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November 10, 2013 at 6:34 PM in reply to: My experience getting a dedicated EV TOU 2 electric meter with SDGE #767759
joec
ParticipantWhat about the concern that replacing all these batteries for ALL these cars would be expensive and a total pain after 5 years?
Like how your cell phone or wireless headphones or pretty much anything won’t keep a charge anymore after a certain amount of time. It could cost 10k to replace the batteries on the Tesla.
That’s one of my biggest concerns with owning one of these EV vehicles, even the cheaper ones.
Even with costs coming down, it’s still so much more than the $50-$100 standard car bat.
Participant[quote=Jazzman]I can’t even get catastrophic cover at the moment. I’m healthy and have no pre-existing conditions. Not only that but I had to go through very extensive tests. They just didn’t want to cover me from the start so decided to waste my time and money instead. I’m glad they didn’t offer me cover because I see now a claim would have been a nightmare.[/quote]
The scary thing with the previous system was that if you ever participated in those clinical trials or just wanted to test something, even if it was negative, you could’ve been blacklisted I think so it was best to keep your whole medical record as clean as possible even if you didn’t have issues from the tests.
It was downright scary trying to get coverage and you felt like a slave to whatever the insurance companies were charging.
If you have a nice corporate plan, I don’t think many people know what it’s like similar to losing a job and not finding work, etc…
Participant[quote=no_such_reality]
Even without Obamacare, you wouldn’t be able to keep your insurance for long, companies are simply getting priced out. Once you’re not part of a corporate, no questions ask coverage, your ability to carry coverage is highly dispersed. You end up with a lot of exclusions and basically catastrophic coverage that still costs a sizeable amount and you basically front the first $10,000. And that’s just for you. You need to carry a separate plan for your family.
And there isn’t a fix for insurance. Anything that limits their ability to exclude people, would actually result in higher increases than the obamacare plans. At least on the Obamacare, they know they’re getting to spread it across some of the healthy people.
Take a good look at what your company plan is really costing a month for the company to provide.[/quote]
I’ve mentioned it before as well. This is sorta like getting a mortgage or buying a home as a self employed person during the crash in 08-10. It doesn’t matter what my financials were, if it wasn’t a loan they could sell to fannie/freddie, you were completely locked out. I remember telling the mortgage guy what down payment I needed. 50%? 75& 99% They didn’t care since it didn’t fit in their system so they can’t do it no matter how much cash, etc. you were coming in with.
They simply don’t offer certain policies or sometimes, any policies when I searched (eg: Maternity) and that’s sad…or it was extremely crappy of a policy.
Companies are also getting fleeced if you see how much COBRA is when you switch jobs. I think that’s what your company pays for you actually.
So has anyone actually signed up for Obamacare? I’m sorta waiting till they work out the bugs, but I’m going to be calling to cancel my family policies soon…
ParticipantI think for what will happen to the US, we can just look towards Europe. Spain has like 50% unemployment for youth and 25% for everyone else. I think anytime in history the disparity is very large, people will just “take” and move towards violence.
Like tons of youths burning street full of cars in France, etc…more and more will happen if the poor/destitute feel they have no way out.
Like Sun Tzu’s book, you don’t want an enemy that feels like they have nothing to lose. Society is far better if people have some positive view to works towards a better future.
The rich can say lets just gun them all down and lock them all up, but the problem is there are too many poor folks with guns and a ton more of “them”, you’d run out of bullets seriously before putting a dent in any of them.
Add in the corrupt cop who isn’t “rich” and good luck trying to maintain order.
ParticipantAgree with a lot of the recent posts. I’m probably one of the healthiest people I know. Never broke a bone, never got sick or missed work “once” since my last job after about 15 years of work. Rarely see the doctor if ever…All that said, things change or will change within 10-20 years for many folks.
