Comments by Gandalf47
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Posted on September 4 at 10:47 a.m.
My grandchild attends one of the elementary schools in the SBSD, and came home yesterday with a flyer and application form that annouces that in order for children to continue to have school bus service for the remainder of the year (no notice was sent PRIOR to the school year, so preparations could be made), we have to come up with $250 by September 18th (less than three weeks' notice). They HAVE offered a quarterly three-payment option @ $85 per quarter, which softens the blow, but this is shocking to me.
Our family will probably be able to find a way to come up the payment, though it is just one more hardship on top of many, but I fear that there are many families that will NOT be able to come up with the extra money without taking food off the table.
There ARE some exemptions to this: 1) If a student is eligible for the reduced lunch program. NOTE: There is a charge of 15¢ to obtain a copy of the letter from the SBSD for proof (I hope it isn't mailed, thus incurring more than 15¢ in postage, netting in a loss to the SBSD). 15¢ for a copy of a form that is on file? I wonder what the total savings is for THAT charge? 2) If the child is an intradistrict transfer from a Program improvement school - I don't even know what that is. 3) Special Ed kids - thank God!
I thought there was Federal stimulus money coming to help, and this seems nit-picky. It's bad enough that my fifth grader has more than 30 students in her class, and that grades 4-6 are combining 4th and 5th and 5th and 6th graders in the same classes, with the same curriculum for all. This hardly seems good for either the teachers or the students, if optimal education is the ultimate goal.
This is just another sad commentary on the state of the Union. The US has become a second-rate country, if you look at infrastructure (education, healthcare, manufacturing, and innovation) and is on a path to become much worse.
Sometimes I feel like I am in the Twilight Zone. When I was growing up, and even in the first half of my adult life, America, compared to the rest of the world, was the model of innovation, financial success, creativity, standard of living, and almost all other indicators. Now, we are spiraling towards becoming like a third world country. It is heartbreaking to see what has happened, and I attribute the majority of the decline to ill-advised deregulation, combined with lack of effective campaign finance reform, which has resulted in special interest lobbies influencing legislation which continues to be pro-corporation profit-making, and against the interests of the nation as a whole.
Shame on us!
Posted on July 30 at 12:50 p.m.
I hope "TheAverageMan" was being sarcastic.
Starshine, you are generally an entertaining writer, however, most people I know are trying to hang on to their homes and jobs, if they still have them, to and keep their kids clothed and fed. The people you quote in this lighthearted article would rather "give up my housekeeper" before giving up her every three-weeks waxing. Please ask her to keep the housekeeper, because she REALLY needs the job, and she most likely doesn't wax "down there", because she is too busy putting food on the table.
While humorous, this article points out the disconnect between people who live in the real world, and those who live in distorted realities that ignore the world around them. Question for those who just can't live without their waxing: Do you think servicewomen in Iraq or Afghanistan wax (or get their nails done, or get massages, or facials or hair coloring)? I'm just asking .... is it really THAT important?
Actually "westcoastlocal" said it much better than I did, and much more efficiently.
Posted on May 22 at 11:06 a.m.
Wow! Hit a nerve did we?
BTW - 2/3 of the citizen of the world are NOT Christians.
Judging by the spelling and grammar in the above posts, I think schools might be better served to focus on education, and leave religion to churches.
Posted on May 22 at 9:46 a.m.
"coexistinsb" - Wow, I never knew, GOLETA is where all those "poor mexican kids" live!
What a perfectly inane comment to a sincerely heartfelt concern for ones' child's feelings concerning losing one's friends and stability. Everything seems to be reduced to some "wedge issue" these days.
I don't think most kids, except those of people like you (and even then, I don't think so), give a hoot about the cultural or ethnic background of the kids with whom they go to school.
My experience is that today, most kids accept the multicultural nature of Santa Barbara as the norm. Back in the day when I went to San Marcos High, and there were NO hispanic kids, and only one black student. Even then, that was the norm - all the hispanic and black kids went to Santa Barbara High in those days, and it was a geographic thing, not racial or cultural segregation.
