We Have No Bananas Today

[abbey1227]

Nov 23, 2021 6:58:26 GMT merh said:

And how do employer plans work?

Based on the size of the company,  the plan offers the rate because the employer is promising the plan X number of clients. 

My employer had 20,000 employees so the 2 companies offering medical plans could expect around 10,000 enrollees. This would be figured into the price.

Buy in bulk, right?

So yeah, my employer was able to arrange for Kaiser plan at $600/month. 

Medicare is based on your income bracket 2 yrs before eligibility so age 63 they will decide how much they will charge for hospitalization.  

However, one has to purchase the medigap stuff like drug coverage.  Because I have Kaiser I am maintaining my eligibility for that plan & apparently I will be able to keep this policy since I am maintaining coverage.  

My sister was unable to enroll in Kaiser because they require one had coverage in the last 2 yrs prior to enrollment. She has Sharp, a major plan in the area, but it is more expensive. When my husband worked for UCSD it was still cheaper to get Kaiser than to enroll in UCSD's medical plan.

The way it works is the employer pays most or all of the premium for the employee only cost of the cheaper plan which is usually Kaiser. I had co-workers who would never go with Kaiser so they paid more to go with the higher plans usually $100-$200 more per month.

Soooooo long story how your father-in-law paid $1,200/month on Cobra.  Employer premium+2%

Mine goes up to $640 in January. But the pension I am counting to cover it went from $637/mo after tax to $649 in August so I'm good.

yep, before the Govt got so involved........that's how it's supposed to work. The more people in the pool, the more the costs/risks get spread around and in theory achieves a cheaper price for all. But then the Govt comes along and subsidizes those that can't pay? and demands existing conditions not count towards the price? Insane. That's not insurance anymore......that's just more welfare.

So those evil employers are paying much of the cost of insuring.....sorta like SS/Medicare taxes get taken from them, too. People are mostly unaware of how much a typical employee is costing the employer. Sorta makes hiring Illegals for cash all the more tempting, huh?

Again, I'm glad for you and hope it all works well. You worked for decades and earned it. Now how about the millions that never got around to working or earning any of it? Your charity with tax dollars seems to be something we can never agree on.

If people wanna be that charitable..........go make a ton of money FIRST........and then give as much as you like away to whomever you like. None of my business.

[merh]

Wants a word with you

[abbey1227]

Nov 23, 2021 9:59:35 GMT merh said:

Wants a word with you

this was always a catchy tune........

[merh]

Nov 24, 2021 3:31:59 GMT abbey1227 said:

Nov 23, 2021 9:59:35 GMT merh said:

Wants a word with you

this was always a catchy tune........

Aw. Stole my picture.
It wasn't a crow, though.
Apparently it's a baby Rail.

In general, members of the Rallidae are omnivorous generalists. Many species eat invertebrates, as well as fruit or seedlings. A few species are primarily herbivorous. The calls of Rallidae species vary and are often quite loud. Some are whistle-like or squeak-like, while others seem unbirdlike. Loud calls are useful in dense vegetation, or at night where seeing another member of the species is difficult. 

[merh]

[merh]

[merh]

Comment that this is probably posted next to a sign complaining they can't find employees

[merh]

My office has lost 60% of our staff since the start of the pandemic. I am doing the work of 3 people and I was here for 14 hours yesterday. Got this email from our area manager this morning. Happy Thanksgiving!

[merh]

[merh]

[abbey1227]

Nov 25, 2021 12:30:52 GMT merh said:

Warren Gunnels

Staff Director for Senator Bernie Sanders, Chairman of the Budget Committee

Wow! An expert govt parasite lecturing actual businesses?

Lemme know when he and the rest of DC actually come up with a balanced budget sometime this century.

[abbey1227]

Nov 25, 2021 12:49:55 GMT merh said:

My office has lost 60% of our staff since the start of the pandemic. I am doing the work of 3 people and I was here for 14 hours yesterday. Got this email from our area manager this morning. Happy Thanksgiving!

That's when you tell that person to come on down and show you how it's supposed to be done...........or just find another job.

[merh]

QAnon Dallas squatters have 'walked away from their lives' like Medieval Crusaders: historian

Writing for The Bulwark, historian Thomas Lecaque examined how the QAnon supporters still gathered in Dallas after their failed vigil for JFK Jr. to appear and save the country have now "walked away from their lives" in devotion to their conspiracy theories.

"It's a nightmarish fever dream," wrote Lecaque. "A hilarious hot mess with hints of cringe. Certainly the sort of thing that observers abroad would look at, laugh at, scratch their heads, and move on with their day. But we should resist the urge to treat this as a joke, because it's not.

It's not funny, even though it is weird. It's a murder in waiting."

