They've just announced that Georgia eighth graders need to choose a career path by the end of the school year. What are they thinking?
Let me back track for a minute. Arkansas enacted some sort of academic plan in sixth grade. The difference is it was much more flexible and general. Basically college prep or not. In my opinion that is general enough to accommodate anything a person my choose to do.
I have a major problem with the Georgia plan. Granted, I don't have kids in school that young, but I think it's ridiculous. First, students get to choose from seventeen career paths. They didn't detail these seventeen paths. Second, students can change their career path until the end of their ninth grade year. What? Are these people crazy? There are students in college and grad school who don't know which career path they want to take.
How general are these seventeen paths? If a student makes a change at the end of ninth grade, how much of the work will be transferred to another path? How many of these paths will prepare graduates for acceptance in most colleges and universities? Will students be pigeon holed and stuck all their lives with choices they made in eighth or ninth grade?
What happened to competently teaching a variety of subjects? If teachers were left alone to teach content and concepts instead of teaching to standardized tests students would be better prepared for life.
Parents have got to take a more active role in decisions made by so called educators. Subjects and content have been made impossible to learn through Common Core. Don't get me started on political correctness. Andrea's history teacher was talking about Native Americans and then said the Plains Indians. Come on, make them all Native Americans or all Indians.
If I could name my school Andrea would graduate from Horizons High School and we'd do straight home schooling next term. If time travel were possible she'd graduate from ASB in the 1970's.
I'm sick of this bureaucratic nonsense.
Monday, December 30, 2013
Saturday, December 21, 2013
Potpourri
It saddens me every time I think of this. I haven't brought it up to Holiday because I don't know if she even remembers. But I think it's time I acknowledged it.
I have a vague memory of getting potpourri for Christmas one year. I don't remember opening it but I do remember searching for it when I put my gifts away. I didn't find it at that time. I found it much later; months or years later.
I said something about finding a bag of potpourri I didn't know I had. Holiday told me she had given it to me for Christmas. She said I didn't show much interest in it at the time. She said I opened it and put it aside.
What was goiing on with me? Holiday was still a young girl when I found it. I would have thanked her for the gift and ooed and aahhed over it. This was really nice potpourri. I remember it had dried, sliced oranges, whole leaves of various types, and other quality items, it even had some fragrance left. It had come from Dillards which is a big deal for us. Do this day I don't know how I treated such a gift so lightly. I am truly sorry for that.
I immediately poured the potpourri into a bowl and arranged it so those beautiful slices of orange could be seen.
I have a vague memory of getting potpourri for Christmas one year. I don't remember opening it but I do remember searching for it when I put my gifts away. I didn't find it at that time. I found it much later; months or years later.
I said something about finding a bag of potpourri I didn't know I had. Holiday told me she had given it to me for Christmas. She said I didn't show much interest in it at the time. She said I opened it and put it aside.
What was goiing on with me? Holiday was still a young girl when I found it. I would have thanked her for the gift and ooed and aahhed over it. This was really nice potpourri. I remember it had dried, sliced oranges, whole leaves of various types, and other quality items, it even had some fragrance left. It had come from Dillards which is a big deal for us. Do this day I don't know how I treated such a gift so lightly. I am truly sorry for that.
I immediately poured the potpourri into a bowl and arranged it so those beautiful slices of orange could be seen.
Thursday, December 5, 2013
Fast Food Workers
You're out there protesting today for respect, the right to organize, and fifteen dollars an hour. I agree you should have two of the three. The other one will hurt you, as well as those on fixed incomes. As you read this keep in mind that I also worked in the fast food industry for several years.
Because of my experience in fast food I know workers don't get much respect. Much of the general public think fast food workers are dumb. Fast food workers are looked upon as the bottom of the totem pole when it comes to jobs. If a person is out there doing a job they should be givin respect no matter what the jom happens to be.
If fast food workers want to organize go ahead. If you can find enough people who have worked the job long enough to be concerned about organizing gather them up and go for it. If you want to take union dues out of your pay check along with federal taxes, State taxes, Social Security, and Medicare, go ahead; just make it an open shop. With the high turnover in fast food workers are there really enough people to see this one through?
Also because I worked fast food, I know the skills needed to work a fast food job don't warrant fifteen dollars an hour. Computers in the cash registers add order amounts and tell how much change to give back. No basic math skills required. The little bit of food preparation is nothing more complicatated than what you do at home. Workers may have to add milk or water to biscuit biscuit mix, bread chicken, or make salads. Cooked foods are times so there's no guess work. Just put the food in, hit the timer, remove the food when the timer goes off. No rocket science here. Burger King's burgers and buns are even simpler, just place the raw hamburger patties or untoasted buns on their respective conveyer belts and they come out the other end cooked and toasted. Yes you work hard, especially at lunch and dinner rush. Yes cleaning is a pain, and yes your pay is low to start. After working at Hardee's for a few months I was given a raise; after a few more months another raise, and so on. After I had more experience I was able to get a job at Olive Garden which pays significantly more than Hardee's. I didn't stay at Burger King long enough o get a raise.