In regards to your son, like some examples, if this plays out and he eventually gets married, has kids, spouse, etc…this law would help him immensely. Maternity/Neonatal care alone could probably be impossible to get even for people who are willing to pay. I know since for me, I looked…It was expensive, only 1 option in CA previously and crappy.
This sorta like reminds me of working at startups. When I was single and put in the long long hours, there were parents who had to leave early to pick up their kids, go to pta meetings, etc…
You don’t think too much about it because eventually, that could be you (which it is now for me). In a company, you don’t feel as bad maybe since they are a friend/co-worker, but in the US of A, we just naturally dislike the poor/sick slob I guess and don’t want to subsidize the next guy even though in 10 years, we’re that next guy.
It’d be interesting to see how all this plays out in 5-10 years. It’s not perfect, but unlike car insurance, health care is sorta required or people, like now just use emergency rooms and we all still pay.
Someone brought up the interesting point that even though we already excluded all the sickly people with the current insurance situation, the costs was still soaring.
I’m glad that at least something is being tried.
Isn’t Romney’s health care for all in Mass working out pretty well actually?
ParticipantSDR, I agree with you that you were lied to when Obama said people can keep the coverage that they wanted. There’s enough heat on the prez that he obviously said such terms enough that enough people felt that was true.
My point was that sure, you can make the call as to what coverage you needed, etc…but at the end of the day, I really doubt you or anyone can know exactly all future ailments that come up. Not covered for prostate cancer? Well, I guess you are on the train to death then or cough up a few mil to try to treat it with chemo and whatever meds are needed.
Oh, your father had heart disease, we’ll just exclude that as well and give you the plan without heart disease coverage.
Again, it’s nice to think we’re so smart with our finances that we can pay for all our medical ailments. But seriously, after seeing a 400k bill, I think nearly EVERYONE, will be in a shit of hurt trying to pay or renegotiate that type of bill. Also, maybe it isn’t you, maybe a parent or son gets a massive bill…do you really want to put your own finances to help out?
Like a few others have said, I’m ok with knowing that I would be covered than to fly blind. Sorta like if you bought home owners insurance, but they specifically exclude fire in San Diego…but you didn’t see it, is this good for everyone if everyone else still has to pay?
Back to maybe what you are arguing, yes, you got royally fucked and lied to by Obama and you are right to get pissed off and curse/swear and everything, too bad so many other people in the US sucks in terms of taking care of their own health and have no money/broke/etc…
…and everyone else has to pay for their poor lifestyle choices.
Participant[quote=SD Realtor]SK the last line of what you said is the administrations cowbell.
“What is different now, is that everyone who loses employer sponsored coverage will have more and better access to continued coverage.”
The issue that I have is the complete elimination of what the administration calls substandard plans. You may argue they are not eliminated however the if they change a single iota then they will be eliminated. So in reality they are eliminated because the nature of policies are that they are fluid and change annually. The administration knew it 3 years ago and to blame insurance companies for cancelling the policies and label policies that are less comprehensive “substandard” is pretty lame.
Why should any plans be considered substandard?
Why do I have to be told I will be given something better when what I had worked fine for me? I don’t want something different, or better. I don’t need to be told what is better and what is worse because I can differentiate and make my own decision.
So what should really be said is that you will have access to more comprehensive coverage that will be more expensive and you will not be able to purchase plans that were less comprehensive and less expensive.
All I ask is that the administration and those towing the line for it say things like they really are.[/quote]
Obama is getting quite a bit of flak for this point right now. Republicans are hammering him that people ARE losing their health care plans and he totally blew it that people can keep their coverage.
That said, I think it was done this way because if say I wanted a plan that covered pretty much nothing and I wanted to save coin, at the end of the day, if the shit hits the fan and I need care, I’m forced to go to emergency rooms anyways and get saved/covered for that thing which was excluded. You, the other tax payers are still paying for it so now, up front, everyone has a basic level of coverage.
It may not be fair, but like I have said so many times here already, until we are seriously willing to just let people die, having a certain level of coverage is a good thing overall for society/US.
