Forum Post: I Need Mental Help
Posted 11 years ago on Feb. 8, 2013, 2:03 a.m. EST by TrevorMnemonic
(5827)
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"I need mental help!" shouted the man. He looks to be in his 50's, not quite old enough to qualify for medicare. He's wearing a blue Nike NFL jacket and carrying a bag over his shoulder. 5 minutes earlier he had walked through where we were setting up to make a video and initiated a conversation. A friend informed him we were doing a video about getting an external auditor for the police department to keep them accountable for allegations of abuse. The man tells us of his troubles,
"I told this cop the other day 'I don't need to talk to a cop. I'm trying to get mental help.' They're trying to just send me to the Salvation Army. Mother fucker, I don't need no Salvation Army. Mother fucker, I need mental help. But society only get you the kind of help they want you to have. It ain't what you need, it's what they want you to have."
He later goes on to talk about his living situation and the people around him destroyed by drug addiction.
"What the people need to fight for, they won't fight for. But everything else, they'll kill for."
"The other day I tried to commit suicide. Jumped out in front of a car, they wouldn't even hit me."
This is a common story for a lot of people who need mental help and other forms of health care. They cannot afford the care they actually need. Even some with insurance will avoid doctor visits due to co-pays and premiums. A friend of mine with MS says she spends upwards to 5 thousand dollars all together for a year. That's 1/6th of her income and so much of that money is going to an insurance company that doesn't give her any actual care.
Our health care system and our drug laws are still deeply flawed. We need treatment for drug addiction, not jail and prison. We need public option health care, not co-pays and premiums the poor still cannot afford.
"What the people need to fight for, they won't fight for. But everything else, they'll kill for." A very wise perspective from a man who has obviously seen it first hand.
Kill for oil. Kill for cheap labor. Kill to maintain for profit health insurance companies. Kill to maintain the corporate takeover.
So will we just give up in the fight for a public option?
Here's someone who really fought, blows my mind what the guy went through. Then the f,nnnn district court made a a secret rule change.
http://algoxy.com/law/
Apparently real stuff like this means nothing. I mean this guy threw years at trying to get the best and most logical mental health care for all of us.
What ever it was could have been the best mental health care ever, and the court secretly revised it rules to prevent it. Check the link at the bottom of the page, it seems to show the local paper was bought for the sole purpose of blocking a story about the lawsuit.
How many psych wards are in your county or state? Are any of them owned by the state? Do any of them pay property taxes?
Why do you ask?
Honestly I have no idea how many psych wards are in my county. I can tell you where the main hospitals and a few physical rehabilitation clinics are. If you want to look it up, we're in Douglas county Ne
Oh, dear lawd, Trev. I found three somethings and lost three somethings.
So, for a sec. I am going to drop these links, walk away for a bit and see if I can't find the rest and go from there. I am looking for one that dealt with future profits and strategy of CHI. There is a method to this madness. Alegent Creighton Health is a faith-based health ministry sponsored by Catholic Health Initiatives and Immanuel, which is affiliated with the Nebraska Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Catholic Health Initiatives Quarterly Report
Catholic Health Initiatives To Invest $200 Million in Various Areas of Healthcare Via Newly Created VC Group–Non-Profit Portfolio Algorithms
Catholic Health IT jobs going to Indian company
Catholic Health to pay $4.9 million in St. Joseph overbilling case
My healthcare plan takes about two pages-
No denial for previous conditions, and costs must be no higher than 20% of what your overall average was for the previous 5 years.
Medicaid eligibility income is raised to 50% higher than the national average of 26k (adding 13k to it would bring us to 39k).. So anyone making less than 800 a week gets it.
Done. And yes, there would be a few more pages. But Obamacare is the perfect example of lobbying gone crazy.
In "Deadly Spin" by Wendell Potter (a self proclaimed insurance insider), the author states that universal care is too radical an idea for Democrats.
This is after decades and decades of economists and people telling them thats what they want.
If we want universal to be written legislation, it is never going to happen while the Congress is only Dems and Reps. There needs to be another group in there to kick ass and take names.
It's pretty hard for a mentally ill person to hold a job. No job = no health insurance. Pretty sick connection in a pretty sick society that doesn't give a crap about the needs of it's citizens. They talk about cutting Medicare, which boggles my mind, because they should be expanding Medicare. If they put all people in Medicare with a single payer and made it non-profit (yes, I used the dirty word), it would be so much cheaper. Right now, Medicare insures a group of people over the age of 65! Dumb much!? Add young people to the group and overall it becomes cheaper. This is not rocket science.
And, end the connection between employment and healthcare. It's inhumane. It gives too much power to the employer and way way to much risk to the employee. Health insurance is a human right and we are the only nation in the developed world to get this so entirely wrong.
A close friend of mine went to work this morning and was immediately told that he was being let go. It was a corporate decision, nothing disciplinary, nothing negative. Ten years of loyalty, dedication and hard work and for what? They finally admitted that it had to do with insurance. My friend never had insurance, never wanted it through the company. Apparently, this ticked off the manager because he didn't get a bonus for recruiting my friend into their benefits package this past November. The company has let every part time employee go now as well, refusing to pay for any Obamacare for part timers since they define anyone over 32 hours as full time and they believe that those working less than 40 are undeserving since they don't contribute enough to productivity. Another friend of mine who works at Home Depot part time told me that they can only work 20 hours and Depot only keeps part timers on staff now except for a few managers. They are attempting to avoid benefits all together for the majority of their employees. This is really quite shocking -given their generous benefits in the past.
I'm still unemployed, can't find work at all and the owner of the consignment shop where I was selling from, stole ALL my goods and guess what? There's not a damn thing I can do about it because it's a civil matter. However, the owner who turned out to be a professional con, has been charged for bad check writing and is under house arrest. This doesn't help me though and I just lost a couple of thousand dollars of income. Sorry to rant, I'm really stressing and feeling really deflated right now.
they already have outsourced what they could, and now they're coming for the full time jobs.
