Are we anthropomorphizing the economy?

I could say I am about to lose a job due to "the economy". Technically I suppose that's true, but that seems too simple and abstract. It gives me visions of some faceless figure zooming around telling people to stop shopping or that they have to fire employees. In fact, in my case, it's those real people who are terrified there are no jobs out there who have led the push that's led to jobs being cut in my area of correctional education.

There's been an increase of over 50,000 in financial aid applications this year in Indiana, with the budget more or less remaining the same. This means they have to prioritize who gets it and, not unexpectedly, prison programs are the first to go. Why that's too bad is the subject for a whole other post, but the point is I believe mostly fear has caused this rush to education. The bad job news we hear every day has made people think they can only find jobs by getting more education. Kudos for that - I'm a big believer in education - but the fact is from what I've seen jobs are still there and many people are in fact probably happy for the chance losing their job has given them. I certainly know there are those who are not even looking. My own husband's work was cut before the "crisis" and he has been looking only half-heartedly since then. But he did do a part time gig as a bouncer and could go back to waiting - he just doesn't want to.

There are plenty of success stories. Take my friend Stephanie. She studied in the computer field many moons ago but has not worked because of having young children. Her husband has been finishing his bachelor's while working as a waiter and is now about to graduate. So she took this chance to get back out there and look for work. She had several interviews right away and eventually landed a part time job as a web assistant for a college. Surely if someone whose education and experience are out of date can still get a job, others can too.

I was planning to take my own "maternity leave" from my benefits-less job anyway, so I'm not personally devastated by the news of my probable job loss. But I guess my point is, we blame this generic idea of the economy and, if we want to get more specific, the corrupt corporations, for everything, but in reality it might be the unintentional panic of the "little people" who are causing some of the ripples.

Not Assured

There’s something inherently wrong with the insurance system. Perhaps we’ve been screwed. It certainly feels that way. But from what I’ve been told and researched, we’ve been treated “fairly” and have no recourse.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m unspeakably grateful neither my husband nor kids were injured when an elderly lady, for some still unclear reason, backed into our parked van at (as it replays in my mind) 50 miles an hour, and sent it flying (in the words of 3-year-old Isaac, who was half-strapped into his car seat). It could have been much worse. If Isaac and his twin brother, Ethan, weren’t strapped in and if their father hadn’t stuck his head out to see what the strange noise was just seconds before impact, I could have lost my whole family.

However, our dealings with a certain major insurance company have left me feeling far from compensated. At first I was grateful for the help and the reassurance just from knowing she was insured and there was no possible way this could be construed as our fault. I was also grateful that, assuming the lady lost her fight to blame her car, our rental would be fully covered for as long as, I believed, we needed it.

Then, liability was finally established and the collision center could take a look at the van. It didn’t take them long to total it. A couple days later I hadn’t heard from the insurance company and called the total loss department myself. They still didn’t have all the information, including pictures, but almost fought to make sure I didn’t hang up without getting a figure. Whatever, I thought. The lady calculated, seemed friendly, and we got a figure I wasn’t happy about but couldn’t argue with. Then, I was informed, as the settlement was in place, we had 3 days to get out of our rental. The apparent belief was that it would be simple to replace the same vehicle for the money they offered. Clearly, these people never go car shopping themselves. Or understand the headache and hassle involved.

I talked to an attorney but they refused to take the case with no injury involved, and said probably no one else would either as the chances of recovering much more would be slim. As I said, I’m grateful for that lack of injury, but the mental trauma and time and stress should be worth something. I am at a loss to understand how any insurance company can sell themselves as your “good neighbor” or that you are “in good hands” when they leave someone such as myself traumatized, exhausted, on the verge of illness, with young kids needing attention and work that can’t get done (and not to mention being pregnant). Isn’t that cold and stingy, to say the least?

Am I being greedy and unreasonable?

Welcome!

Welcome to my new blog, where I hope to dazzle, inspire, provoke thought and, well, maybe occasionally rant (but only intelligently and when my cause is just, of course). All comments that agree or tell me how interesting it is are welcome 