Well, I filed for unemployment! It was hella confusing. You have to request payment to see if you're even approved. And that's after waiting 5-7 days to have... things processed... or something.
In Georgia, unemployment is approximately $330 at the high end, depending on your previous earnings. With the new legislation, they've added $600 to that... for everyone. Yes, the hasty addition is almost double the high end. Our unemployment is so out-of-date.
Preaching to the choir about the health care system...
My ex-employer is going to pay for their previous portion of my health care until September 30. That's nice of them. Anyway, here's where it gets funny. September 30, if I don't have a job, I'm SOL for getting health insurance from the marketplace (aka Obamacare). Yes, the employer no longer subsidizing my COBRA is not a qualifying event for getting a marketplace plan. If I want FULL coverage, no interruptions***, I'm better turning down that money and getting a marketplace plan. The way I'm doing it, I'll be gambling that the month of October is peaceful. Open enrollment is Nov 1.
Why does it gotta be like this?
*** (edit) Unless I want to pay $570 for the full priced COBRA, you know.
Part of my job is that I’m also the benefits administrator for the company. I deal with this COBRA stuff every time we lose an employee. Not a single one has ever opted to go on COBRA. The cost per month for the full premium amount is ridiculous, and it’s even worse if you have a spouse/LP/dependents. Really hoping you can find a good plan.
@Michelle Fortunately I might get hired somewhere before I have to find a marketplace plan. By the time I got out of there in 2017 they were getting PRETTY shitty. I expect to pay about $250+.
I just got what appears to be the $1200 stimulus check. Edit: Oh, it's right. They adjusted for my (ex)salary, as if I were not currently unemployed. So I got less than half of it.
I got the full 1200 yesterday, but last year I made slightly more than the poverty level because Uber/lyft income was all offset by expenses. (mostly mileage)
None of my friends or family have gotten theirs yet.
Also very comforting our supposedly progressive party's response to millions becoming newly uninsured and unable to seek healthcare during a pandemic is to expand COBRA, the system that everybody loves.
Google and Apple have developed a contact tracing solution that is security/privacy minded. The plan is to have an API implemented in IOS and Android devices software updates by mid-may for app developers to utilize. I believe currently the plan is to have it be opt-in. The latest episode of the "Security Now!" podcast did a deep dive on how the technology is supposed to work, for the technically minded among us. I background listened while working on some repairs today, so I'm not fully versed on it, but I believe essentially your phone will be broadcasting over bluetooth LE a cryptographic signature that changes every 10 minutes or so, while recording any signatures that it sees and storing them for a rolling 21 days. If you get diagnosed with COVID-19, you have the option of uploading all the signatures your device has used for the past 21 days to a server. All other devices in your region will periodically download those signatures and check them against the ones your device has recorded, and if it finds anyone who has reported as infected has come in bluetooth LE range of you during the time they were possibly infectious, will let you know.
The biggest issues here are it's opt-in and self-reporting. So you will only know if you come in contact with an infectious individual who has opted in AND reported their illness.
I encourouge anybody interested to listen to the podcast, or read the show notes (or Google/Apple's spec) to learn more.
Agree 100% with Chamath. The system is rigged for the rich. We created a socalist system for the rich and wealthy, but not the poor. For the poor and middle class it's all bootstraps, you better work your ass off AND be incredibly lucky. Makes me furious whenever I think about it.
Agree 100% with Chamath. The system is rigged for the rich. We created a socalist system for the rich and wealthy, but not the poor. For the poor and middle class it's all bootstraps, you better work your ass off AND be incredibly lucky. Makes me furious whenever I think about it.
What I wanted him to say is that these people were amassing all this wealth and justifying it as a risky position. Now the house of cards is falling down and the truth is there never was any risk for them. They amassed the wealth by extracting it from regular wage earners and their out-sized influence over policy insulates them from all the risk they're supposed to be accepting by taking these positions.
The worship of the wealthy is societal cancer. There is no attainable capitalist dream for people of average means and morality - for every Mark Cuban there are (conservatively) millions of people who had all the same skills, made all the same choices, and lost everything.
What a wonderful system we built for ourselves. I'm sure getting rid of trump will fix everything and no other changes are needed.
Woo boy. That’s me in a couple of weeks.
The best moment of all this, and maybe the best moment of my entire working career, was when we were told at a staff meeting that the partners were personally subsidizing our salaries for a month, that the practice probably will shut down at the end of April, how grateful we should be to them, and how, if they can find a legal way to do it, they will make us sign over our $1200 stimulus check to them to pay them back. Seriously, we were told that if they can figure out legally how to do it, we will have to PAY THE OWNERS OF THE CORPORATION $1200 for the privilege of having gotten to work there for an extra month. And then lose our jobs and health insurance. Jesus. For reference, that’s about half a month’s pay for much of the staff.
I got my stimulus check today thankfully. I was denied unemployment because I’m self employed and the state of Kansas hasn’t implemented the cares act yet. If they ever get that enacted I’ll be eligible for the $600. I applied for a SBA Paycheck protection program over a week ago and was told I’d hear something back in 72 hours. I’ve yet to hear anything.
I’ve been out of work for 3 weeks, but I’ve been lucky that my wife’s job is still deemed essential. Since sleep studies are considered elective procedures I’m probably out of business until this wraps up, whenever that might be.
So I had some pretty major pain in my chest so I went to hospital. Got checked up. Apparently the X-ray came back and I had a minor lung infection. They knew it wasn’t Covid but said they were forcing to admit me until all tests confirmed I didn’t have it. They said anyone who comes in with lung issues gets tested. I was like ok. This sucks. 2 days in the hospital but gotta be responsible. So of course after 2 boring horrible days in the hospital I get negative and discharged and then the bill comes...I’m like what? You forced admitted me? Plus the government here said they were covering the costs for Covid. They said nope. Only confirmed cases..I was livid but luckily have insurance. If I didn’t I probably would have lost it.