The new corporate trend is replacing full time workers with part time workers. No benefits. Keep them under 32 so they keep a safety cap of 29. So where you going to find a second good paying part time job that will hire you for that remainder 11 hours a week? It doesn't exist. So the next thing you know you're working 2 part time jobs, paying less than the full time people they just got rid of, and now you're working almost 60 hours a week spread out at 2 jobs, instead of 40 at 1 because they don't want to pay you benefits, and now with that 60 hour work week you don't get benefits and no over time. Welcome to the scam!
The good paying jobs are gone and they're not coming back. Your raises won't keep up with inflation.
Remember when Greenspan said the decreasing dollar would only affect tourists going to other countries? Yah he forgot we buy oil with US dollars, that and he forgot logic. A decrease power in the dollar is essentially an increase on everything else. And then they chose Bernanke after him following in his footsteps pumping trillions into Wall Street for the banksters to hoard all the cash while our purchasing power suffers and the economy dwindles. But what do they care? They're making a killing.
sold out
Spot on Trev!
Here's another scenario that I've had to battle in the last year re: part time jobs:
A company hired someone to work Mon, Tue and Wed. So, the person decided to get another part time job. As we all know, most part time jobs are menial service jobs that have changing schedules. So, the person works their two part time jobs for a few weeks. THEN, week 4, the first employer says, ' We need you on Friday and Sat this week. The employee gets stressed because they have already committed to their second part time job for those days. The employee tries to negotiate under extreme stress. The employee gets fired from the first part time job. Can an employer do this? YES THEY CAN. In fact, I was told by the EEOC and the labor board that it doesn't matter if you're hired for one day a week, if they decide to change the agreement or the rules, you must abide or they have the right to fire you. I can't imagine someone trying to juggle 2 or 3 part time jobs with the stress of knowing the entire time that any given moment, their employer could change the rules.
Trev, Obama has not been our friend at all. He's truly so out of touch with the working class that he's burying us alive with half ass legislation that appeases the ignorant masses.
Hey you just described me! I have a good paying part time job, but I need a second job, but am unable to get one because my current job juggles me from work hours between 3am to 11pm different days of the week. The only reason I am part time is due to corporate policies. I was the first ever part timer for the position I have. When I was hired, they just got done firing full time workers, that they actually needed, and replaced them with part time workers, all to avoid retirement packages, health care, and other benefits. Welcome to the future. I actually only work 5 hours less than full time workers at my job in a week, but I get paid for 10 less hours, because full time workers get paid breaks and I do not. So full time workers get in at 2pm and I get in at 3pm, we leave at the same time, yet I get paid 2 less hours for that day of work.
Politicians would rather pretend everything is just fine and getting better because they don't want to appear like they've actually done nothing. If anyone knows the real reason for the collapse, they would know nothing has been done to change any of that. They're still just giving billions to wall street every single month with no regulation and no break up of obvious monopolies. Greenspan = Bernanke.
It's only going to get worse. We may have to resort to 2 family homes. Hey, wanna go into the contracting business and build duplex type homes designed for dual family living?
The least an employer should do is offer an alternative to complete lay off. Even if it's part time, it's better than just throwing a loyal employee to the wolves all at once without warning. I can understand why someone would feel angry and insulted by such an offer and choose to quit but an alternative is better than none in this economy.
Under the Affordable Health Care Act, businesses with more than 50 workers are required to provide health care coverage for full-time employees or those working more than 30 hours per week. So they need to either get their employees down to less than 50 or just hire part time less than 30 hours, or hire no part time and put everyone that is full time on salary thereby making them work more than 40 hours a week at a lower rate. None of those options will benefit Americans.
My friend was working about 30-32 hours per week at his job at 19.00 /hr pay and there was no way to shave that down because of the type of work he did where they worked ten hours per day off site with a crew. He found out yesterday that the company CEO decided that they would lay off anyone who voted for Obama first. He also mentioned that the managers were always lecturing the employees about being more like Christians. Yeah, real Christian of them, eh?
they had to get rid of the full timers because they had worked for years and years and made more money per hour than the future part time replacements would. Therefore offering them part time work didn't fit their master exploitative plan. They did get buy outs. But that will only last a year or so until they can find another job, starting back over at the bottom pole on the hourly scale wherever they work next. "oh you worked here for 20 years and have done a great job? Too bad. This is an employers market and people are desperate enough to take less than what they need."
It's really quite sad for everyone who needs a job or even has a job because every single one of us is completely expendable. Hard work doesn't pay off, loyalty doesn't matter, productivity doesn't even matter anymore-- probably because people don't really need to be all that productive in order to produce anything..even corporate income! I watched the movie, ' Company Men" a few weeks ago and could barely get through it. I'm at the worst age ever now. I'm too old to build a nest egg and I'm too young and broke to retire. If they ban guns, I won't even be able to shoot myself !! Sorry, my thoughts become quite warped and depressing at times.
the full timers were fired or put on part time to avoid the forced cost of providing obamacare.
this process has been in affect for years. These corporations are doing it because they are cheapskates who think they should be able to exploit people and not pay benefits and good wages, despite record profits for many of these corporations. Workers work hard. They deserve good pay and benefits.
part time jobs to avoid being forced by the govt to provide obamacare.
Trollin trollin trollin
And your ego's swollen
Keep them untruths rolling
Rawhide
Great comment Trevor. I think a key thing for us going forward is to explain to people that they are not to blame for their economic situation. TPTB want Americans to feel ashamed of their dire straits, their poor economic plight. If they feel ashamed, they keep quiet, right?
It is very important, if we want to get people out in the streets, that we get them to realize that this is NOT their fault. It is the fault of an economic system that has failed them miserably and that works only for the wealthy and corporations. As Shadz says below: "You are not to blame, so feel no shame!" And, get out in the street and fight for what is rightfully yours!
at least you have a job, right? -the most common bullshit you will hear from someone when you talk about the corporate takeover. So we're just supposed to accept the fucking scraps? We're just supposed to ignore the truth that we are a big part of the reason the companies we work for make money in the first place and therefore deserve our fair share for the work we do. We're just supposed to lay back and accept doing the same work for less pay and no overtime? Fuck that.
