I have been feeling under the weather lately. A continual low grade fever has kept me extrememly uncomfortable. I suppose it is a low grade infection that I need to anihialate with fluids and vitamin C. Summer is so over here. Time to put on the flannel sheets and harvest green tomatoes. The economy is still pretty depressed here in the gorge. And even if I could find a job......could I ever find a job with generous sick leave policies? It has been 2 years since I have worked and fought hard to get on permanent disability. But, the worker bee in me misses contributing to the 'cause' and wants to create a niche toward personal economic prosperity and comfort. In this job market, employers are looking for multi- taskers and need to squeeze the life blood from employees 1/3 to 1/2 of their daily 24 hours. I can't keep up that hectic pace anymore. Nor do I belive it's healthy. As I try to heal and maintain my physical, mental, and spiritual strength, while figuring out a new vocation, I take little breaks from blogging's daily stress. Life is hard sometimes.
Getting by gets harder in Oregon
Forget the rising cost of living. It's the cost of just getting by that's stressing many Oregon families at or near the median income.
From 1999 to 2003, bills for eight of the most common expenses increased 27.7 percent in Oregon, while the state's median household income climbed only 2.5 percent.
By the end of 2003, the monthly cost of gasoline, electricity, natural gas, garbage collection, water and sewer service, auto insurance and homeowners' insurance in Oregon consumed an average of $460 out of the state's median monthly family income of roughly $3,500, according to an analysis by The Oregonian.
Those essential services are the least flexible parts of family budgets. They rose more than twice as fast as inflation in those five years and are expected to rise at least 5 percent this year, based on current prices and the most recent government estimates. LINK
And Americans in poverty increased last year under The Bush Administration....
People below the poverty line need attention, too
KATHLEEN MCDADE
A ll right. I'm tired of hearing about what candidates are or aren't going to do for the middle classes. I'm starting to feel invisible.
Here's a reminder for candidates: all people matter, not just the middle (or upper) classes. In fact, below the poverty line, our numbers are increasing -- the U.S. Census Bureau recently reported that the number of Americans living in poverty increased by 1.3 million last year.
There are always going to be people in lower-wage jobs. Unless major changes take place, there will always be industries and companies that want or need to pay lower wages.
There will always be people who are elderly or disabled and can't earn as much money as others. LINK
And if you aren't fully depressed by the state of our nation and our elected officials.....
The real shame of mental illness
A few senators and the insurance industry are blocking parity in health coverage for treatment of mental disease
It used to be the stigma that kept people from seeking treatment for mental illness. Now it's the lack of insurance and high cost of care.
Today if anyone is still feeling any embarrassment associated with mental illness, it should be the members of Congress who are secretly blocking a bill that would require insurers to cover the mind just as they do the body.
Several senators have put anonymous "holds" on a bill cosponsored by Sens. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., and Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., that would require parity in coverage for mental and physical health care. Sixty-nine of the 100 senators, including Gordon Smith, R-Ore., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., support the bill. LINK
No comments:
Post a Comment