SHaring the News in Book Four: Ichi-no-Tani 2017

Last night my wife was to get off work at 10. She called shortly thereafter in the hopes that she could vent about work on the drive home, so that the one or two hours we had together before I had to go to sleep could be spent doing something at least leisurely. As should shock approximately no one, she had an unpleasant day. She left the house late so she wasn’t going to be at work on time. When she hit the highway, the whole blasted thing was down to one lane due to construction; so she arrived at work 20 minutes late. Work itself is never any good but it was made particularly terrible due to her attempt to secure adequate mental health care. She has been to see an Analyst who helped her understand some things and gave her three strong recommendations for professionals in the area. Of course… through Wal Mart insurance, they are willing to pay for exactly zero of them. The “in network” providers are all fresh faced first year Social Workers with no Doctoral degrees of any type. Literally the exact opposite of what was recommended to her. SO she got all worried. She is really trying to figure out how we can make ends meet. Granted, we have a very healthy savings account… but she is already looking at Retirement Requirements and the like. So, she is very concerned with money. Especially considering that (combined at present) our household income is probably around $50k. I tried to encourage her that… expensive as it may be… her mental health is certainly worth spending extra for and we can go with one of the three people recommended to her. Because I would much rather that she have a good Doctor. So, she got almost all the way home and asked me how my day went, what did they say at the eye doctor? I encouraged her to come home, it was a subject best discussed with the charts and such that the eye doctor had given me.

She came home, I told her the prognosis. She cried. There is still a good chance I won’t go blind… at least not for a few more decades. But it also gives the both of us a renewed fresh glimpse at why the Greed of our Modern World is so… horrible. Instead of caring about Health Care, the American Government is trying to kick people off of Health Care and gut medicaid because the top 2% of wealth in this country are “desperate for a tax break.” The same people that got the EPA to re-approve Chlorpyrifos because “profit over ‘brain damage” sounds like such a winning slogan.

And I’ll admit… even now, here, at work… it is hard not to be at least somewhat disheartened by it all. Here I am… working a full time job that requires an Advanced Degree. I have no health insurance through my employer and I make $30,000 a year. IF I had law school debt and ALL of my paycheck went into paying it back… I could pay all of it off (and interest) in about 6 years. That would be putting 100% of my money into paying back a loan I took out in order to get the degree needed for this job. Thank GOODNESS I don’t have any debt. That is HUGE and UNIQUE. But… especially as my Wife turns 40 in 2020 and as my health seems to continue to fall into decline… there are things I’d like us to use that money on. Like… a house! A dog! Going on vacation at some point in our lives. The little things.