Quote:
Originally Posted by elle
I was just busting chops and don't even think of preaching to me about health insurance. Walk a day in my shoes as being self employed with paying taxes and health insurance.
It was far from a serious post and I think you took it the wrong way.
Chill out and get a different career if you can't handle the one you have.
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I can handle my career. Been doing it for a long time before Crispie Cream started in with his anti-union propaganda and painted us all as greedy money grabbers. When you'e heard it as much as I have, especially in light of the work we do and the conditions we work in, it becomes a sore spot.
You make it sound as if I don't pay taxes *or* pay for health insurance. You are wrong, on both accounts. I pay payroll taxes, just like you. I pay sales tax, just like you. I pay property tax, too. I don't know if you own any property, so I can't say if that's just like you, too.
When I took my job, I did it know I'd never get rich doing it. I always figured that at least my family and I would have healthcare and I'd have a pension to look forward to. Part of the compensation for my work was the healthcare my employer provided.
Then Christie happened. As a result I took a 12% pay cut, just for healthcare. I also had another 2% taken out of my salary to go into the pension system. Being as that pension is my future, I have no problem with paying more into it. The healthcare thing was a complete dickpunch. It was a non-negotiated pay cut. Yep, sounds like us union workers have the system by the balls.
The yearly raises we get barely keep up with inflation and cost of living increases. Now when you add the 10-12% increases in medical every year, I'm taking home less money with each passing year. As a result I'm working two full time jobs to keep my head above water. Not so long ago I was at the point of selling off as much as I could to keep food on the table and the lights on. Fortunately the second job is keeping things going.
To make matters even better, my pension's been cut back as I now have to pay for medical in retirement which is another non-negotiated cut in benefits.
You *chose* to be self employed. It's a path you picked. Part of the self-employment is covering your own expenses, like medical. If your expenses are climbing, you need to produce more income... Work harder or charge more. Yeah, I sound like a dick but that's the reality of running your own business... Which I also used to do before I became a firefighter.
A couple of statistics:
54.8% - Percentage of the names on the IAFF memorial wall that have died due to cancer
1.53 - Number of times firefighters are more likely than the general population to develop multiple melanoma
57 - Average life expectancy of firefighters, in years
67% - Percent of cancer patients that survive at least 5 years
20 - Possible latency period in years between exposure and appearance of malignancies
35-45 - Average length of stay in hospitals for firefighters being treated for cancer
I'm ok with these risks. I signed up for them with the understanding that my medical and pension would be secure and not subject to cuts. Unfortunately, I'm too far in at this point to pack it in and change careers. I've paid my dues already.
Christie came up with his 'pension reform' that took from the workers. When it came time for him to pay up, he went to court and had sections of *his own reform* declared null and void. Specifically, the ones that required the government to live up to their end of the bargain. Yep, us unions just run the show.