This will come off
as a brag, but I wanted to highlight that there are some companies treating
their employee's well during this time. I work for a mid size
architectural engineering firm (900 employees). We have had many projects
go on hold so we're pretty concerned with future workload. Our CEO had a
town hall and explained what the company was doing in order to keep staff as
long as possible.
All non-critical spending is
on hold (non project travel, 401K match, training, etc).
CEO 20% pay reduction and
principles (qty. 20) 10% pay reduction.
No staff reduction for April and will
evaluate month to month.
Company will operate at break
even point for up to 6 months.
Future option: Reduced work
hours (40 to 30) while maintaining benefits.
Future option: Furloughs for
up to 60 days while maintaining benefits.
Future option: Layoffs are
the last resort.
If our clients don’t
start their projects back up there will be layoffs, but I'm pretty lucky in the
meantime.
That sucks @Hatorian, I'm surprised it took them that long to test you COVID negative? How long did the swab take to come back? Unfortunately the swabs don't seem to be as sensitive as one would like.....
So I had some pretty major pain in my chest so I went to hospital. Got checked up. Apparently the X-ray came back and I had a minor lung infection. They knew it wasn’t Covid but said they were forcing to admit me until all tests confirmed I didn’t have it. They said anyone who comes in with lung issues gets tested. I was like ok. This sucks. 2 days in the hospital but gotta be responsible. So of course after 2 boring horrible days in the hospital I get negative and discharged and then the bill comes...I’m like what? You forced admitted me? Plus the government here said they were covering the costs for Covid. They said nope. Only confirmed cases..I was livid but luckily have insurance. If I didn’t I probably would have lost it.
That sucks @Hatorian, I'm surprised it took them that long to test you COVID negative? How long did the swab take to come back? Unfortunately the swabs don't seem to be as sensitive as one would like.....
So I had some pretty major pain in my chest so I went to hospital. Got checked up. Apparently the X-ray came back and I had a minor lung infection. They knew it wasn’t Covid but said they were forcing to admit me until all tests confirmed I didn’t have it. They said anyone who comes in with lung issues gets tested. I was like ok. This sucks. 2 days in the hospital but gotta be responsible. So of course after 2 boring horrible days in the hospital I get negative and discharged and then the bill comes...I’m like what? You forced admitted me? Plus the government here said they were covering the costs for Covid. They said nope. Only confirmed cases..I was livid but luckily have insurance. If I didn’t I probably would have lost it.
Well I got admitted probably around noon. Took the first test sometime around 3 maybe. Then they said they couldn’t take the test again same day. So they woke me up around 8 I think the next day and then they told me it was negative around 2 and I was out by 3 or so. So I guess technically 24 hours but still.
My results unfortunately came back positive. I feel okay so far, but it's early days. With an existing heart condition, I have cause for concern. Wish me luck. Stay safe, stay indoors.
Comments
$570/month?
I did marketplace plans a while and they were never that bad... although they got worse every year.
In Georgia, unemployment is approximately $330 at the high end, depending on your previous earnings. With the new legislation, they've added $600 to that... for everyone. Yes, the hasty addition is almost double the high end. Our unemployment is so out-of-date.
$570 x 7 = $3990. I wonder what can be found on the marketplace for a single individual in her age range and given any other factors.
... then you get in your car, cross the border and buy tennis shoes.
Did anyone else get it?
None of my friends or family have gotten theirs yet.
I’m one of the lucky ones who has stayed employed through this (so far.).
The biggest issues here are it's opt-in and self-reporting. So you will only know if you come in contact with an infectious individual who has opted in AND reported their illness.
I encourouge anybody interested to listen to the podcast, or read the show notes (or Google/Apple's spec) to learn more.
https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2020/04/apple-and-google-partner-on-covid-19-contact-tracing-technology/
https://www.grc.com/sn/SN-762-Notes.pdf Show notes, relevant section is pages 11-13.
https://twit.tv/shows/security-now/episodes/762?autostart=false Podcast
Agree 100% with Chamath. The system is rigged for the rich. We created a socalist system for the rich and wealthy, but not the poor. For the poor and middle class it's all bootstraps, you better work your ass off AND be incredibly lucky. Makes me furious whenever I think about it.
The worship of the wealthy is societal cancer. There is no attainable capitalist dream for people of average means and morality - for every Mark Cuban there are (conservatively) millions of people who had all the same skills, made all the same choices, and lost everything.
The best moment of all this, and maybe the best moment of my entire working career, was when we were told at a staff meeting that the partners were personally subsidizing our salaries for a month, that the practice probably will shut down at the end of April, how grateful we should be to them, and how, if they can find a legal way to do it, they will make us sign over our $1200 stimulus check to them to pay them back. Seriously, we were told that if they can figure out legally how to do it, we will have to PAY THE OWNERS OF THE CORPORATION $1200 for the privilege of having gotten to work there for an extra month. And then lose our jobs and health insurance. Jesus. For reference, that’s about half a month’s pay for much of the staff.
This will come off as a brag, but I wanted to highlight that there are some companies treating their employee's well during this time. I work for a mid size architectural engineering firm (900 employees). We have had many projects go on hold so we're pretty concerned with future workload. Our CEO had a town hall and explained what the company was doing in order to keep staff as long as possible.
If our clients don’t start their projects back up there will be layoffs, but I'm pretty lucky in the meantime.
Hatorian said:
Wish me luck.
Stay safe, stay indoors.