Under the Big Top

Ladies and Gentlemen, Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey are proud to present – The Congress. I am so mad at our system right now. It’s a show. That’s all it is. We pay them our tax money, they entertain us with the notion of representation, then they proceed to follow their own choreography. It’s a circus. All we can do is sit and watch, because who among us is gonna jump into that ring with those clowns and tigers?

This all bugging me for 2 reasons. First, because all the rhetoric on the hill right now about health care is so loud. They’re talking a lot. Just talking. Our system for medical/dental care in our country is fooked. Health/dental insurance is unaffordable right now, and soon lots of people are going to be without it. When all of the unemployed’s COBRA expires, along with the grace period, who is going to be able to afford their own premium?

Second, the other day my son fell at school. The school nurse called and said it looked kinda bad. My neighbor who was at school drove him home and he jumped out of their truck and cried and cried. He fell on the asphalt, scraped up his face and looked like he might have damaged some teeth. After realizing he’s gonna be ok – my first thought was, S#*T, our dental coverage we got through COBRA just expired. So, I contacted our health insurance company, they logged the call, said I was covered for emergency dental within the first 72 hours. We pay $1,381.00 a month for a family of 4. It better cover all emergencies. Long story short, my son is fine. No permanent damage, and I’m waiting for my reimbursement check for the x-rays. But really, one of my first thoughts was, “Oh my God, what if we can’t pay for this and our insurance won’t cover it?

Lately, I feel a lot like my grandfather…He would sit in his lawn chair facing west, and bitch and moan about the politicians to anyone who would listen. He would spit on the ground, take off his cap, and wipe his forehead with a folded up paper towel. Then he’d say something like, “Well, I tell ya, those politicians up there in Washington, they don’t give a damn about us, you think they care? They don’t give a goddamn.” Seriously, I think he was right, and holy mother of mothers this congress is messed up. I’ll tell ya, if I could address congress – I would tell them the same, you all don’t give a damn and I would spit on their carpet. We are a industrialized and educated nation, and we can’t figure this out? Clearly, it seems we are not a compassionate nation. If we were, they would have figured this out by now.

My family is shelling out way too much for health care. We are technically middle class, and also technically unemployed/self-employed/freelancing and crossing our fingers every month. How long can we do this? How long can anyone do this? If millions of Americans can’t afford health/dental insurance – then what? Will the insurance companies finally figure out that no customers means no revenue?

Capital Hill – The Greatest Show on Earth. Where’s my caramel corn? I think we’re gonna be here a while.

The State of the Family

In the days following the State of the Union address, I saw lots of analytical press. What President Obama did or did not talk about. Things he’s actually doing vs. things he’s not doing. Let’s see: Wall Street, War, Health Care, College Tuition, American Manufacturing (lack of), and Clean Energy.

Since then, I have been thinking a lot about the “State” of things. Thing is, I am not qualified to discuss the State of the Union. I only occasionally watch the news or read anything political – So I won’t discuss here, it would be presumptuous and rude. What I can comment on is the State of the Family. And by Family I mean mine, and the people in my community.

Note: I did manage to scan quickly, while my daughter was jumping in front of me, an article on the Huffington Post about the lack of priority placed on the Middle Class. Arianna Huffington made the argument that America is going to go Brazilian, and by Brazilian she did not mean brutal waxing. But rather the divide between rich and poor will become an unbridgeable chasm. No more middle class. Hm. That would suck. I would really hate to be voided out as a result of poor policies.

Now to my point, The State of the Family, as I experience it: I have 2 friends right now who have been unable to sell their former houses after relocating for work. One family is carrying 2 mortgages, and the other is carrying a mortgage and rent. They can’t manage that forever, then what?…Another family I know has relocated to another state, after a lay off, and moved back in with their parents. Another family with 2 full-time working parents, made the decision for the dad to stay home. It got to the point where they were passing each other on the highway, and stopping at rest stops to transfer the kids. They cried, “Uncle.” One of our family members was just completely blind-sided by a lay-off yesterday. Another family I know is in the middle of discussing a major lifestyle change. With both parents working, things are just too hard to juggle. And you don’t want to drop anything when you’re juggling a family. All of these families I know want to do the right thing. Care for their families, work hard, pay their taxes, and have a healthy marriage. It’s really hard though when external forces start seeping in. I won’t go into detail. I wrote a previous post on Please Feed the Animals about how these things affect a marriage.

I don’t hear too much about all of this in the press. I believe it’s because it feels like such a private matter. One article I did read awhile ago was in the Boston Globe about a what a modern depression would look like. It was an eye-opening article about what would most likely happen. It would be private and behind closed doors. I just hope it doesn’t all come true.

Most of the families I know have taken matters into their own hands. Downsizing, cutting back, career changing, asking for help, or relocating. I am amazed by how families cope and keep it together. Despite the external forces, I see people committed to each other and their families. This is it, we do what we have to do to stick together. Maybe the government could take notice and learn.