Mr. Moderate

Unable to find a decent “permanent” job, I took a one-year contract position with a major contract labor company. This at least allowed me to have access to a decent health care plan, even if I was required to pay the entire group rate premium out of my gross earnings. However, I’m approaching the end of my one-year contract term, and that means I’m approaching the end of my ability to (barely) afford health care. Now, its true that I will have the option of continuing my coverage under the COBRA law. But it is also true that my maximum monthly unemployment benefit will just about equal my health insurance premium under COBRA, so how am I supposed to afford food, shelter, and other basic needs?

Unfortunately, my family and I have chronic health care problems. As long as we are covered by health care insurance, our chronic problems are manageable. But if we ever become uncovered, we descend into medical Hell, and getting covered again becomes increasingly problematic as our chronic conditions are all “pre-existing conditions” for any new plan. This means that I do not dare allow my plan to lapse, as exclusions for “pre-existing conditions” are waived if you are simply moved from one plan to another. That being the case, though, how do I afford food, shelter, etc. while paying for health care?
Continue reading ‘Health Care Horrors’ »

We should not, as a nation, expect people to do things that injure their own interests. When we establish economic incentives and disincentives, we should expect them to operate on the actions of those who become aware of them in the way that a rational person would act. Again, we should not expect the actions taken by thinking people to go against their own self-interests.

When government programs are so structured as to lead to consequences that are literally insane, you have to ask whether or not the politicians creating the programs were themselves insane or whether they were just trying to create a program (and earn some “brownie points”) that would eventually fail, so that they could then axe the program (and earn more “brownie points”). It seems like some government programs were not well thought out as to their consequences. Perhaps we need to have an independent economist review any legislation with any economic impacts and write a report back to the lawmakers about the “Law of Unintended Consequences” as applied to the proposed legislation. Maybe we would not get programs structured like the one that is my topic for today.
Continue reading ‘Welfare Incentives Thrive’ »