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(this is in response to why another poster, hawkeye, is in the 1%)
My parents both lost their jobs within a week of each other following 9/11, so going into high school I knew that I was on my own to pay for college. I worked my tush off - holding leadership roles, taking AP/IB courses, getting to Spanish 7/AP Spanish 2 and French 4, and only took practical coursework. I lived in a rural area and did not have a car, so I did not work a formal job, but I tutored and babysat, saving that money religiously. That got me into one of the top universities in the country with a yearly scholarship amounting to more than the per-capita income of my town.
I worked hard in college too - though luckily my grandfather came through and offered to pay for my housing. I double majored and double minored - planning on going to law school. Then the job market for law students bottomed out. I quickly changed gears and began focusing on international business. I studied abroad in 3 different countries (all on scholarship). In Iceland I studied renewable energy engineering and economics, in Mexico I studied the development projects of the Southern part of the country (Plan Puebla-Panama), and in England I studied environmental health. I worked internships domestically and abroad while ALSO holding office jobs because the internships were all unpaid. My senior year of college, I was taking two technical courses (programming and GIS), working 20 hours for the city government unpaid, working a further 20 hours on campus, and also taking 3 more classes while job hunting.
The job hunt was hard and I applied to almost 1000 jobs between the pre-graduation fellowships and government jobs, full time job hunting while unemployed following graduation, and numerous fast food joints. I finally was offered a job 1000 miles away in a completely different field - but I took it.
4 months into the job, I was diagnosed with cancer. Luckily my job offered insurance because my parents and I had been uninsured previously. To date, my medical costs are almost $200,000 which amounts to almost $7000 for EVERY DAY I have lived following my diagnosis. My insurance luckily covered most of these costs and I worked full time despite chemo, exhaustion, nausea, and very severe pain.
2 weeks after chemo ended, I started an MBA using employer tuition reimbursement.
However, I have a suspicious node. I was given an all-clear to watch and wait, so I have a torturous 3 month wait to see if the cancer is still there. If it is, I will need a very difficult round of chemo and then a stem cell transplant which means 1 or 2 months inpatient in a hospital and a further 6+ months out of work. I have only been working for a year and ALL of my money has poured into my medical costs. I will most likely go homeless.
Meanwhile, I will never be able to start my own business because of future health insurance costs (if I can get it at all). I am banned from the Foreign Service for the next 5 years (I passed the exam at 21). I am in debt up to my eyeballs despite working so hard to avoid debt because I happened to have this horrific illness befall me. Instead of worrying about getting myself better, I'm worried about how to pay my bills.
And I'm one of the lucky ones.
Only a few days after my all-clear, my boyfriend of 1 month was diagnosed with advanced glaucoma at age 26. He will go blind within a year if he does not have surgery ASAP. He is an orphaned foster care kid who had been seriously abused. He's been on his own since he was 16. 2 years ago, he started his own business which is successful enough for him to pay his bills, but not save anything. He was going to start back to school in the spring. Everything he has today is a result of 70+ hour weeks and clawing his way out of the cycle of abuse he was born into.
He is on Mass Health and qualifies for food stamps. He requires his sight and energy to run his business, and if he can figure out how to pay for his surgery (which is still considered "experimental" and not covered by his insurance) he will not be paid for the month + it takes to heal. He doesn't have family to rely on - just himself. Now he will NOT BE ABLE TO MAKE ABOVE POVERTY LEVELS because he will not be considered insurable.
Our stories are two of the MANY stories I have of young adults in their 20s who have been diagnosed with serious illnesses. There's my friend who was diagnosed at 29 with stage 3 breast cancer when she was unemployed following getting her masters in biology. Or my friend who was in ROTC and pre-med before having a rare reaction to an antibiotic at 19 that left him with severe nerve damage that makes it impossible to function normally. Or my friend who is a single dad at 28 due to his wife's death from lymphoma who was diagnosed with MS shortly before he was widowed. Or my friend who was injured in Iraq at 26 and is unable to find work or get help for his PTSD or depression. Or the dozens of young adults who have been uninsured, underinsured, or, like me, insured but underpaid.
We are told when we graduate from college to not expect $50,000, $60,000, or more. And yet, when we're diagnosed with these diseases, people scream PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY and ask why we didn't save more money.
I am frustrated with those in OWS who whine about college loans or having to work. College loans are a choice and working is a fact of life. But there are people like me who have worked their BUTTS off and have life dumped on them. There was no government aid for me and very few support systems in place. When I tell my story here, I am told constantly that I should have moved 1000 miles away to a much poorer medical system to live with my parents (who, by the way, are my mom with a masters degree working in a daycare and my dad who has been unemployed for 2 years despite 30 years in upper management).
What would happen if your kid was diagnosed with cancer at 23? Or told they could go blind at 26? Or had to have a double mastectomy at 29?
