Community Chat

[PamfromCT]

There is some dispute as to the method of how COLA is determined.  Do you honestly believe there has been no inflation in the past several years?  Not in my world.

As seniors, I can give you just a small example of what people face.  When my husband suffered a minor heart attack a few years ago, rehab was recommended.  Our out-of-pocket costs for this was $1,000.  I have suffered severe back pain for a while, and therapy was recommended - PT three times a week.  After two months, my core has been strengthened and my pain relieved.  our co-pay?  $120 a week.  Fortunately, we can afford it.  If someone cannot afford this, they go without.  And I will add, and many dentists agree, that dental insurance available to seniors is not very good.  I guess the alternative is to go without.  

And our our issues have been very minor compared with many seniors.  

To folks who have no sympathy for seniors living on SS, I hope you realize you will get old, if you are lucky.  Hope you are fortunate enough to save and invest and are able to live decently and pay for all drugs and treatments you will need.  

[Plaid Pants2]

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@Moonchilde wrote:

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@Maudelyn wrote:

Nothing wrong with growing up feeling you're special.  It lends to good self-esteem.  Entitlement is not feeling you're special, it's feeling you're "owed" something. Like a cost of living increase because you haven't gotten one for 2 years. Or to be able to purchase health insurance for $104 a month without every having an increase, even though every working person has been paying rising premiums for 20 years.

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Clearly you have an axe to grind about the SS COLA. Whatever. We get it. LOL.

Yes, there IS something wrong with growing up feeling that you're special when it transfers into adulthood where it very, very often results in a sense of entitlement - like wanting things NOW, not feeling the need to stand in line like everyone else, and genuinely feeling that regardless of rules or policies, *their* wants supercede everyone else's and rules should be broken for them - for *their* benefit *only* (which is not the case for those wishing for higher COLA, BTW, since the COLA would not be just for them, but for everyone with SS).

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This!!!! ^

This is what I am talking about!

Where a store has a 30-day return policy, and someone wants to return something three months later, and when told that it is store policy, that returns can only be done with-in a 30-day period, they throw a temper tantrum, and say, "I DEMAND that you take this back!"

Uh, no, sorry sweetheart. Aint gonna happen.

Or,

a person is late checking-in for their flight, and they have closed the door to boarding the plane, they DEMAND that they be allowed to get on the plane.

Again, uh, sorry, no. 

If you wanted to be on this plane, then you should have made the effort to have been here at least one hour ago, so that you wouldn't miss your flight.

It's the "I'm-special-so-I-don't-have-to-follow-the-same-rules-as-everybody-else" attitude, that I am tired of.

And yes, I have seen that attitude in people of ALL ages.

[Maudelyn]

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@PamfromCT wrote:

There is some dispute as to the method of how COLA is determined.  Do you honestly believe there has been no inflation in the past several years?  Not in my world.

As seniors, I can give you just a small example of what people face.  When my husband suffered a minor heart attack a few years ago, rehab was recommended.  Our out-of-pocket costs for this was $1,000.  I have suffered severe back pain for a while, and therapy was recommended - PT three times a week.  After two months, my core has been strengthened and my pain relieved.  our co-pay?  $120 a week.  Fortunately, we can afford it.  If someone cannot afford this, they go without.  And I will add, and many dentists agree, that dental insurance available to seniors is not very good.  I guess the alternative is to go without.  

And our our issues have been very minor compared with many seniors.  

To folks who have no sympathy for seniors living on SS, I hope you realize you will get old, if you are lucky.  Hope you are fortunate enough to save and invest and are able to live decently and pay for all drugs and treatments you will need.  

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People who are still working face these same things. If I have back pain, I still have to go to work.  If my employer doesn't offer dental insurance, I get it privately if I can afford it.  If my husband has a heart attack, he gets nothing until he goes back to work. And if he's got no health insurance, we go bankrupt.  I have sympathy for anyone struggling.  I don't have sympathy for those who think because they're of a certain age, they're owed something the rest of us can't get.

[Suziepeach]

I worked and paid into SS for way over 30years.  I waited until almost a certain age & am getting what I put in back..  I don't feel entitled to a darn thing..

[PamfromCT]

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@Maudelyn wrote:

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@PamfromCT wrote:

There is some dispute as to the method of how COLA is determined.  Do you honestly believe there has been no inflation in the past several years?  Not in my world.

As seniors, I can give you just a small example of what people face.  When my husband suffered a minor heart attack a few years ago, rehab was recommended.  Our out-of-pocket costs for this was $1,000.  I have suffered severe back pain for a while, and therapy was recommended - PT three times a week.  After two months, my core has been strengthened and my pain relieved.  our co-pay?  $120 a week.  Fortunately, we can afford it.  If someone cannot afford this, they go without.  And I will add, and many dentists agree, that dental insurance available to seniors is not very good.  I guess the alternative is to go without.  

And our our issues have been very minor compared with many seniors.  

To folks who have no sympathy for seniors living on SS, I hope you realize you will get old, if you are lucky.  Hope you are fortunate enough to save and invest and are able to live decently and pay for all drugs and treatments you will need.  