Let me tell you something, if I got billions in interest free loans, and the feds bought up my toxic assets, I'd be doing fucking great. I'd be a millionaire. Hell if I got a trillion, like Bank of America got in 2008, I'd let that money sit on deposit and just watch the interest pile on! Like Bank of America did. The Federal Reserve creates money from nothing, gives it to banks, the banks keep it on deposit, gain interest, pay CEO bonuses, fat cat city, all while the rest of America falls apart.
Does anyone see the scam yet?
I'm with you, Trevor. American workers must rise up! They must stop feeling that they are at fault in any way. This economy does not provide enough decent paying jobs for everyone, in fact, it provides very few these days. It is not your fault if you can't find a job with benefits. It's your economy's fault and your government's failure to ensure that the general welfare of the people is the priority.
It is all a scam! A scam for the greedy bastards to concentrate wealth with the few.
I was just talking to someone your age about her student loans and how today there are "parent loans." When I went to college there was no such thing as "parent loans." And, she says, "Well, that is how it is today." WTF? No! That is not "how it is today!" It doesn't have to be that way! An education should not cost so much that the student AND the parent have to go into major debt!!! This is wrong!
Americans are too accepting of their plight. They feel if they can't "make it" that something is wrong with them. I'm so sick of that attitude. Half of us earn less than $26,000 per year. Obviously, that half of Americans are not all a bunch of dolts.
The American working class must rise up. We need something like a general strike and for everyone to refuse to make their debt payments for at least one month. Some kind of organized effort to make a statement.
Here's a documentary that uncovers the working poor who redeem bottled for coins in order to survive:
http://www.democracynow.org/2013/1/31/redemption_oscar_nominated_doc_follows_the
My friend compared the system to a monopoly on water the other day. He said- "What happens when someone owns all the water? They jack up the price so no one can afford it, then give out loans that the people can't pay back, thus ending in control."
We end up like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoS-MCnTPtQ
ha thanks for the laugh
There is actually a movement to privatize water. I had a link that gave info about a group of Canadian evildoers who were seeking to do that, but it is gone off the internet.
So, here's something on it: http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/water/private-vs-public/
We need to be very wary of this because OTP is right, below.
they want to privatize everything.
I said a long time ago the bankrupting of government is just a ploy to seek privatization. I know others have as well. It's all about control.
Just like your link mentions - "These private water companies try to persuade cash-strapped cities and towns to relinquish control over their valuable public water and sewer systems."
So if corporations and banks are funding their own politicians, and these politicians are bankrupting the government, in the process having billions and trillions given to their corporations and banks, this is an obvious sign that this conspiracy is real and being attempted.
It's the fourth reich.
It's neither imagined nor "being attempted". It's more real than the nose on your face.
Emigrate to the Maldives, or Tasmania. GTFO of America.
If you're not willing to shoulder arms to protect what is yours, then GTFO of the US of A.
This is serious stuff. Once profit is allowed in, the seeking of it becomes the goal over everything else, including the needs of human beings. Bad enough, our economy is premised on "profit," but it is imperative to keep profit out of education, water, healthcare and really it should be out of food staples, basic housing, public transportation and many other things that humans need and have a right to. Will "air" be next?
'The majority of elderly Americans may not be at the official poverty level, but they're still very poor. Sixty percent of women over 65 (and 41 percent of men) have incomes insufficient to cover essential everyday expenses. And as the rest of American adults grow older, half of them are not saving anything for retirement.' from - http://www.nationofchange.org/shame-wealthy-america-some-facts-about-victims-your-greed-1360595041 Never Give Up Speaking The Clear Truths! Go Occupy Wall Street! Solidarity.
Great article!
"In 1983 the poorest 47 percent of America owned $750 billion dollars, $15,000 per family, 2.5 percent of the nation's wealth.
In 2009 the poorest 47 percent of America owned ZERO PERCENT of the nation's wealth (their debt exceeds their assets)."
"Your thirty-year redistribution of wealth has most severely impacted four particularly vulnerable parts of American society: Children, the Elderly, the Homeless and Students."
'In 2009 the poorest 47 percent of America owned ZERO PERCENT of the nation's wealth (their debt exceeds their assets)' & this alone is a shocking enough quote from the NoC article I linked to. On an important side note, I note that my twinkle brings your comment to 0 and that your previous comment is also at 0, whereas the reason I replied to it was because I noticed it at the top of the 'Best Comments Today' section, where it was at 7 yesterday after I twinkled it but now it's at at 0! What is THAT about?!
In solidarity, I shall repeat - 'Once profit is allowed in, the seeking of it becomes the goal over everything else, including the needs of human beings. Bad enough, our economy is premised on "profit," but it is imperative to keep profit out of education, water, healthcare and really it should be out of food staples, basic housing, public transportation and many other things that humans need and have a right to. Will "air" be next?' Thanks and to follow your important observation and re. the imminent 'State of the Union' address, see - http://www.nationofchange.org/seven-reasons-obama-should-focus-jobs-not-deficit-during-his-state-union-1360684273 You're obviously doing something right if your comments containing Clear Truths are being selectively targeted in this manner.
The points don't matter - only what you say does! Never Give Up! Keep Occupying The Real Issues!
From the Robert Reich article below:
"Every society must necessarily decide for itself what decency requires. That’s the very meaning of a “society.”
Don’t fall for the mindless assertion that “markets” know best. Markets are human creations, requiring human beings to decide how they are structured and maintained."
We need to fight for a moral and decent economic system that works for all human beings.
Robert Reich Rocks! Also by him recently - http://www.nationofchange.org/biggest-republican-lie-1360765262 from which -
'In the wake of the previous ten recessions, the U.S. economy grew twice as fast on average—4.6 percent per year. It used to be that the deeper the recession, the faster the bounce back. The Great Depression bottomed out in 1933. In 1934, the economy grew more than 8 percent; in 1935, 8.2 percent; in 1936, almost 14 percent.'