My story is depressing, but I'm by far not alone. 70000 people are diagnosed with cancer each year between 15 and 39 - that's 7 times more than children's cancers. We get significantly less aid than children or families of children with cancer - both from government and from the public sector.
I don't want handouts - I want help to get me through today so I can continue being a productive adult. I don't want anyone else in this country to go through a life threatening illness contemplating stopping treatment (or not pursuing further treatment with a likely positive outcome) because that means surviving into 6 figures of debt.
The vast majority of this country are one minor medical crisis away from complete destruction. Few but the top 10% could weather a cancer diagnosis without dramatic loss. Why do we let a country that is supposed to be the best in the world remain mediocre when it comes to the health of its citizens? Why does this country still believe the myth that hard work will get you whatever you want? One bout of bad luck can annihilate all that hard work did for you.
(this is in response to why another poster, hawkeye, is in the 1%)
My parents both lost their jobs within a week of each other following 9/11, so going into high school I knew that I was on my own to pay for college. I worked my tush off - holding leadership roles, taking AP/IB courses, getting to Spanish 7/AP Spanish 2 and French 4, and only took practical coursework. I lived in a rural area and did not have a car, so I did not work a formal job, but I tutored and babysat, saving that money religiously. That got me into one of the top universities in the country with a yearly scholarship amounting to more than the per-capita income of my town.
I worked hard in college too - though luckily my grandfather came through and offered to pay for my housing. I double majored and double minored - planning on going to law school. Then the job market for law students bottomed out. I quickly changed gears and began focusing on international business. I studied abroad in 3 different countries (all on scholarship). In Iceland I studied renewable energy engineering and economics, in Mexico I studied the development projects of the Southern part of the country (Plan Puebla-Panama), and in England I studied environmental health. I worked internships domestically and abroad while ALSO holding office jobs because the internships were all unpaid. My senior year of college, I was taking two technical courses (programming and GIS), working 20 hours for the city government unpaid, working a further 20 hours on campus, and also taking 3 more classes while job hunting.
The job hunt was hard and I applied to almost 1000 jobs between the pre-graduation fellowships and government jobs, full time job hunting while unemployed following graduation, and numerous fast food joints. I finally was offered a job 1000 miles away in a completely different field - but I took it.
4 months into the job, I was diagnosed with cancer. Luckily my job offered insurance because my parents and I had been uninsured previously. To date, my medical costs are almost $200,000 which amounts to almost $7000 for EVERY DAY I have lived following my diagnosis. My insurance luckily covered most of these costs and I worked full time despite chemo, exhaustion, nausea, and very severe pain.
2 weeks after chemo ended, I started an MBA using employer tuition reimbursement.
However, I have a suspicious node. I was given an all-clear to watch and wait, so I have a torturous 3 month wait to see if the cancer is still there. If it is, I will need a very difficult round of chemo and then a stem cell transplant which means 1 or 2 months inpatient in a hospital and a further 6+ months out of work. I have only been working for a year and ALL of my money has poured into my medical costs. I will most likely go homeless.
Meanwhile, I will never be able to start my own business because of future health insurance costs (if I can get it at all). I am banned from the Foreign Service for the next 5 years (I passed the exam at 21). I am in debt up to my eyeballs despite working so hard to avoid debt because I happened to have this horrific illness befall me. Instead of worrying about getting myself better, I'm worried about how to pay my bills.
And I'm one of the lucky ones.
Only a few days after my all-clear, my boyfriend of 1 month was diagnosed with advanced glaucoma at age 26. He will go blind within a year if he does not have surgery ASAP. He is an orphaned foster care kid who had been seriously abused. He's been on his own since he was 16. 2 years ago, he started his own business which is successful enough for him to pay his bills, but not save anything. He was going to start back to school in the spring. Everything he has today is a result of 70+ hour weeks and clawing his way out of the cycle of abuse he was born into.
He is on Mass Health and qualifies for food stamps. He requires his sight and energy to run his business, and if he can figure out how to pay for his surgery (which is still considered "experimental" and not covered by his insurance) he will not be paid for the month + it takes to heal. He doesn't have family to rely on - just himself. Now he will NOT BE ABLE TO MAKE ABOVE POVERTY LEVELS because he will not be considered insurable.
Our stories are two of the MANY stories I have of young adults in their 20s who have been diagnosed with serious illnesses. There's my friend who was diagnosed at 29 with stage 3 breast cancer when she was unemployed following getting her masters in biology. Or my friend who was in ROTC and pre-med before having a rare reaction to an antibiotic at 19 that left him with severe nerve damage that makes it impossible to function normally. Or my friend who is a single dad at 28 due to his wife's death from lymphoma who was diagnosed with MS shortly before he was widowed. Or my friend who was injured in Iraq at 26 and is unable to find work or get help for his PTSD or depression. Or the dozens of young adults who have been uninsured, underinsured, or, like me, insured but underpaid.