[abbey1227]

Nov 25, 2021 13:01:16 GMT merh said:

Where's the MSNBC before and after?

[merh]

Nov 25, 2021 13:26:51 GMT abbey1227 said:

Nov 25, 2021 13:01:16 GMT merh said:

Where's the MSNBC before and after?

Trans joke?
When you know my kid is trans?

Dude.

Not to mention, my kid has never watched MSNBC.
Did have to suffer days at work at the exchange with Fox channel on all day

[abbey1227]

Nov 25, 2021 14:24:46 GMT merh said:

Nov 25, 2021 13:26:51 GMT abbey1227 said:

Where's the MSNBC before and after?

Trans joke?
When you know my kid is trans?

Dude.

Not to mention, my kid has never watched MSNBC.
Did have to suffer days at work at the exchange with Fox channel on all day

So trans jokes are completely out of bounds because of who you're related to?      There's been one or two 'flexible' identifiers within my extended family, as well.

I've had to sit in airports and put up with CNN

[merh]

Nov 25, 2021 15:19:24 GMT abbey1227 said:

Nov 25, 2021 14:24:46 GMT merh said:

Trans joke?
When you know my kid is trans?

Dude.

Not to mention, my kid has never watched MSNBC.
Did have to suffer days at work at the exchange with Fox channel on all day

So trans jokes are completely out of bounds because of who you're related to?      There's been one or two 'flexible' identifiers within my extended family, as well.

I've had to sit in airports and put up with CNN

Dude, I have no idea about who that personis, but Trashcan, Swimm & Heretic are always whining their asses off about the person.

So no, I know it wasn't specifically because of my kid, but the whole "it'll turn your kid gay" thing is exhausting.

Post a picture of a BLM protesters, fine. one of the reasons i dont watch as much MSNBC as in the past because every hour on the hour voter suppression, minority oppression...this morning Mika Brezinski had a woman on who was talking about sexism & racism in women's medicine how 16 yr old white gals get meds in childbirth & this gal from Bangladesh or some such place had to beg to get medication in childbirth.

Duh. 
Same here.
Could it be the malpractice suits?
See some British 20 yr old with Spina Bifida is suing her mom's doctor saying the girl shouldn't have been born?

Docs do their DAMNEDEST to push natural childbirth because obgyns/obstetricians are the most sued doctors over the huge number of things that can go south in childbirth.

16 yr old white gals want ALL the drugs. More educated women have probably had Lamaze classes.  "Do your breathing." Fuck if I remembered any of it.

Ooo how often?
This was my kid's work around 2010 so 5 days a week 8 hrs a day.

[merh]

https:/retail-wont-tackle-labor-shortage-120922424.html

Retail won't tackle the labor shortage until it reverses decades of worker neglect and becomes a viable, long-term career again
Mary Hanbury
Thu, November 25, 2021,

A record number of US retail workers are quitting their jobs.

Decades of low wages and a lack of career progression are taking their toll, making the labor shortage worse.

Retailers need to start offering sustainable jobs again to fix this crisis, experts say.

After 15 months of working in a pandemic, Michael quit his job as an associate at a furniture store in Arkansas in May 2021

He'd reached breaking point. Long shifts hauling furniture around the store, unpleasant customers, inconsistent scheduling that made his home life hard, and a rat infestation that wasn't addressed for months in the store had taken their toll on his mental health.

Michael, who requested his last name remain anonymous but whose identity is known to Insider, said he tried his best to get along with managers and supervisors, "but at the end of the day, poor communication, unrealistic expectations, and looming punishment for not meeting certain standards is the end-all of healthy work dynamics."

"Unemployment is scary, but I knew there had to be more to life than this," he told Insider. "There had to be more to life than getting screamed at by random strangers. There had to be more to life than retail."

Michael is among thousands of retail workers who have quit their jobs this year hoping to move to better-paying positions in more stable industries. He has since accepted a new job as a teaching assistant at an elementary school, initially taking a pay cut, which he says is well worth it.

While the "Great Resignation" was born out of the pandemic, the sentiments behind it have been brewing for years in retail. Decades of stores neglecting workers has turned retail work into a CV stop-gap rather than a viable career, experts tell Insider — and it's now coming back to haunt the industry. Retail and foodservice has been the sector worst hit by workers quitting their jobs, and now the industry faces a crippling labor shortage that became more intense as the holiday season approached.

Big-box stores changed retail work
Pre-1960s, working in retail was considered a solid, sustainable job, Marc Perrone, president of UFCW, the US' largest retail worker union, told Insider.

The wages weren't the best but they also weren't the worst, he said, and when you factored in extra benefits – overtime, bonuses, pensions, employee discounts, medical, disability, and life insurance – workers felt like the futures of them and their families were taken care of. These were attractive jobs.