Also, you are probably smart enough to see what coverage is good for your family and you have the savings to cover things which aren’t, but if something is excluded, isn’t it true that it’s not even a policy limit issue at that point and they just won’t pay anything? Like if you don’t have maternity cause you didn’t expect to have another kid, but ended up having a kid by accident and worst even, having a premie with now a 400k hospital bill, is it time to now just file bk and move on?
I think the majority of “people” in the US have no clue what is a good plan.
This is why it was setup this way IMO and a good thing for everyone. Sorta like if in auto insurance, someone had coverage just for 1k minimum, good luck trying to claim much from the other side if your own insurance wasn’t good.
Oh well, I’m not a liberal or a democrat, but being self employed, never smoke/drink and paying through the roof for coverage now, I’m glad this is here since I’ll probably make out better with the credits than my current situation.
Long term, like other’s have said, I think companies will start removing health care from their benefits since the Obama plans are probably actually BETTER than a lot of corporate coverage as well.
I think this is a good thing as insurance costs have been inflated since someone else has been paying the bill forever, and companies can focus on their business rather than health care…
Participant[quote=flu]
Ok come on zk. Lighten up…No rich or poor or middle class or whatever people got hurt last night…And sorry, where in my joke did I mention anything about Watts and race?
Why do people like to turn every ribbing of a joke about something they don’t like to hear into race?
Last time I checked being “lazy” was a race and gender neutral thing.
Where does something unrelated race get dragged into a race issue? Or are you starting to generalize about people of certain races?????
Are people starting to ban jokes as well as guns now?
Generalize much?[/quote]
Being asian myself, I think the point zk was making and what I got from reading it is that success in people’s lives have more to do with their environment and “luck” than from working hard or anything about that person to begin with. Going to a better school, being raised in CA and silicon valley, LA, etc. vs. some mid-west town where everyone married their high school sweetheart instead of going to college is a far better predictor of success than IQ tests and all that.
Based on everything I’ve learned in life so far, I’m a far bigger believer in this myself as well.
I don’t see any racial slam in zk’s message at all and didn’t get feel that was his point neither.
I feel this way because having worked in SV in the bay area and having some success with companies/start ups and IPOs, money, etc and moving to other fields and seeing what “real people” make for income/etc…and having been laid off in the past as well, until you see it yourself, people tend to generalize and have that attitude about everyone being “lazy” “bum” etc…
The point about the Watts black kid being just as smart as the CV asian kid has been proven in studies where they put economically challenged kids in a more nurturing structured environment and they do just as well as the wealthy kid.
It really has to do with their perception of what’s possible, what they experience, see, etc…This is why you have people say they want all kids to get government day care, etc…
That’s not something I’d support since we don’t have the money for it, but at birth, someone starts off way ahead in life based on the luck of what family they are born in.I don’t doubt that if I was born from a low class family, I would certainly have done a ton worst in terms of financial and economic success. Main thing I see is I don’t really feel that driven compared to people you see from foreign countries such as India/Asia since their lives are a lot worst. I see this in TONS of native US born Americans as well. OF COURSE, THIS IS NOT EVERYONE, but the whole attitude is very different with the whining, etc in work compared to just sucking it up.
That said, eventually, the CV kid will eventually revert to the norm of the typical American and be of mediocre success.
Sorta like with EVERY, literally Asian friend/famiy I know, I see the parents helping them with their home downpayment in EVERY instance (I didn’t get that though)…It allows them to keep them in the better schools and repeat the success cycle of life. And we’re taking to the tune of 250k – 1 mil in housing purchases here…
I haven’t read this book yet, but been meaning to read Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
”
There is a story that is usually told about extremely successful people, a story that focuses on intelligence and ambition. Gladwell argues that the true story of success is very different, and that if we want to understand how some people thrive, we should spend more time looking around them-at such things as their family, their birthplace, or even their birth date. And in revealing that hidden logic, Gladwell presents a fascinating and provocative blueprint for making the most of human potential.