We are told when we graduate from college to not expect $50,000, $60,000, or more. And yet, when we're diagnosed with these diseases, people scream PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY and ask why we didn't save more money.
I am frustrated with those in OWS who whine about college loans or having to work. College loans are a choice and working is a fact of life. But there are people like me who have worked their BUTTS off and have life dumped on them. There was no government aid for me and very few support systems in place. When I tell my story here, I am told constantly that I should have moved 1000 miles away to a much poorer medical system to live with my parents (who, by the way, are my mom with a masters degree working in a daycare and my dad who has been unemployed for 2 years despite 30 years in upper management).
What would happen if your kid was diagnosed with cancer at 23? Or told they could go blind at 26? Or had to have a double mastectomy at 29?
My story is depressing, but I'm by far not alone. 70000 people are diagnosed with cancer each year between 15 and 39 - that's 7 times more than children's cancers. We get significantly less aid than children or families of children with cancer - both from government and from the public sector.
I don't want handouts - I want help to get me through today so I can continue being a productive adult. I don't want anyone else in this country to go through a life threatening illness contemplating stopping treatment (or not pursuing further treatment with a likely positive outcome) because that means surviving into 6 figures of debt.
The vast majority of this country are one minor medical crisis away from complete destruction. Few but the top 10% could weather a cancer diagnosis without dramatic loss. Why do we let a country that is supposed to be the best in the world remain mediocre when it comes to the health of its citizens? Why does this country still believe the myth that hard work will get you whatever you want? One bout of bad luck can annihilate all that hard work did for you.
What would I do if my one of my kids was diagnosed with cancer or was going to go blind?
Take care of them. That is what used to happen, before the nation became convinced that the government, not families, was responsible for the well being of the citizens of the US.
I am a 1% ter and think that my kids will also be "1%ters", not becuase of any inherited wealth (My wife and I will give them nothing when we die and will donate everything to the church), but because they have worked hard and made good choices.
PS- Sorry to hear about your cancer. I assume you have a lymphoma and your younger age provides a much better prognosis.
Trying to figure this out, the OP is part of the 99%'r because everything they have, they worked for, or was handed to them by the producers. That makes absolutely no sense.
What would I do if my one of my kids was diagnosed with cancer or was going to go blind?
Take care of them. That is what used to happen, before the nation became convinced that the government, not families, was responsible for the well being of the citizens of the US.
I am a 1% ter and think that my kids will also be "1%ters", not becuase of any inherited wealth (My wife and I will give them nothing when we die and will donate everything to the church), but because they have worked hard and made good choices.
PS- Sorry to hear about your cancer. I assume you have a lymphoma and your younger age provides a much better prognosis.
I have stage IV Hodgkin's lymphoma. Almost every lymph node from my collar bone to my groin on my left side was involved, plus all of my long bones. My chances are about 63% per Dana-Farber.
You are lucky that you are in a position to help. My family is not. I was sending my parents money from every check before I was diagnosed. What about my friend who was a foster care kid. What family is supposed to pitch in for him?
I worked hard. I made excellent choices. I continue to make excellent choices and work smart. But I will die if I relapse because my smart decision is to not pursue treatment that will put me in debt for the rest of my life. No one should be put in the position that I am in in a civilized nation.
(this is in response to why another poster, hawkeye, is in the 1%)
My parents both lost their jobs within a week of each other following 9/11, so going into high school I knew that I was on my own to pay for college. I worked my tush off - holding leadership roles, taking AP/IB courses, getting to Spanish 7/AP Spanish 2 and French 4, and only took practical coursework. I lived in a rural area and did not have a car, so I did not work a formal job, but I tutored and babysat, saving that money religiously. That got me into one of the top universities in the country with a yearly scholarship amounting to more than the per-capita income of my town.
I worked hard in college too - though luckily my grandfather came through and offered to pay for my housing. I double majored and double minored - planning on going to law school. Then the job market for law students bottomed out. I quickly changed gears and began focusing on international business. I studied abroad in 3 different countries (all on scholarship). In Iceland I studied renewable energy engineering and economics, in Mexico I studied the development projects of the Southern part of the country (Plan Puebla-Panama), and in England I studied environmental health. I worked internships domestically and abroad while ALSO holding office jobs because the internships were all unpaid. My senior year of college, I was taking two technical courses (programming and GIS), working 20 hours for the city government unpaid, working a further 20 hours on campus, and also taking 3 more classes while job hunting.
The job hunt was hard and I applied to almost 1000 jobs between the pre-graduation fellowships and government jobs, full time job hunting while unemployed following graduation, and numerous fast food joints. I finally was offered a job 1000 miles away in a completely different field - but I took it.