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People who are still working face these same things. If I have back pain, I still have to go to work.  If my employer doesn't offer dental insurance, I get it privately if I can afford it.  If my husband has a heart attack, he gets nothing until he goes back to work. And if he's got no health insurance, we go bankrupt.  I have sympathy for anyone struggling.  I don't have sympathy for those who think because they're of a certain age, they're owed something the rest of us can't get.

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I do feel compassion for anyone in a bad situation.  But if you are young enough, and there are two working people in a home, why would not one have a job with good benefits?  If that is the case, I would consider Obama care as a start.  And possible job retraining as an option.  It is not fool-proof, but it can be done.  My DIL just completed her bachelor's degree with running a home with two small children, having her own small business, as well as a part-time job.  I began and completed four years of college as an adult myself. And many community colleges offer a host of programs that lead to a good job.  When my DH was "downsized" (corporate lingo) when our youngest was starting college, his graduate degree and years of work, together with determination, led him eventually to another good job.  And yes, we paid for private health insurance all the while.  Our two children completed college with no financial aid.  They have never had a job without good health insurance.  Anyone can go bankrupt and lose everything in a bad situation, but I sure didn't and wouldn't let myself get stuck with no or lousy insurance.  Yes, we have had our struggles.  And yes, we went to work no matter what.  But if someone is young enough, and in decent health, I would do everything possible to get a job with decent benefits.

[maestra]

@PamfromCTSome households dont have the luxury of at least 1 'good' job (sometimes having a job is that 1 'good' job) or taking the time (even through night classes and I did that for 4 years-try it sometimes, challenging even for the young) for job retraining.

As for ACA, since I was forced by my former employer to have to take it, it is expensive if you arent on Medicaid, and the deductables are prohibitively high, 10K can be an average.

Private health insurance is out of the question as a cancer survivor of only 1 year.

For many employers they will skimp on benefits. I have had many years working with NO health benefits. My daughter had health insurance from my ex-husband, thank goodness.

 Speaking in generalities from your personal/family experiences is not the norm for most people I have to agree w/Maudelynn on her assessment on this topic..

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@PamfromCT wrote:

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@Maudelyn wrote:

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@PamfromCT wrote:

There is some dispute as to the method of how COLA is determined.  Do you honestly believe there has been no inflation in the past several years?  Not in my world.

As seniors, I can give you just a small example of what people face.  When my husband suffered a minor heart attack a few years ago, rehab was recommended.  Our out-of-pocket costs for this was $1,000.  I have suffered severe back pain for a while, and therapy was recommended - PT three times a week.  After two months, my core has been strengthened and my pain relieved.  our co-pay?  $120 a week.  Fortunately, we can afford it.  If someone cannot afford this, they go without.  And I will add, and many dentists agree, that dental insurance available to seniors is not very good.  I guess the alternative is to go without.  

And our our issues have been very minor compared with many seniors.  

To folks who have no sympathy for seniors living on SS, I hope you realize you will get old, if you are lucky.  Hope you are fortunate enough to save and invest and are able to live decently and pay for all drugs and treatments you will need.  

---

People who are still working face these same things. If I have back pain, I still have to go to work.  If my employer doesn't offer dental insurance, I get it privately if I can afford it.  If my husband has a heart attack, he gets nothing until he goes back to work. And if he's got no health insurance, we go bankrupt.  I have sympathy for anyone struggling.  I don't have sympathy for those who think because they're of a certain age, they're owed something the rest of us can't get.

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I do feel compassion for anyone in a bad situation.  But if you are young enough, and there are two working people in a home, why would not one have a job with good benefits?  If that is the case, I would consider Obama care as a start.  And possible job retraining as an option.  It is not fool-proof, but it can be done.  My DIL just completed her bachelor's degree with running a home with two small children, having her own small business, as well as a part-time job.  I began and completed four years of college as an adult myself. And many community colleges offer a host of programs that lead to a good job.  When my DH was "downsized" (corporate lingo) when our youngest was starting college, his graduate degree and years of work, together with determination, led him eventually to another good job.  And yes, we paid for private health insurance all the while.  Our two children completed college with no financial aid.  They have never had a job without good health insurance.  Anyone can go bankrupt and lose everything in a bad situation, but I sure didn't and wouldn't let myself get stuck with no or lousy insurance.  Yes, we have had our struggles.  And yes, we went to work no matter what.  But if someone is young enough, and in decent health, I would do everything possible to get a job with decent benefits.

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[Blahblahvampemer]

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@Maudelyn wrote:

Nothing wrong with growing up feeling you're special.  It lends to good self-esteem.  Entitlement is not feeling you're special, it's feeling you're "owed" something. Like a cost of living increase because you haven't gotten one for 2 years. Or to be able to purchase health insurance for $104 a month without every having an increase, even though every working person has been paying rising premiums for 20 years.

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Criminals actually have high levels of self esteem but bad judgement.  You can feel horrible about yourself and still be kind and well mannered.

[goldensrbest]

I guess RANTING is going to help?