For most people, even those with insurance, a single medical bill can be devastating. I consider myself to be very lucky. I make around the median US income and I have fairly good medical insurance. Still, my wife hasn’t had a job since graduating from grad school.
We aren’t poor, but we certainly aren’t saving much. The average month, if we have enough left over for a date night, it’s something of a lucky event.
A few months ago, my wife has having some medical problems. Nothing major, but given her and her family history, certainly worth checking out. Several pints of blood over a few months later, we get a bill from the lab.
While $300 isn’t major money when talking about medical expense, it’s still something that wasn’t in the budget and hasn’t been in the budget for a long time. Still, we pay the bills, because that’s what we’re supposed to do.
That was in the beginning of summer and we still haven’t really recovered from that blow. Each month since then has been a series of “what can we put off until the next paycheck?” type questions and issues.
Consider that, again, we make about the median income for a US household. We don’t pay rent (though we do pay all the utilities and maintenance) for the house. My wife’s car is 13 years old and she won’t be getting a new one any time soon. My car is almost paid off after a hail storm destroyed my car that was paid off.
What must it be like for a family that doesn’t make what I make? And does have to pay rent/mortgage? And still has that medical bill?
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As is the way with the world, it seems like we get one bill paid off and another one hits. I just went to the dentist today.
It’s worse than a cavity. It’s worse than a root canal. My gums have decided (as if they could think independently) that my teeth are foreign objects and have commenced attacking them. My own teeth are being dissolved by my own gums.
It would be fascinating happening to someone else. So, on the 10th of next month, I go in for some repair work that (with luck) prevent the teeth from being destroyed.
I don’t even want to think about the cost… and, again, that’s with dental insurance. I’m very lucky that I don’t have to pay the entire sum out of pocket. I simply wouldn’t be able to… no way.
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Being poor is not a genetic trait that cannot be fixed. Poor is not a viral infection that must run its course. Poor is not lazy.
Poor is not having money, nor means of acquiring it, in order to supply the basic necessities of life. I heard a very powerful statement a few days ago.
Poor is having to decide whether to eat the macaroni and cheese you just spilled on the floor that hasn’t been cleaned in two years because it’s your only meal for the next two days.
My wife is substituting at a school right, where the teachers stand by the trash cans to make sure that students don’t throw away food from breakfast. They save as much as they can and then give it to the kids that they know won’t have anything to eat that evening.
It absolutely sucks when a kid comes to you in tears because he doesn’t know where his next meal will come from and the free lunch at school is the only thing he eats every day.
Poor is something that we can deal with, if we can convince the not-poor that it’s important.
Things like minimum wage increases (perhaps even a fixed minimum income), no cost medical care for everyone, paid sick leave for everyone, and some food for kids at school.
Ask your political leaders where they stand on these issues. If they say things like “The poor are just lazy” or “They need to get a better job”, then those political leaders need to be put out of work next year.