4 months into the job, I was diagnosed with cancer. Luckily my job offered insurance because my parents and I had been uninsured previously. To date, my medical costs are almost $200,000 which amounts to almost $7000 for EVERY DAY I have lived following my diagnosis. My insurance luckily covered most of these costs and I worked full time despite chemo, exhaustion, nausea, and very severe pain.
2 weeks after chemo ended, I started an MBA using employer tuition reimbursement.
However, I have a suspicious node. I was given an all-clear to watch and wait, so I have a torturous 3 month wait to see if the cancer is still there. If it is, I will need a very difficult round of chemo and then a stem cell transplant which means 1 or 2 months inpatient in a hospital and a further 6+ months out of work. I have only been working for a year and ALL of my money has poured into my medical costs. I will most likely go homeless.
Meanwhile, I will never be able to start my own business because of future health insurance costs (if I can get it at all). I am banned from the Foreign Service for the next 5 years (I passed the exam at 21). I am in debt up to my eyeballs despite working so hard to avoid debt because I happened to have this horrific illness befall me. Instead of worrying about getting myself better, I'm worried about how to pay my bills.
And I'm one of the lucky ones.
Only a few days after my all-clear, my boyfriend of 1 month was diagnosed with advanced glaucoma at age 26. He will go blind within a year if he does not have surgery ASAP. He is an orphaned foster care kid who had been seriously abused. He's been on his own since he was 16. 2 years ago, he started his own business which is successful enough for him to pay his bills, but not save anything. He was going to start back to school in the spring. Everything he has today is a result of 70+ hour weeks and clawing his way out of the cycle of abuse he was born into.
He is on Mass Health and qualifies for food stamps. He requires his sight and energy to run his business, and if he can figure out how to pay for his surgery (which is still considered "experimental" and not covered by his insurance) he will not be paid for the month + it takes to heal. He doesn't have family to rely on - just himself. Now he will NOT BE ABLE TO MAKE ABOVE POVERTY LEVELS because he will not be considered insurable.
Our stories are two of the MANY stories I have of young adults in their 20s who have been diagnosed with serious illnesses. There's my friend who was diagnosed at 29 with stage 3 breast cancer when she was unemployed following getting her masters in biology. Or my friend who was in ROTC and pre-med before having a rare reaction to an antibiotic at 19 that left him with severe nerve damage that makes it impossible to function normally. Or my friend who is a single dad at 28 due to his wife's death from lymphoma who was diagnosed with MS shortly before he was widowed. Or my friend who was injured in Iraq at 26 and is unable to find work or get help for his PTSD or depression. Or the dozens of young adults who have been uninsured, underinsured, or, like me, insured but underpaid.
We are told when we graduate from college to not expect $50,000, $60,000, or more. And yet, when we're diagnosed with these diseases, people scream PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY and ask why we didn't save more money.
I am frustrated with those in OWS who whine about college loans or having to work. College loans are a choice and working is a fact of life. But there are people like me who have worked their BUTTS off and have life dumped on them. There was no government aid for me and very few support systems in place. When I tell my story here, I am told constantly that I should have moved 1000 miles away to a much poorer medical system to live with my parents (who, by the way, are my mom with a masters degree working in a daycare and my dad who has been unemployed for 2 years despite 30 years in upper management).
What would happen if your kid was diagnosed with cancer at 23? Or told they could go blind at 26? Or had to have a double mastectomy at 29?
My story is depressing, but I'm by far not alone. 70000 people are diagnosed with cancer each year between 15 and 39 - that's 7 times more than children's cancers. We get significantly less aid than children or families of children with cancer - both from government and from the public sector.
I don't want handouts - I want help to get me through today so I can continue being a productive adult. I don't want anyone else in this country to go through a life threatening illness contemplating stopping treatment (or not pursuing further treatment with a likely positive outcome) because that means surviving into 6 figures of debt.
The vast majority of this country are one minor medical crisis away from complete destruction. Few but the top 10% could weather a cancer diagnosis without dramatic loss. Why do we let a country that is supposed to be the best in the world remain mediocre when it comes to the health of its citizens? Why does this country still believe the myth that hard work will get you whatever you want? One bout of bad luck can annihilate all that hard work did for you.
of course my heart goes out to you and your boyfriend, but you are not the normal young person. You can tell us your story and I can tell about our family, thier experiences just out of college etc. They are very different than yours...
I had a total hysterectomy at the age of 20 due to cancer.
I made it.
BTW, I think no kids was the key to my success.
and I had the same thing at age 25 with no insurance. Here I am almost 50 years later..We did have kids afterwards: 2, that we adopted plus foster kids.
Nice catch here swagger. Just thing this one probably was up all night putting together this "gotcha" post.
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