'Not this time. Unemployment is still sky high. The current official rate of 7.9 percent doesn’t include 8 million people (5.6 percent of the workforce) working part-time who’d rather be working full time. Nor those too discouraged even to look for work. The ratio of workers to non-workers in the adult population is lower than any time in the last thirty years – and that’s hardly explained by boomer retirements.'
'Wages continue to drop because the only way many Americans can find (or keep) jobs is by settling for lower pay. Most new jobs created since the depth of the Great Recession pay less than the jobs that were lost. That’s why the real median wage is now 8 percent below what it was in 2000'.
Thank you for your excellent quotes from the other piece, which I strongly recommend to all here.
Never Give Up Exposing The Greed! Occupy Decency! Solidarity.
The United States is a corrupt society where the average person is taken advantage of at every turn. He's also been convinced that it is other society's that are corrupt and so his government righteously wages war to end the corruption overseas. Meanwhile, he's being ripped off at every turn. Until this society can put people over profit we will continue our downward slide economically, morally, spiritually, etc. (Responding to your permalinked comment below.)
'A society necessarily determines how the “market” is to be organized. Standards of morality and decency play a large role in those decisions.' - from - http://www.nationofchange.org/minimum-wage-guns-healthcare-and-meaning-decent-society-1361024552 and for a look at why 'The United States is a corrupt society', also see - http://www.nationofchange.org/big-corporations-put-seed-funding-republican-dark-money-group-1361030575 . Never Give Up Speaking Clear Truths! Occupy Wall Street! Solidarity.
Thanks so much A4C for all you do here and for your solidarity. Never give up! If we can get the American people to understand these truths and that their economic situation and job situation is not their fault, that they hold no blame and should have no shame, and that they have rights, maybe we can turn this thing around. TPTB do not want these facts out there because people might actually wake up.
Yes, 'American people to understand the truth that their economic situation and job situation is not their fault, that they hold no blame and that they should have no shame, and that they have rights'. It's clear that Americans are being taken advantage of at every turn, with the corporate money lenders in the front ranks. Please see - http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2013/02/how-make-money-screwing-your-customers You are again totally right in saying that - 'TPTB do not want these facts out there because people might actually wake up', which is exactly why what you and others do here is so very important.
Never Give Up On The 99%! Occupy Solidarity!
Air costs 75 cents here...for your tires!!! Talk about profit!
ask Beijing in 10 years
What China has gotten wrong: Communism with a capitalistic economic system:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/01/15/169422960/beijings-pollution-seen-from-space-in-before-and-after-photos
the profit motive is supposed to breed efficiency by our pro-profit model arguments
it doesn't
driven by the want to own everything out of jurisdictions of the public
they want to privatize water for profit
Why have you been voted down? Do we actually have trolls here that want to privatize water? Huh!? Where are you? Who are you?!!! Come out with it! Don't f'ing hide! Tell us you want to privatize water!!!!
BW that movement has been going forward for awhile. Every grocery store and convenience store has their water isle or section.
True, but that is different than the water you get through your pipes, DKA. Big difference. No choice there.
someone's just following me around
the down vote has nothing to do with the statements
Thanks for sharing that with us. I wish I knew what words of encouragement to give you
Neoliberalism/crony capitalism has played itself out on many people in different inhumane ways
Just know that there are many good, determined people working hard to turn this around, and now you are one of them
~Odin~
I don't know what you were selling, but you can sell online with a free ETSY account if you are making handmade items or supplies for making them. It's easy to set up your own store (free) and it's 20 cents to list an item for three months I believe. You can set the transactions up so it goes through PayPal and ETSY does not take a portion of your sales either. More traffic than any consignment store for sure.
If there are no jobs available in your area, they must all be filled. If you like children, you can easily offer daycare in your home to all those working people. You can even set up state sponsored daycare in which the state provides money for the meals/snacks you feed to the daycare kids and the state jobs office refers people who get jobs through them to you so you're always busy.
Back to the consignment field, if you are crafty, think of jobs in your community that might fit your skills. If you paint or sew-creating sets or costumes for community theater or schools or photographers or pageants. Or working for a decorator, or real estate office painting or making curtains etc for properties going up for sale. If you're really good, offer to teach classes for local craft stores or even neighborhoods, or community ed.
Just some ideas. Good luck!
Vap, I really appreciate your thoughtful post full of wonderful ideas and I've been reading it over and over again hoping that some of your ideas will spawn more ideas.
I collect antiques and vintage items. I thought about Etsy and Ebay but because this shop and farmer's market was nearby it was much easier and appealing to me. The owner of this shop was a professional con who has done this type of scam from Michigan to Kansas and now VA. It's a horrible feeling to know that someone spends their entire day planning schemes to rip off people.
I considered day care but I was very concerned about lawsuits. People around are even creating scams to employ someone and then sue them.
I am a family researcher- mostly as a hobby but now I may just pursue that more aggressively as a profession and build a website.
I'm artsy, creative and a musician too but I'm not consistently good enough to earn any dependable income. Although I do enjoy making things. Maybe Etsy would be another option for me for those few good items that I create.
I really need a job with a real paycheck though...I need to show I have steady income from somewhere though. Plus it contributes to my SS as well.
As someone that is artsy, creative, etc-I've rarely enjoyed working just a "job" that doesn't feed my soul, so I've always looked for ways to earn money that fulfills a need for others-meaning they will be happy to see me coming-while allowing me to control as much of the "job" aspect of things as possible.
I've been taken by professional scammers too, but if I let those experiences make me jaded, then I lose out on all the wonderful people in between scammers. I prefer to use them as teaching moments and take what I learned in the process and move on. Even difficult events in my life have taught me something important, and made me who I am today.
What about something like professional dog walking/vacation care for pets? You mentioned you have dogs and perhaps it's possible to set up some kind of dog kenneling, care service?
