Ranting Rex

I remember watching films in high school, about the depression when bankers would go out and kill themselves over the money they lost. I thought, what an idiotic thing to do. It’s only money. Now that I’m in that situation I understand why they were jumping off buildings. You work your entire adult life to accomplish something and then find that someone else takes control of your life and screws it all up. You think that all will be fine, then you figure out that no amount of praying, begging, or even cussing God will get you anywhere.

The truth is that banks won’t work with you. Employers won’t hire you if you have financial problems. You can’t get health insurance, car insurance, life insurance, or find a place to rent. The talking heads blame it on you. It is your fault. It’s not the banks fault, or your former employer’s fault who laid you off when they moved your job overseas. It’s your fault. If you were a better person, you would not be in this situation.

Three years ago I had no debt except my house and $250,000 in investments and savings. My employer decided that they could save a nickel if they moved the entire company…that’s the entire company…to Ireland. You see…the Irish government picks up 60% of the salaries for IT workers. This program, oddly enough, is funded by my own United States government to promote High tech jobs in developing countries. Evidently Belfast is developing. And the Irish work for pennies on the dollar, it didn’t matter that their work in this area is worth the same. I’m not saying the Irish aren’t hard workers. I’m saying that there is no way you can move a company to another country based entirely on the bottom line. It doesn’t work.

So for the last three years I have been doing contract work for different companies. Their are no jobs where I live. I would imagine that 100,000 jobs have left the community. Intel, Hewlet Packard, Agelant, Verizon, and many others have abandoned Colorado Springs. Verizon (who was once WorldCom) employed thousands, and now barely has 800 workers. So there are no jobs to be had. When I explained this to my creditors, I was asked why I didn’t prepare. Prepare? I made it three years unemployed, how prepared did they want me to be? Then when they asked why I didn’t just sell my house. That’s when I had enough.

OK…here’s why numb nut: In the last three years my house has declined in value to less than I paid for it eight years ago. I live in a small community west of Colorado Springs with over 1000 homes in foreclosure. I can buy four times the house for what I owe right now. I can’t sell a property that is worth less than I owe. I tried that; you won’t let me. Since that is the case, and there is no work I have had to live on savings. Because of companies like AIG, and Goldman Sachs the value of my investments declined 60 percent. In addition each time I took money out of my retirment I was dinged by the company for ten percent of the investment. You see, for IRAs and 401ks the companies that caused your financial ruin get to take another 10% of any funds you remove for letting them destroy your nest egg. So to paraphrase King Henry, I was screwed by the banks, employers, and the government all at once and at the same time. And to top it off, since I had been actually paying my bills, I qualify for no assitance what so ever.

So…when people tout that I, and others, are only in this situation because we didn’t prepare, I get a little irritated. I didn’t create this. I prepared. I saved. Still I am now about to lose everything I worked for.

And I now understand why people jump off buildings.

I was in Moab Utah this week where I saw something I found amusing. I actually saw two guys doing their mission for the Mormon Church in Moab. Isn’t that like a priest looking for converts in the Vatican?

Speaking of the Vatican, can someone tell me where the Pope gets off telling people in Africa not to use condoms? He gave a speech saying that condom use causes the AIDS problem. I actually do understand his logic, but it is flawed logic. These people are not going to stop having sex. So at least provide some way for them to keep from killing each other.

Speaking stupid statements, did anyone hear the former Vice President speak this week about Barak Obama? Can someone tell Darth Vader to go away? There’s something wrong with a man and an administration that creates a nightmare and then attempts to blame it on the next guy.

And speaking of the nightmare, I have had about enough of Republicans on the Hill going after the new administration about spending money. It was their spending and lack of oversight that got us into this situation in the first place. Those people spent more money on more boondoggles than any group in history. Their hypocrisy knows no bounds. It’s amazing. Does that mean that I think Democrats are any better? No, but at least they are trying something rather than the Republicans who do nothing.

After a decade of working for the Health Insurance industry it has come to great consternation to me to find that I’m now being paid back for all those years of hell I helped inflict on others. I left the industry in 1995, and it has taken 13 years for the industry to come after me.