Fifteen dollars an hour is out of line for basic fast food work is many ways.
A soundbite of a lady who works at Churches is being played on the news today because of the fast food walk out. She says she would like a nice home and car. She shouldn't have to take the bus to work. They didn't delve into her circumstances: education, if she has children and her age when the first one was born, cellphone plan, other part time jobs, etc. So she wants to add the stress of wondering if she will keep the job she has if fast food workers are paid fifteen dollars an hour.
To me the disabled are of more concern that these able bodied whiners. There are people with disabilities out there who can't do as well, forget better, than fast food. The few employers who take a chance on a disable worker find they have hired a good worker who is hard working and dependable. It's a shame more employers don't take that chance now. They won't when or if they have to pay fifteen dollars an hour to find out disabled workers are good workers.
Because of my experience in fast food I know workers don't get much respect. Much of the general public think fast food workers are dumb. Fast food workers are looked upon as the bottom of the totem pole when it comes to jobs. If a person is out there doing a job they should be givin respect no matter what the jom happens to be.
If fast food workers want to organize go ahead. If you can find enough people who have worked the job long enough to be concerned about organizing gather them up and go for it. If you want to take union dues out of your pay check along with federal taxes, State taxes, Social Security, and Medicare, go ahead; just make it an open shop. With the high turnover in fast food workers are there really enough people to see this one through?
Also because I worked fast food, I know the skills needed to work a fast food job don't warrant fifteen dollars an hour. Computers in the cash registers add order amounts and tell how much change to give back. No basic math skills required. The little bit of food preparation is nothing more complicatated than what you do at home. Workers may have to add milk or water to biscuit biscuit mix, bread chicken, or make salads. Cooked foods are times so there's no guess work. Just put the food in, hit the timer, remove the food when the timer goes off. No rocket science here. Burger King's burgers and buns are even simpler, just place the raw hamburger patties or untoasted buns on their respective conveyer belts and they come out the other end cooked and toasted. Yes you work hard, especially at lunch and dinner rush. Yes cleaning is a pain, and yes your pay is low to start. After working at Hardee's for a few months I was given a raise; after a few more months another raise, and so on. After I had more experience I was able to get a job at Olive Garden which pays significantly more than Hardee's. I didn't stay at Burger King long enough o get a raise.
Fifteen dollars an hour is out of line for basic fast food work is many ways.
- The first two reasons are a bit self serving but it's my blog. Who is going to pay my inexperienced teenaged daughter fifteen dollars an hour when they can hire an experienced worker who will be, by virtue of experience, more productive than a newbie. Teenagers aren't the only group in jeopardy of fewer employment chances. The disabled have enough trouble finding jobs as it is. Employers don't want to take a chance on us. If they have to pay fifteen dollars an hour for fast food positions they will definitely look past the disabled.
- Companies will pass the cost of doing business on to their customers. How much will menu items rise if the newest crew member is getting fifteen dollars and hour? With fast food wages doubled, how many people on fixed incomes will stop patronizing these businesses? How many coupons will be made available to the general puplic after these increased labor costs?
- Companies will do all they can to maintain their bottom line. If wages double the easiest way to maintain the bottom line is to cut staff by half. If you're in the half let go that old wage starts looking better.
- Back to lack of respect. As mentioned earlier the perception of fast food workers isn't all that positive. Now if fast food workers get fifteen dollars and hour all other workers will want more for what they do. They aren't going to sit by as fast food workers make more than they do when they think they deserve more. And if they have a skill they do deserve more.
- My friend and neighbor is an EXPERIENCED and CERTIFIED forklift operator. She recently got a job that pays less than fifteen dollars an hour. She immediately started looking for another position. Her last offer was for the graveyard shift paying just over minimum wage. So if she can't get fifteen dollars and hours a fast food worker doesn't deserve that much. My sister is another example; she is a highly educated lady. Her salary from her recent case management job doesn't equal fifteen dollars an hour. If a position that requires a Masters Degree doesn't command fifteen dollars an hour then fast food definitely doesn't.
A soundbite of a lady who works at Churches is being played on the news today because of the fast food walk out. She says she would like a nice home and car. She shouldn't have to take the bus to work. They didn't delve into her circumstances: education, if she has children and her age when the first one was born, cellphone plan, other part time jobs, etc. So she wants to add the stress of wondering if she will keep the job she has if fast food workers are paid fifteen dollars an hour.
To me the disabled are of more concern that these able bodied whiners. There are people with disabilities out there who can't do as well, forget better, than fast food. The few employers who take a chance on a disable worker find they have hired a good worker who is hard working and dependable. It's a shame more employers don't take that chance now. They won't when or if they have to pay fifteen dollars an hour to find out disabled workers are good workers.
Monday, December 2, 2013
Healthcare Exemption
I stumbled upon this while on the obamacare website. It tells how a person can be exempt from the fine for not having health insurance. https://www.healthcare.gov/exemptions/.
I qualify for a couple reasons right off the bat; I bet our creative minds could come up with several ways to qualify for exemptions. Lets see.