While you are still unemployed, might I suggest you find a way to "serve" others in some way that gives you meaning and happiness? Visiting the elderly, volunteering in a local cause you support, helping others in some way....I find that when I'm doing all I can to help someone else, I feel better. And honestly, during those times I make connections with good people who often end up being a key part of my next job or adventure. You're making connections AND being a "free" example of the kind of person you are, and people who hire others are more likely to hire someone they've met or experienced themselves and seen positive things from. You never know.
Something I love about my neighborhood is how close we all are and how we watch out for each other. Someone in our development started a Facebook page specifically for the neighborhood. it was literally that simple. Within days people were posting things like "Does anyone have a cup of flour I could borrow" and "Does anyone know a good orthodontist?" etc. People started connecting, getting to know each other online. And that led to posts like "Mary Johnson just had foot surgery and I wanted to take some dinner to her, anyone want to come along?" Once the trust and friendships formed, they started looking out for each other, taking care of each other. It's beautiful to watch. (And often hilarious...I apparently live in an area filled with natural comedians)
We warn each other about crimes, colds and flu going around, storms coming in. We tell each other about the sale on meat or toilet paper going on at the local market. We post about lost pets and found pets. We offer stuff we have too much of to each other, and ask if others have something we need to borrow. And we've even posted unemployment and had others post job leads. You never know....
OH...and one more idea. I'm a Pinterest FREAK and it's definitely a rabbit hole you can fall into and not come out of for days. BUT, it's also a HUGE source of ideas for me. You might cruise through it and see something you could make and sell. The things people see that they love and rant over are your biggest clues to what's "hot" or in demand currently.
Those are wonderful thoughts and ideas V and thanks so much for sharing them with me. I'm like you in that I need a job that feeds my soul and I tend to think as you do to where all our experiences serve as sources of wisdom. I just wish that all my lessons were not piled into one week! The neighborhood facebook page is a wonderful idea but I won't do that with my current neighborhood-- well, maybe a few of them. Long story but trust me, it's not a friendly hood. However, I may do something similar with a different group.
I wish I knew why it was that our "lessons" seem to fall out of the sky like rain and swamp us rather than coming at us slowly and consistently over time. I vaguely remember once praying for patience....maybe that's what caused all my problems!!?? LOL
Sorry to hear about your neighborhood. I am truly blessed.
hahahaha Maybe some of us need more prodding....a bigger bang!
When I first started my business years ago, I didn't have a proper vehicle and I kept refusing to buy one. Guess what? I loaned our only car to my husband and he totaled it in a car accident on the way home. He was fine but I was absolutely forced to do the very thing I had been resisting and as a result, doubled my monthly income.
One of my dear friends describes such things as being a member of the "2x4 Club". She claims she is the President of the Club and gave me the position of "Secretary". If you'd like to apply for membership, I can put you in touch with her... :)
As long as there is no membership fee, I'd gladly join!
Maybe this is for you:
Back to Topic References: http://www.occupywallst.org/forum/conglomerate-and-dgrc-topic-references/
Unfortunately I can't find a specific post I did a while back (I'll keep looking), but this is close enough for now: http://occupywallst.org/forum/directory-of-subsidiaries/
Could you explain this in more detail? It seems that all I would be doing is starting a company and advertising through OWS? If that's the case, I'm not really clear as to how this would benefit me in the short-term or at all. I already own a small gardening company that remains in active status with the SCC.
Oops, I see my first link had an ! at the end which broke it, but it's fixed now.
I also found the link I couldn't find before: http://www.occupywallst.org/forum/thinking-cooperative-become-a-success-with-the-con/
Well, first of all, the free advertizing to supporters of the movement should provide you with a solid customer base. If not right away, soon.
You would also be contributing to the movement, as your issue is not just yours and goes much deeper than the surface issues you're experiencing now. We have to come together and fight the root cause, or things like this will continue to happen and worsen.
Shoot, out of time, but I'll be back. I look forward to your next comments on it.
I'm thinking...planning..
I'll be back too.
What do you think of this? http://occupywallst.org/forum/p1-1-first-directory-of-subsidiaries/
I think I'll start my first subsidiary... a snow removal business (I shovel snow for extra money in the winter because my full-time job can't support my family). Maybe I'll call it Snowman.
You need to save that name right away! I love it. Did you know that you can buy a liquid product made of potassium acetate that will prevent ice and snow from sticking to the pavement? All you do is put the mixture in a garden sprayer and apply it to the sidewalks, steps and such. It's safe and it fertilizes as it breaks down. It doesn't burn or harm surfaces and the environment like salt does. You could also offer that as part of your service. If need be, you could mix up a salt slurry and spray that as well.
I will look over all the info you have provided. I do believe that your plan is doable but I'm still not sure if everyone will benefit. My concern is that someone like me who lives in a very republican area would not get customers for two reasons..one is that most republicans around here don't give a damn about being ethical consumers and the other thing is that even if they did, they would not support a liberal idea or company. How would we direct traffic to the directories?
I will take some time to review your info. In the meantime, set up your snowman business.
Well, I added Snowman to the Directory of Subsidiaries... the first member! Want to be the second?
https://secure.groupspaces.com/group/99Conglomerate/join/
You can edit your profile and subscribe to email lists. I just sent myself the first directory email. It is all so easy to do.
At least see if you can find my profile pic (the snowman and my daughter). I'll eventually have to add the 99% in a circle symbol to my "logo" and submit a slogan, but this is a trial still. Maybe there's a better (and also free) way to get started.
I had no idea about that spray formula, you're right, it would be a great addition to my offering! Thanks!
I'm hoping that in time people start to feel shame for not supporting the 99%, maybe even in a community of unethical consumers and fearful republicans.
May as well show you what the first Subsidiary Directory email looks like (without the HTML):
" 99Conglomerate Here is the updated list of 99% Conglomerate Subsidiaries. Shame on you if you don't support them! Think about who you give your money to... is it the 1% or the rest of us?