In 2006 I was laid off of my job (the third layoff I have experienced) when the company I worked for Intelliden Corporation decided to move all their engineering to Ireland. When that happened I was left without employment, or insurance benefits. I therefore took COBRA which is a half-baked law put on the books to ensure employees have a means for health coverage while they find other employment. I say the law is half-baked since it was never really complete, and the framers never went back to complete it. Anyway…that is another story.

Since I was laid off, I have taken jobs with contract firms, and through networking, to keep me afloat till I found steady work. After 18 months of unemployment, or partial employment, my benefits ran out. I could no longer keep COBRA benefits through my employer. So…my benefits were cancelled.

I therefore applied for coverage on my own. I should note that during my time on COBRA, or for the last ten years, I have never filed a claim outside the normal flu, scrape, or physical. I am in pretty good health for a 43 year old man. I work out three hours a day (that’s right…three hours a day). I run four marathons as year, and I ride a mountain bike almost daily up the mountains around my house. My resting heart rate is below 60. My cholesterol is below 100 and my normal blood pressure is 100/60. I regularly ride with professional cycling atheletes and take pleasure in working out with kids half my age and making them hurl their breakfast during what I like to call my “warmup.”

So it came as a great shock to me when I found that I am uninsurable. They attest that I have past claims that prevent me from gaining coverage. This is information from United Health Care, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna, and a few others. In their notes to me they listed physicians and records that I was to review for my answers. To my amazement, I never heard of any of the physicians. In fact, one office I called said the physician listed was no longer on staff at that clinic, and in fact was working overseas and had been during the provided dates of service.

I have spent the better part of the last year attempting to find out why I can’t be covered. But no one has been able to provide me any information. However, I have found that since I started my own company due to not being able to find regular employment that the state requires insurers to provide small employers with medical benefits. However, they get to set the rate at any point they see fit. So…if you’re reading, and have some extra cash. I could use it. UHC wants 850.00 per month to cover a single-white-male with no medical history.

Paybacks are a bitch.

Thank you for all your help. You are what we need right now. Still, some points need made as to what will get us working. I hear all the rhetoric about funding the banking system, bailing out the auto industry, and getting people tax benefits. However, I don’t really see what that has to do with most people not having jobs. You can’t pay taxes if you’re not working. Therefore, I will give you, in this short note, real solutions that will get us all back to work. In reality, we’re not losing our homes because we’re in debt. We’re losing them because we’re not working. Here is what I would like to see and haven’t:

1. Remove any tax incentive for hiring foreign labor. If companies hire H1Bs or export the jobs to India, Pakistan, Vietnam, Mexico, etc., give them no tax benefit. Monies spent for these activities will still show on the balance sheet as profit. Businesses will have to pay the taxes on that money. Illegal aliens do not prevent any (or very few) of us from working. Legal aliens who work for $.25 on the dollar or less, or companies exporting jobs overseas prevents us from working. When someone will work for $.25 cents on the dollar employers don’t care that their quality of work is 25% of standard. They don’t look at it that way. Quality is not their concern.

2. Remove the insurance burden from businesses. I hear all the time providers and politicians complaining about Medicare and Medicaid. However, I rarely hear of recipients complaining. That says a lot to me. I worked for the Insurance industry for ten years. They have no willingness to cover anyone that produces a claim. It is also a sad, true fact that physicians and hospitals have no intention of helping the uninsured. They would rather see them die than see their profits reduced. An entity that has stockholders cares nothing for human life.

3. Offer tax incentives to businesses that allow telecommuting. This has the following benefits:

a. Green house gases are reduced since people no longer need to commute.
b. Fewer buildings are needed allowing for more green space.
c. Fewer sick days since parents don’t need to leave work for children.
d. Increased job performance since people are more comfortable with their surroundings.
e. Business expenses are lowered enabling the hiring of more people.

There are many more reasons, but too many to cover here. There are millions of jobs where people have no need to be in an office. In reality, if you don’t have to physically move a box, or paint a room, there is no reason to drive into an office.

That’s it Mr. President. Thank you for your time, and don’t let the opposition get you down.