This began to change in the early 1960s with the arrival of big-box stores such as Walmart and Target, whose business model was to offer low prices to customers by keeping labor costs down.

It was also the start of a shift away from full-time to part-time work. Stores realized they could hire double the workers without having to pay overtime or benefits, and could schedule employees' work around consumer demand.

This had a huge impact on retail jobs, Perrone said — and for many people, it was no longer possible to make a sustainable living.

Workers were given limited benefits with little to no long-term career opportunities, Mark Cohen, director of retail studies at Columbia Business School, told Insider, adding that staff became "commoditized and somewhat dehumanized as a result."

Their roles changed, too. Workers were hired to stock shelves and run the checkout rather than to be customer-service experts, which meant personal relationships between customers and workers evaporated. The loyalty between employer and employee soon followed. The rise of technology for certain tasks further made each individual less valuable.

"There was no need for employee loyalty," Ed Delaney, a state representative for Indiana, who has campaigned for worker rights, told Insider. "Retailers could just churn workers and get a new one in," he said.

Balance of power back with workers
Now, for the first time in decades, the balance of power has shifted, and retail businesses are realizing that they need to address working conditions, wages, and career prospects if they want their jobs to be seen as desirable.

Progress has been limited so far. Some stores have raised wages, while others are offering perks such as signing-on bonuses to incentivize workers — but this is no guarantee of a stable career or long-term higher pay, according to Delaney. "It's just: 'I need you now and I'm stuck with paying you this.'"

With thousands of jobs still to fill, retailers are at a crunch point. "Retail employment will have to once again be seen as an entry-level career starter rather than just a lowly paid 'job,'" Cohen said.

Workers who have left the sector will take a lot of convincing to go back. Michael, for example, tells Insider he'd need more than a wage hike.

"The entire culture and process of retail would need to change," he said.

"I can't take back the years in retail and foodservice that have aged and weakened me," he said, "but I can move forward knowing I don't have to be trapped in that environment any longer."

That has been the problem.
No one has value to employers  anymore.

[abbey1227]

Nov 25, 2021 17:59:25 GMT merh said:

Dude, I have no idea about who that personis, but Trashcan, Swimm & Heretic are always whining their asses off about the person.
So no, I know it wasn't specifically because of my kid, but the whole "it'll turn your kid gay" thing is exhausting.

Post a picture of a BLM protesters, fine. one of the reasons i dont watch as much MSNBC as in the past because every hour on the hour voter suppression, minority oppression...this morning Mika Brezinski had a woman on who was talking about sexism & racism in women's medicine how 16 yr old white gals get meds in childbirth & this gal from Bangladesh or some such place had to beg to get medical in childbirth.
Duh. 
Same here.
Could it be the malpractice suits?
See some British 20 yr old with Spina Bifida is suing her mom's doctor saying the girl shouldn't have been born?

Docs do their DAMNEDEST to push natural childbirth because obgyns/obstetricians are the most sued doctors over the huge number of things that can go south in childbirth.
16 yr old white gals want ALL the drugs. More educated women have probably had Lamaze classes.  "Do your breathing." Fuck if I remembered any of it.

Ooo how often?
This was my kid's work around 2010 so 5 days a week 8 hrs a day.

That's Rachel Levine, an American pediatrician, and a four-star admiral in the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, who has been the United States assistant secretary for health. One of Biden's many people appointed simply for the optics of it.

Gay people are born that way, imo. Transgenders, though? I'm guessing many suffer from a wide range of mental issues that gay people do not, imo. That's why I wouldn't want any of that 'influence' around small children who are having enough trouble figuring out how to read and write without anything sexual/gender specific being thrust upon them too early. I feel the exact same way about straight/hetero sexual conversations with children under 10.

Mika? Isn't she the daughter of a guy that should have taught her better about the horribleness of collectivism?

Lawsuits are funny that way..........you can sue for anything now. Judges aren't tossing cases nearly as much as they should.

I can certainly see doctors wanting to avoid lawsuits......and all sorts of things just plain happen with pregnancies, childbirth etc etc  We both know this. Out of billions, there's bound to be some bad luck/results.

I think it's kinda funny that WE humans need to take classes to cover things that occur naturally.

Your poor kid! I've probably flown about a dozen times. Those airports are kinda like detention centers for law abiding types these days. It's horrible.

[merh]

Nov 25, 2021 13:21:47 GMT abbey1227 said:

Nov 25, 2021 12:30:52 GMT merh said:

Warren Gunnels

Staff Director for Senator Bernie Sanders, Chairman of the Budget Committee

Wow! An expert govt parasite lecturing actual businesses?

Lemme know when he and the rest of DC actually come up with a balanced budget sometime this century.

I see a Boston Market had no employees so couldn't hand out pre-ordered meals.
Ouch.