Canada
Edmonton, Alberta Snowman - Residential Snow Removal
It is your duty as a consumer and entrepreneur to create a subsidiary, have the Conglomerate acquire it, and promote wealth and prosperity for the 99% in your comunity and worldwide. "
http://occupywallst.org/forum/p1-incorporation/#comment-892459
...leads to...
http://www.occupywallst.org/forum/p1-1-create-list-of-existing-co-operatives-and-pot/
...which links back to here. Talk soon.
Saw that corp trend in preferring part timers about 8 years ago.
As for the shop owner ripping you off, that sucks. File a small claims suit. Liens will get your $ back.
Sorry, Gillian, truly. Life in the good 'ole U.S. of A. sure ain't easy these days. I'm just wondering when the masses are going to rise up?!!
The inhumanity of our economy and the subsequent moral turpitude of our labor laws, banking laws, the way we treat the environment, etc. etc. will be the end of us. I really believe that. This society is unsustainable.
Thanks. I don't know what to do Beautiful. I feel so completely at odds with everything right now and I feel so alone because everyone else seems to be content and enjoying life. I just turned 52 and my friend is 49 and we both are feeling really really terrified that our age is hindering our ability to get employed and stay employed. No wonder so many have given up trying.
There's a part of me Beautiful, the spiritual part of me that really does believe this is the end. Every week there is a major storm, FEMA is so depleted, floods, fires, crazy humans who have completely gone mad, people are so aloof, spiritually botoxed or they are completely superficial. The news sounds like a tacky reality show on steroids. I just wish that meteor out there in space would just slam the shit out of us soon so we can move on to a new beginning. This is the most cruel inhumane planet.
Amen, Gillian. I've read many of your comments over the months and have to say that you are one of the true faces of modern America. I can relate to just about everything I've read from you. And your age is definitely going to be a big problem. There isn't supposed to be such a thing as age discrimination but everyone will tell you it's very real. There are more kids turning 18 than there are jobs being created, so with each passing day there's more competition for those jobs and it probably isn't going to get better. I'm in the same boat, slightly older and also unemployed. I just wish I had some words of encouragement for you.
Have you seen the movie, " Company Men"? It's a very good movie depicting crony capitalism and age discrimination. Tommy Lee Jones, etc... I hope that circumstances turn around for you soon. Keep smiling.
Thanks Munny. Thanks for the taking the time to write. It means a lot to me when anyone reaches out, even if they don't have answers. It's tough isn't it? Maybe people our age need to live together and support each other that way??? I'm not sure what the answer is. I've been trying to get out of this country as I really don't believe there is a place for us here any longer. Like you, I don't believe it's going to get any easier at all.
life is tough, nothing new about that. stop whining.
Trollin trollin trollin
Well, I think the thing to do is realize that you are not being singled out. Millions of Americans are having a hard time, but most are just too ashamed to admit it because they think it is their own fault. So, people like you are courageous because you have knowledge and you speak out and shine a light on what is wrong. I hope you have love in your life, too, because that can help give meaning to life in a society that is vacuous at best.
I know. A part of me wants to sit in the shit pit with others in my situation and a part of me hates being in this place so much that I just want to avoid everyone. Love? No, I don't have any love in my life..well, my dogs but, as much as I love them, they are even moping now because they sense my uneasiness and fear. One day at a time. Hopefully, tomorrow will be better.
Could you take those dogs for a walk for me?? No dogs allowed where I live.
We are being isolated (unemployment lines have been replaced with online) and we are kept ignorant: our news media are omitting and distracting when they're not outright lying ~ or "discontinued" (as Progressive Radio has been coast to coast).
This is all by design, in the Class War that nearly no one knows we are in, much less losing. Got to WTFU! And Unite!
Hey W. I agree with everything in both of your posts. Sure, I'll walk the dogs. You love dogs too? Wish you could walk with me..then again, you might be wiping my tears and runny nose the entire time...hahahah
Yes, it's all by design and it's a brilliant plan that supports genocide and crony wealth. The human factor in our civilization is dead.
It's not dead, just overwhelmed by geed sometimes. We have to have faith in our precious, resilient and mighty humanity.
Yeah, I'm a dog lover, in a previous life I had them, now I can't. I don't miss dog poop.
I think that an economic system that pits people against one another creates the way you are feeling. So, people are fear-based not love-based. They are afraid to share because we don't live in a share economy we live in a greedy me me me economy. It's very sad because there are psychological components to this that affect the very root of our nuclear families, our hearts and our souls. I'm not religious, Gillian, but I'll do an ohmmmmmmm for you and put out the very best wishes to the universe that things straighten out for you. If it's any consolation I've had a rough year, myself, but things are starting to get better. Much love and peace to you.
Here's my Hallmark card to America:
. I must admit, America brought religion into my life... (Inside card) - I never believed in Hell until I moved here
Beautiful, I'm not religious either but I am very spiritual. If there's any way to describe my spirituality I suppose many would consider me a Pagan in that I tend to notice and respect the natural order of the universe in all living things. The order is simply amazing..a miracle really. That's why I believe that if enough people understood the natural order, more good could take it's power back.
Further understanding may show us acceptance thus allowing room to know Love is all powerful, natural order sees all come home...ALL ONE
Trollin trollin trollin
And your ego's swollen
Keep them untruths rolling ...
Loved your thoughts but had a moment of cognitive dissonance with the idea of "good taking it's power back". For me, things that are good really aren't about power. It's not that they are powerless, not at all. But they are quiet, dignified, enduring. They bend, but they don't break because goodness is strength. Sometimes the smallest things in the world are the most brilliant, the most beautiful. They aren't on grand pedestals to be admired by all, they are growing near the ground, often in the shade of bigger more powerful things. Good is good just because. Good is good in spite of everything.
Death and decay are part of the order of things. We don't like them, but it is the leaves that die and fall off the branches that nourish the roots. It is the bitter cold that causes things to hibernate, replenish, restore, and then come forth again. In the evolution of this planet, many, MANY things have come, lived, and gone never to return. Are those things losses? Or are they just a transient part of the order of life?
