Clean up or shut up

The majority of U.S. Bankruptcies are caused by medical bills. The suggestion is that when you are young and healthy enough to work and earn a decent income, your finances will be in fairly good order, unlike many struggling elderly.

Years ago, and you've heard me say this before, "make hay while the sun shines," was a saying that our previous forefathers knew all to well. You've got to put something aside for your retirement. Why, because your health care costs are going to kill you even as much as your diseases will.

This is leading back to health care issues which concerns everyone and is the topic of the moment. I recall in my youth that physicals were rare and as well, so were health insurance claims. Were children healthier then? No, I think we just didn't run to the doctor's as often as is the case today. I'm still like that. I go only when and if I have to. Are you doing all you can to keep health care costs down? As I stated in my last post, we are in this all together.

Everything has become out of whack somehow. The constitution does not say we are owed a house or health care for that matter. Luckily a system of compassion exists in America.

Did you ever walk into a room that is so cluttered that you don't know where to begin to clean up the mess? If you were to get the room straightened out wouldn't you want it to stay that way? Perhaps you would even invest in an advisor to help you sort out the source of the problem in the first place. The root cause. Change is good only if it benefits the whole. It is difficult to make changes without input from various sources.

Where do I think we went wrong in our health care system, (The best in the world?) COST.
The young will not understand the plight of the elderly who sometimes have many health concerns, while they have little or none. Medical expenditures are a drain on your salary or source of income, and deplete savings quickly. We are not all born with a silver spoon in our mouths. Our circumstances are not alike. In fact, most elderly that I know were penny pincher's to the degree of going without for the sake of having something put aside for their future, only to see it drained on medical costs.

There is also the cost of not taking good care of one's self. The paycheck can only go so far. We leed lives of excess. Everyone must have a big car, house and wonderful clothes. Entertainment galore, this and that but never enough! Food prices cause people to make unhealthy choices instead of purchasing basic healthy staples, people look for "whats on sale." Maybe we should be asking "what is wrong with our food?" It isn't simply food choices. Environment? "Chemicals everywhere." Pollutants in our water systems, such as: contraceptives and other pills which remain after processing. Or, could it simply be the whole pizza you ate out of gluttony and in which case, what do you want us to do about it? Everyone is aware that smoking is bad for you, yet the culprits I see more often than not are those working in the medical field. Smoking does help to keep you from putting on the weight. There is a reason for that. It's not healthy! Your bad attitude is causing America to suffer the cost of picking up the tab of your indulgence. Having little common sense is part of the problem. Expecting someone else to clean up after our messes, are we? Expectations, another thing to look at. Wastefulness is a big one. Sometimes our own laws are to blame for that. Oh, just throw it out, get a new one. Here's a big one, ordering more pills than we need. How about trial and error. If it works, get more. Save on the cost of having to throw out pills dispensed that you will not need or that do not work for you. Better yet, what happen to all those samples?

Years ago, we would pass things down or recycle, wash and reuse. Today everything must be new. Responsibility for helping to clean up and maintain must be in the hearts and minds of all our citizens.

Balance is important. The costs are so out of reach in comparison to the standard of living for most of our residents. Why? Salary is a good thing to begin to look at. It is the little things that will need to be cut out that add up to the big bill. Are all services given really necessary? I don't recall classes were necessary when I delivered my children. Nor, was any extended home care for infant or mom required. How have we become a nation of extravagance? We should focus on getting only what is needed. Programs are nice, and they put people to work. However, programs add significantly to your bill.

If you learn to be excessive then the junk in your room fills up fast. When you can't move around and wonder why, you won't even see the bubblegum wrappers that you have failed to throw out, yet accumulated to a fault.

I have a friend who has become very good at cleaning house. Something I learned a long time ago. If you don't need it pass it on, if it doesn't fit whatever the reason, pass it on. Do not keep everything that people dumped on you for sentimental reasons, pass them on. Determine what is needed verses what is wanted, and keep things at a minimum. That is the only way you can gain control, through visibility not clutter.

Health care is not working because of all the clutter causing us not to visibly see the root problem, which is getting costs under control. Should the private industry not be able to do this, the government will need to step in. The question is, what is the government track record on programs like medicare? I think that will speak volumes for itself.

The old grandmother who was cautious, out of concern for her grandson used to say, "don't run your going to fall." She didn't want to see him get hurt. There was some wisdom there. On the other hand, she was instilling the fear of falling in him, which could cause a caution that would hold back the successful runner, perfectly capable of sprinting ahead. The moral to this story is simply sometimes you have to fall down in order to learn how and that you want to stay up.

I say you have to walk before you can run, and would extend the flag of caution here before proceeding. So get going, and begin to clean up your act or shut up about health care.