap south. However pensions are gradually being eroded. 401k is next to face the chopping block!
To be honest a substantial percentage of the population isn't going to make good decisions with investing/financial planning. So the biggest part of their retirement planning will be social security and pensions (if they have a job that offers them).
Those with no pensions, unless they are either wealthy or unless they are property owners will find themselves in poverty and possibly facing homelessness.
I recently signed up for a new insurance plan under the new healthcare law. My income defines me as middle class but was actually considered low enough that I now receive MUCH better services. Before I paid $227 per month and had a $1K doctor's visit deductible. No mental health coverage, no maternity coverage or preventative. The hospital deductible was also higher. I now pay only $102 per month and can receive quality counseling, affordable gynological screenings and such. This is a direct result of Obama pushing the new law into action.
However, I worry about people at the very bottom of the economic spectrum. I was told by my insurance rep that those below 20K per year do not qualify for the same types of services. It worries me that these individuals are already at risk and not receiving the type of care they rightfully should.
Something should be done about it. Not everyone can afford a $150 per week room. We must remember the harshness of the employer-dictated market, the limitations of the poor and mentally ill, and the discrimination they face every day. I believe that much of this is to blame for the current situation. People need to understand that not everyone can pull themselves by their bootstraps in the face of such issues as quickly as others might. I hate to say it but I am white, attractive, and came from a fairly affluent family. I know damn well that I had advantages many didn't, even though mommy and daddy didn't cut a check. We turn a blind eye on those who didn't have ANY resources to begin with, face a quiet prejudice... and then say good luck. This is a city issue but also a national issue.
It disturbs me that so many suffering are openly ignored. It is not good for them, for us, or for anyone. I do not blame the current mayor. If anything, I blame the former one and vast majority of the Republican Party for such a backwards and harmful policy. Look on any news station and you'll see Ted Cruz and many others still hell bent on denying us our fundamental rights. Our overall economy and society would be much better served rehabilitating these individuals in a clinic setting where they are treated as human beings rather than regarding them as criminals and incarcerating them when it is not only unjustified but simply inhumane and cruel. Not to mention infinitely more expensive.
It makes a great deal more sense to work with these individuals and support them into becoming functional and contributing members of society than to simply throw them on the streets or lock them away. When people say that our current mayor is to blame I just laugh. Because it's just like Bush post-2008. We are simply dealing with Bloomberg's mess now and ought to know where the real blame lies. These are, as I said, both federal and local issues. But we need to understand the human face of it. I am a Midwesterner and a little graffiti and a little uproar don't shake me. But it does paint a portrait of a larger conversation. One I fear we aren't completely engaged in.
Last edited by EastBoundandDownChick; 03-11-2014 at 07:07 PM..
I recently signed up for a new insurance plan under the new healthcare law. My income defines me as middle class but was actually considered low enough that I now receive MUCH better services. Before I paid $227 per month and had a $1K doctor's visit deductible. No mental health coverage, no maternity coverage or preventative. The hospital deductible was also higher. I now pay only $102 per month and can receive quality counseling, affordable gynological screenings and such. This is a direct result of Obama pushing the new law into action.
However, I worry about people at the very bottom of the economic spectrum. I was told by my insurance rep that those below 20K per year do not qualify for the same types of services. It worries me that these individuals are already at risk and not receiving the type of care they rightfully should.
Something should be done about it. Not everyone can afford a $150 per week room. We must remember the harshness of the employer-dictated market, the limitations of the poor and mentally ill, and the discrimination they face every day. I believe that much of this is to blame for the current situation. People need to understand that not everyone can pull themselves by their bootstraps in the face of such issues as quickly as others might. I hate to say it but I am white, attractive, and came from a fairly affluent family. I know damn well that I had advantages many didn't, even though mommy and daddy didn't cut a check. We turn a blind eye on those who didn't have ANY resources to begin with, face a quiet prejudice... and then say good luck. This is a city issue but also a national issue.
It disturbs me that so many suffering are openly ignored. It is not good for them, for us, or for anyone. I do not blame the current mayor. If anything, I blame the former one and vast majority of the Republican Party for such a backwards and harmful policy. Look on any news station and you'll see Ted Cruz and many others still hell bent on denying us our fundamental rights. Our overall economy and society would be much better served rehabilitating these individuals in a clinic setting where they are treated as human beings rather than regarding them as criminals and incarcerating them when it is not only unjustified but simply inhumane and cruel. Not to mention infinitely more expensive.
It makes a great deal more sense to work with these individuals and support them into becoming functional and contributing members of society than to simply throw them on the streets or lock them away. When people say that our current mayor is to blame I just laugh. Because it's just like Bush post-2008. We are simply dealing with Bloomberg's mess now and ought to know where the real blame lies. These are, as I said, both federal and local issues. But we need to understand the human face of it. I am a Midwesterner and a little graffiti and a little uproar don't shake me. But it does paint a portrait of a larger conversation. One I fear we aren't completely engaged in.
We lived in NYC (Brooklyn) in the early '80's. That was IIRC the time the city was collapsing. Well, I didn't notice. The Big Apple was and still is a magnificent city. NYC, even in "decay" is still spectacular. For example try walking across the grand old Brooklyn Bridge on a Sunday morning in early summer. Wonderful and free.
We enjoyed much of living there but after a few years I could not keep up so I found a job in Boston and we returned to New England. We will probably visit NYC in the near future.
If you think there is no welfare fraud in Texas, than good Good I have a bridge to sell you. I'm confused about the whole Trader Joe's employees living in the Trump Tower situation. Trader Joe's pays decently, but not enough for the Trump Tower...and how/why do you know this?
I knew the person and he said it was a snapshot as he was having a ****ty life and got laid off.
The whole key is having kids of which he had two. If he was single, he would be living homeless on the streets.
I am sure there is welfare fraud in Texas, but the welfare budget of that state probably equals NY. And NYC is much smaller; people in NYC want all these freebies.
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