We all want to be important, but we might not be any more important than the dinosaurs or the colliding space junk we came from. Who knows. I'm just glad I got to be here for a little while.
Good can be a mighty powerful force..gentle as it can be it still holds great power. It's an energy force, just like bad. We need to empower ourselves with positive thinking and I'm trying to keep my thoughts in a positive, energizing mode so I can survive this and not crash into complete and utter despair. I won't lie, it's really tough and I find myself talking to myself as a Tony Robbins cheerleader most of the time. I may just get committed to an institution before all this is over.
I lose my job, my things stolen and my world seems to come to full stop. Yet, everywhere around me, life goes on, grass keeps growing, trees are budding, humans are shopping and eating and driving around, going to work, paying bills. I feel left out of the orbit. But, I know it's just my perception that is defeating me. I must continually seek sources of fulfillment and recharging that keep my mind sharp and my hope and faith in a brighter future alive.
I had this revelation last night that right now, in this moment is the best of the worst that could be happening to me and so I need to just relax and enjoy and savour this moment and reap as much joy as I can from it and not miss it by wasting time in despair.
Amen. Solidarity & tho' "it's a long way to the light" [ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cccwBEsx2f4 ] the journey will be worthwhile. Your sincerity and insight are beautiful and will give food for thought and strength to many who read here.
You are not alone or a loan ! You are NOT to blame so feel NO shame !! It's the Econo-me,me,me - directed by Predatory Psychopathic Parasites that's actually to blame !!! In solidarity, I also append :
"Cooperatives and Community Work Are Part of American DNA", by Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers : http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/14076-cooperatives-and-community-work-are-part-of-american-dna ;
"The Truth about 'Class War' in America'", by Richard Wolff : http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/sep/19/class-war-america-republicans-rich ;
"Capitalism Hits the Fan" - Richard Wolff (Video) : http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article32494.htm ;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDkVQvhZx04 &
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjT86g9gTKk ~*~
pax, amor et lux ...
(((( Hugs )))) Shadz. Thanks for sharing with me.
There is order to the universe. It's just that we humans are messing with it. The more we can wake people up to these realities the better off we'll all be and the better off the earth will be.
I truly hope that your hell ends soon. Change is perpetual, Gillian, and things will get better for you if you can find the fortitude to get through your hard time.
The major problem with our economic system is the lack of rules, regulations and enforcement. Big money has stacked the deck in their favor and they have co-opted our political system while we have been MIA, lowest Voter turnout on earth. We are being isolated (unemployment lines have been replaced with online) and we are kept ignorant: our news media are omitting and distracting when they're not outright lying ~ or discontinued (as Progressive Radio has been coast to coast).
This is all by design, in the Class War that nearly no one knows we are in, much less losing. Got to WTFU! And Unite!
lack of rules and regulations?????????? you must be kidding.
Uh, yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Don't get out of the cave/prepper shelter much??
Raygun and RepubliCon Deregulation, Laissez Faire governing and legislation have stagnated income, killed our middleclass, allowed the greatest bank heist in world history (the Wall Street Swindle and bail out, see "Inside Job" and "Heist"), turned us from a Creditor Nation to Debtor Nation, redistributed all our country's wealth to the top 10%, and by buying our government and legal system made the entire financial siege of treason temporarily/artificially legal!!
Re-regulation and the return to Law and Order payback will be a monumental bitch!!!!!!!!!!!
the epa makes laws and call them regulations. they are NOT constitutionally empowered to do so.
Trollin trollin trollin
yes you have made yourself clear time and again
Trollin trollin trollin
And your ego's swollen
Keep them untruths rolling ...
You speak as if you have it fork-ed tongue and long wooden nose to go with. Can you be more specific and are you a troll
Well, look at you. It's our little troll that tries to pretend it's insane.
It is obvious that GF has no idea of what she says. For every statement is nearly the opposite and just not truth. Though you are what you say of others does bring further clarification to what this one is all about.
The RW's whole anti-government, anti-science mindset would put the entire knuckle-dragging lot of you in the Darwin Awards Hall of Fame, but the collateral damage you'd cause would be entirely unacceptable.
Not Prepper Shelter, your a FEMA Camp escapee!!
Get back in there!!
No. they write regulations and the libe(R)tarians call them laws, because they don't give a shit about the ecology, or people, or much of anything at all, other than their own selfish profits..
Well, they may be stupid laws, but that's a different question. The technical legal process by which they do so is completely legal.
And that's a different answer.
It is indeed. The guy who can figure out how to make them stop passing stupid laws and regulations ought to be canonized. Unfortunately, it'll probably never happen. Stupid laws seem to be a permanent fixture of civilization.
Are too. Their power is delegated to them by the Congress as part of the enabling statute for the agency, or by a grant of authority in a specific law. Been that way since the beginning of the Republic.
cite where in the constitution it says that.
The Congress is specifically authorized to run the country at Article I, section 8:
“To make Rules for the Government . . . “(and there’s a long list of specific things the Congress is supposed to take care of as well).
Later in Article I, section 8, the Congress is authorized to make all laws necessary to execute its authority, including the appointment of officials and bureaucrats to run things:
"To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof."
The President is authorized to appoint public officials at Article II, section 3:
“. . . he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint . . . public Ministers”
Those statements, authorizing the appointment of public officials empowered by the Congress and the President to make rules under the supervision of Congress and the Executive, have been repeatedly upheld by the Supreme Court since the first days of the Republic:
“Congress may delegate powers which it may rightfully exercise itself. “
“In our increasingly complex society, replete with ever changing and more technical problems, Congress simply cannot do its job absent an ability to delegate power under broad general directives.”
The power of the Supreme Court to make this sort of judgment dates explicitly from 1803 in the United States:
“It is emphatically the duty of the Judicial Department to say what the law is.”