”ParticipantI’d also add having worked in this area professionally, there is tons of wrong advice tossed among friends so if you were unsure of something, check from the source at irs.gov or another site I refer to is fairmark.com.
I’ve also seen cpas give wrong advice as well so check and double check if you aren’t sure. If you did it wrong, the IRS won’t care where you got the wrong advice.
Participantgod, this stock market is going insane…
Participant[quote=spdrun]Interesting question: if people are no longer tied to a job to get health insurance, will this encourage more people who are unhappy with their jobs to drop out of the labor market, thus opening these jobs to people who need them more?
Some Conservatives are saying that “Obamacare discourages work” as if it were a bad thing, when in reality, it may be a balancing factor for the labor market.[/quote]
I mentioned this in the shutdown thread as well…I think this reality will be a benefit for a lot of people if people who hate their jobs move on and do something else freeing up their job for someone who truly loves it. It will be a positive realignment of the workforce. These could be “good” (higher paying) jobs as well such as Lawyers, Doctors, sales, tech, finance, etc…
Overall, decoupling work with health care is a net positive for businesses who should be focused on their business instead of wasting time debating what health benefits to offer. Unless we are willing to pull the plug on people and simply deny health care when people are dying, I feel you have to have something since all these people are already forced to use emergency rooms now. US is the only industrialized nation without some form of universal health care.
How we pay for it, I don’t know…I think related to this topic, I’ll probably be long dead before all the shit hits the fan, but if the majority eventually has it worst and worst, I can’t help but imagine that those don’t have will simply feel upset enough to use greater “force” (and I don’t mean occupy wall street peacefully) to take from the few who have plenty. It’s just human nature if things are bad enough.
ParticipantFrom a nobel prize winning economist about investing in homes:
http://www.theatlanticcities.com/housing/2013/10/economist-who-just-won-nobel-prize-thinks-housing-terrible-investment/7240/One point to also factor in though is CA has prop 13…and real estate is always local.
Just know what you’re doing and do your homework. I’m not advocating one way or the other.
ParticipantIt’s always been like this I think…Women (all this is generalizing and not true for everyone of course), but women like money/power/security and men like looks/sex.
Sorta funny video.
ParticipantI agree with a lot of these points. However, one point that needs to be said is that a lot of people actually want to work, but the problem is that the pay/work, etc is simply very very poor. I was watching bloomberg today and the wage gap between rich and poor is the highest it’s ever been in the history of the US. Among the industrialized nations, the US has the widest gap, even though it is common across all countries and growing as well.
The richest 1% control like over 50% of all wealth and I think it said the top 10% control like 80%+ maybe more…forget the exact %.
All that said, unless you work in hi-tech or have an awesome job, like flu says, I think it’s simply incredibly hard to actually make it big…even if your parents did very well. The youth has huge unemployment and unless you code and work in SV, most paying jobs are pretty weak.
Having worked in SV with the whole stock option thing and all that and working in different industries and now self employed, it really is different in terms of pay outside of a select few areas/professions. Most people make no where near enough to survive I think…in most normal jobs, even professional ones.
One risk is also if you get laid off or work in a field that’s slow (like someone said about architecture), you’re going to have a very very hard time finding something half decent. Maybe it’s just been my experience having been laid off, been on unemployment, etc…but unless you’ve been there, I can see why some people like some of these entitlement programs.
The main problem it’s very hard to get out. Also, woe to the engineer now who is making good money, then gets laid off with a mortgage, kids, wife, etc…
Even with savings, family might not be doing that well to help out.
It sounds radical, and I think not anytime soon, but there eventually will be more riots and more revolutionary type stuff since more and more people will be in poverty and quite upset about it.
We’ll end up like Europe with higher unemployment long term and with entitlements similar to become a ‘socialist’ country.
I believe the “best days” of the US are behind it for most Americans…sadly.
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