The death of a close family member can be an exemption. Well that man them mentioned in the news last night was like a brother to me.
Wait until you receive a shut-off notice before you pay your utility bills. Getting a shut-off notice will exempt you.
Call you doctors to make sure you didn't forget to pay a bill in the last two years. If you have medical bils you can't pay from no longer than two years ago, you can get an exemption.
Become Amish.
If you're incarsarated you're exempt.
And my favorite....You're not lawfully present in the U.S. And who says crime, no matter how small doesn't pay?
In my opinion health insurgence is a scam. I've held this opinion for as long as I can remember. It's the biggest buggy man scare tactic to ever take on a life of its own. Those fears have led us to the disaster we're faced with today.
After listening to radio hosts and callers complain about obamacare I decided I'd probably end up paying the fine. The fine works out to be more cost effective than the reports I heard on premium costs.
I did my research. First I called Blue Cross Blue Shield for a quote. Ouch, sticker shock even with subsidy. $5??.?? without subsidy and $3??.?? with subsidy. They didn't have any information about coverage or deductibles. Along the was the Feds revamped everything. The Blue Cross agent tells me they now have all the information and things have changed. They sure did. Premium now between $185 and $195 depending on plan. The Deductible is $750 for medical and $750 for prescriptions. Co-payments are between $20 and $35 depending on plan. Not terrible but still expensive for me considering I wouldn't meet my deductibles. This was the first week in October so the website was impossible to use. "You can't get it yet, " the agent informed me, "The website is still down." I asked couldn't I get it through him. He said no. Even though it's a Blue Cross plan you've got to go through the exchanges.
After a few tries I finally was able to get through the website all the way. That was today, December2, 2013; two months after the Anointed one said it would be up and running. I did two applications because I didn't like the outcome of the first one. The first one gave me no subsidies with premiums between $322 a month and somewhere in the high $500's. The lowest deductable was in the mid $4000's. Year right. My results also said I may qualify for medicaid. I filled out the form again, this time saying I plan to file a tax return in 2014. This time it said I could be elegable for Medicaid and that was it; no plans, nothing else.
So I go back to my Blue Cross Emails curious to see what will happen. Nothing happened, nada, not a thing. I click on "Apply Now" beside the plan I want, directed to the Blue Cross site, create another profile, put in PIN from my email, click submit. My plans comes up but the "Apply now on the Exchange button is grayed out. Yep another whoop to jumpthrough later; the reason I'm more than likely going to be exempt.
I qualify for a couple reasons right off the bat; I bet our creative minds could come up with several ways to qualify for exemptions. Lets see.
The death of a close family member can be an exemption. Well that man them mentioned in the news last night was like a brother to me.
Wait until you receive a shut-off notice before you pay your utility bills. Getting a shut-off notice will exempt you.
Call you doctors to make sure you didn't forget to pay a bill in the last two years. If you have medical bils you can't pay from no longer than two years ago, you can get an exemption.
Become Amish.
If you're incarsarated you're exempt.
And my favorite....You're not lawfully present in the U.S. And who says crime, no matter how small doesn't pay?
In my opinion health insurgence is a scam. I've held this opinion for as long as I can remember. It's the biggest buggy man scare tactic to ever take on a life of its own. Those fears have led us to the disaster we're faced with today.
After listening to radio hosts and callers complain about obamacare I decided I'd probably end up paying the fine. The fine works out to be more cost effective than the reports I heard on premium costs.
I did my research. First I called Blue Cross Blue Shield for a quote. Ouch, sticker shock even with subsidy. $5??.?? without subsidy and $3??.?? with subsidy. They didn't have any information about coverage or deductibles. Along the was the Feds revamped everything. The Blue Cross agent tells me they now have all the information and things have changed. They sure did. Premium now between $185 and $195 depending on plan. The Deductible is $750 for medical and $750 for prescriptions. Co-payments are between $20 and $35 depending on plan. Not terrible but still expensive for me considering I wouldn't meet my deductibles. This was the first week in October so the website was impossible to use. "You can't get it yet, " the agent informed me, "The website is still down." I asked couldn't I get it through him. He said no. Even though it's a Blue Cross plan you've got to go through the exchanges.
After a few tries I finally was able to get through the website all the way. That was today, December2, 2013; two months after the Anointed one said it would be up and running. I did two applications because I didn't like the outcome of the first one. The first one gave me no subsidies with premiums between $322 a month and somewhere in the high $500's. The lowest deductable was in the mid $4000's. Year right. My results also said I may qualify for medicaid. I filled out the form again, this time saying I plan to file a tax return in 2014. This time it said I could be elegable for Medicaid and that was it; no plans, nothing else.
So I go back to my Blue Cross Emails curious to see what will happen. Nothing happened, nada, not a thing. I click on "Apply Now" beside the plan I want, directed to the Blue Cross site, create another profile, put in PIN from my email, click submit. My plans comes up but the "Apply now on the Exchange button is grayed out. Yep another whoop to jumpthrough later; the reason I'm more than likely going to be exempt.
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