In fact, it originates in English common law, no later than 1160, with the establishment of secular tribunals in England.
the consitution says that the CONGRESS shall make the laws,...... the congress, .not agencies. the epa is a rogue agency and should be abolished.
Trollin trollin trollin
And your ego's swollen
Keep them untruths rolling ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojrQq6yc_2w
I agree that regulation is not the problem. Bad regulation, in favor of the wealthy and corporations, is.
Celente- "Try regulating the big guys, and deregulating me a bit!!"
I always loved that line.
Bank of America will sell you a home, collect a shit ton of money for it, and when the whole country collapses, they get to collect more.
Change out your windows without asking the local government, and you get fined. You get fined more than they did for collapsing the entire economy (o).
I think I need a new roof. Better get permission from the local government, and pay the tax. And you better not higher someone who hasnt registered with them, because thats another tax, and your friend can go to jail for trying to help you out.
The amount of regulations the people in this country face is insane. The largest prison complex in the world, in the "land of the free". What a joke.
Meanwhile JP Morgan screams crisis and we all just fork over 85 billion a month like idiots.
And, try getting that roof to pass the local "inspection." So much fun. Meanwhile corporations run wild.
PS...Regarding Medicare, just received this today:
Two members of Congress today reintroduced an ambitious bill that would repeal Medicare's sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula for setting physician pay and gradually phase out fee-for-service (FFS) reimbursement.
One major difference this time around for the bipartisan bill, originally introduced in May 2012, is that its price tag appears considerably lower, making passage more likely.
When Reps. Allyson Schwartz (D-PA) and Joe Heck, DO (R-NV), proposed this legislation last year, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) had estimated that repealing the SGR and merely freezing current Medicare rates for 10 years would cost roughly $320 billion.
Since then, the CBO has reduced that 10-year estimate on the basis of lower than projected Medicare spending on physician services for the past 3 years. In a budget forecast released yesterday, the agency put the cost of a 10-year rate freeze at $138 billion.
The immediate effect of the bill from Schwartz and Dr. Heck, titled the Medicare Physician Payment Innovation Act, would be to avert a Medicare pay cut of roughly 25% on January 1, 2014, that is mandated by the SGR formula. Instead, the bill maintains 2013 rates through the end of 2014.
After 2014, Medicare would begin to shift from FFS to a methodology that rewards physicians for the quality and efficiency of patient care. From 2015 through 2018, the rates for primary care, preventive, and care coordination services would increase annually by 2.5% for physicians for whom 60% of Medicare allowables fall into these categories. Medicare rates for all other physician services would rise annually by 0.5%.
Meanwhile, the bill calls on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to step up its efforts to test and evaluate new models of delivering and paying for healthcare (experiments with medical homes, accountable care organizations, and bundled payments are already underway). By October 2017, CMS must give physicians its best menu of new models to choose from. Two menu options would allow some physicians unable to fully revolutionize to participate in a modified FFS scheme.
The year to transition from FFS to "high quality, high value care" will be 2019 under the legislation. Physicians will either operate in a new, CMS-approved delivery and payment model of their choosing or traditional FFS Medicare. The government would keep FFS rates in 2019 at 2018 levels.
After 2019, physicians still embracing traditional FFS Medicare would see their rates reduced until 2024, when they would be permanently frozen at 2023 levels. Physicians operating in the new models, in contrast, would have the opportunity to earn raises for high-quality, low-cost care.
Press materials from Schwartz and Dr. Heck do not establish a cost for all these changes, which are different from freezing current Medicare rates for 10 years.
ACP, AAFP, ACC Support Bill
Congress enacted the SGR formula in 1997 to slow the growth of Medicare spending. The formula has called for pay reductions each year going back to 2002, and in each of those years, except 2002, Congress postponed the cut, which had the effect of making next year's reduction even larger. Medical societies have warned that if a massive SGR pay cut ever takes effect, physicians would desert Medicare in droves, leaving seniors in the lurch. The societies have long lobbied Congress to repeal the formula, which they consider flawed because it bases physician pay in part on increases or decreases in the gross domestic product when it should be linked to medical-practice inflation, in their opinion.
The new version of the Physician Payment Innovation Act garnered praise from much of organized medicine.
"We enthusiastically support this legislation," said Charles Cutler, MD, chair-elect of the Board of Regents of the American College of Physicians, in a press release issued by the 2 lawmakers. "Over the past decade, the repeated threat of cuts to physician payments resulting from the SGR has brought chaos to the practice environment. It is difficult for physicians to keep their doors open, especially for our members in small or solo practices, with the constant threat of Medicare payments being cut by 25% or more."
Jeff Cain, MD, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians, said in the same press release that the bill ends "repeated threats to physicians' ability to provide care for Medicare beneficiaries" and "paves the way for innovations such as the patient-centered medical home."
Other medical societies that have officially signed on as supporters include the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Society of Hospital Medicine, the American Osteopathic Association, the American College of Cardiology, and the American Academy of Neurology.
One major society that did not appear on the list of supporters was the American Medical Association (AMA). In a separate press release, AMA President Jeremy Lazarus, MD, expressed more cautious sentiments. Dr. Lazarus thanked Schwartz and Dr. Heck for their work to repeal the SGR formula and called their legislation "an important part of the continuing discussion on the future of Medicare and the end of the SGR."
Although the list of medical societies backing the Physician Payment Innovation Act includes some that represent procedure-oriented specialists, it is dominated in terms of sheer membership by societies oriented toward primary care. And not a single society on the list has the word "surgery" in its title. Then again, the absence of these and other specialty societies might not come as a surprise, given how the bill boosts reimbursement for primary care, preventive, and care coordination services by 2.5% for 4 years in a row, while bumping up the rates for all other services by only 0.5%.
Thanks for all that information, Gillian. You do good work here.
This is not rocket science. It's just a massive campaign assault by corporations hell bent on taking over the world for profits.
health care is for those with money
war is for peace
monetary policy is for corrupt Wall Street banks
and we live in an illusion.
It's time to face the reality and change it. It can be done, but only through massive education and awakening.