Posted on May 22 at 9:28 a.m.
"There should be riots in the streets!"
If things don't change big time during the next few years, you will likely get your wish.
The Angry Poodle talks about the "End of Times" in 2011, and the Mayans say it will be 2012. It may be sooner than that if someone doesn't figure out how to turn things around, and now.
Posted on May 22 at 9:17 a.m.
Don't worry - conventional wisdom (the Mayans and other ancient cultures who studied these things) has it that the world will end on December 12th (or 21st, but 12/12/12 sounds more harmonic),2012, rapture or not.
So you have an extra year or so to prepare.
Posted on May 5 at 12:45 p.m.
I guess this is sad confirmation of the old adage to not mix business with family.
In my experience, it almost always ends badly, but rarely THIS badly. What a tragedy!
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Posted on May 2 at 12:20 p.m.
birdbrain - your username explains your last two sentences perfectly.
I have a question for you, birdbrain. God forbid YOU ever become homeless, or have a family member who does, do THEY have a right to "pursue happiness"?
Posted on March 2 at 11:04 a.m.
People - listen to this person! Sometimes the input and opinions of persons with anxiety disorder and depression that get "sucked" into the "system" are dismissed, condescended to, and they are generally treated like children. The doctors are the worst offenders, being "all-knowing" in their five minutes per day allotted to each patient (and that includes paperwork time).
This person needs an ombudsman or someone else to intervene and help them get the help they need, not the "help" imposed on them by doctors and staff who don't have the time or inclination to do so themselves.
I would expect that if this person did not get the help he or she needed, jail or the streets was the next destination for them.
Been there - done that, and it doesn't work.
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Posted on September 4 at 11:32 a.m.
This superficial analysis does not take into account the issues identified above, and another important fact: That $70 visit is more likely reimbursed at an amount which is half that amount, or less. So, before all the other operating expenses are deducted, the NET revenues are substantially less than illustrated.
I have worked in health care for over thirty years, and can tell you with certainty that most primary care doctors do not make anything close to what is illustrated. My primary care doctor decided to practice "concierge medicine" after twenty five years of standard practice, and ended his/her participation in all private insurance networks, given that reimbursement here is lower than other similar cities of similar size.
When I looked for a primary care doctor in the Blue Cross network (the largest in this area), I could not find one in Santa Barbara who was accepting new patients, and was forced to chose another doctor "out of network", which costs me three times as much per visit than it would if he/she were "in network".
One last observation: some "in network" doctors have resorted to "up coding", which is a practice in which they bill a more expensive procedure to the insurance company, so that they can get reimbursement that approximates their cost. This is illegal, but they rarely are called on it, because most people do not understand the coding process and are unaware that it is even happening. The insurance companies do not question it, and just increase premiums to compensate for it. I am talking about FRAUD, and it is highly likely that your doctor or his billing person routinely does it without consequence.
The system is broken and single payer is the only comprehensive solution. Medicare for all would be the most logical way to accomplish this quickly and comprehensively. I can't envision what a "strong public option" would look like, if Medicare for all is not doable. If we don't even get that, if we think the economy is tanking now, just wait. Only the very rich and those that already have a "public option" (those on Medicare, the VA, anyone working for a city, county, or the Feds, those on Medicaid, and all companies who have contracts with the Feds) will be able to get access to basic health care, let alone high-quality health care.
Ponder this if you have insurance and are not concerned about the health care debate because it doesn't affect you: I am in my early sixties (not Medicare-eligible yet), have had employer-paid health insurance continuously since I got my first job right out of college . In recent years, my employer has contributed less and less, as the costs have risen 15% - 25% ANNUALLY. I recently lost my job, and I sadly discovered that I have pre-existing conditions and am not insurable. Even if I were, it would cost me over $1,000 per month for a COBRA policy, which, being unemployed in Santa Barbara is impossible. Something is wrong with this picture.
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