political clout as a public employee

(when typing public you need to make sure to include that "l"!)

Are you paying attention to the news? It appears that as a result of winning a lot of major races this past November, the Republicans & the tea partiers (who are one in the same as far I am concerned) are hell-bent on making unions pay.

In Wisconsin, the governor is seeking to completely eliminate collective bargaining rights. In Ohio, collective bargaining rights for teachers would be limited. Tennesse is also looking to eliminate collective bargaining for its teachers.

In various readings that I've seen in blogs, editorials, and the like, seem to suggest that public unions have a lot of political clout. This political clout, the argument goes, has led to "outrageous" salaries & benefits.

So, where's my outrageous benefits? Currently, I pay over $500 per month for my families health benefits. Our co-pays are between $15 to 20 per visit. For those doing the math, that's over $5,000 per year & each year this amount increases because our district has a cap on the amount it pays. All increases are picked up by employees.

So, where's my outrageous pay? I've not received any type of raise for over six years. In fact, for many years, the teachers and other employees routinely gave up raises in exchange for full benefits. This was given up when we went into state receivership. Our school district continues to be one of the lowest paid not only the SF Bay Area but in the state of California.

yeah, I'm so glad that I have all of this political clout so that I can continue to be paid this outrageous salary & continue to receive such a fabulous benefits package.

why credit cards are evil . . .

When the credit crisis hit the banks two years ago, I never really thought it would impact me. That is because that for the most part, my bills are always paid on time.

Until one month when I was a day late on my Chase credit card bill.

They sent me a notice in the mail stating that I had two options:

1.) agree to an increased rate of 21%

2.) or close the account (which by the way negatively impacts your credit score) & have the rate increase to 17%.

I chose the second option because I was so disgusted with Chase.

Cut to this month.

I do online banking. My bills are scheduled to go out every month at the first of the month because I get paid once a month, the last day of the month.

Somehow my Chase bill did not get paid & I was unaware of this oversight until I received my statement this month. To say that I was surprised is an understatement. I called Chase to let them know that this month's payment & next month's payment would be paid in full on March 1st.

You would think that this would suffice.

Instead every couple of days, I am getting phone calls from Chase. Today, the latest phone call came. I tried to be patient. I tried to once again explain that the full payment would be received next week. The person on the phone kept trying to press me to pay something this week.

Ummm . . . what part of "I get paid ONCE a month, don't you understand?" (My husband is actually going to our local Chase this week so that the phone calls will stop.)

It would be one thing if I was a deadbeat & had a history of not paying my bills or of always being late. That is not the case at all.

I'll be glad when this account is paid in full & I no longer have to deal with them.

Artist Girl is taking flight . . .

leaving the nest so to speak.

Her dad and I are helping her move to Portland, OR, where I have two very wonderful cousins who are willing to let her crash with them for a couple of weeks until she finds her own space.

The plan is that we are going to pay her rent for six months. During the six months, she is finding a job. Once her job is established, then she needs to get enrolled in school. We are actually looking at her waiting until she is 23 to get enrolled so that she can qualify for financial aid all on her own.

The other cool part for her is that one of my cousins is a licensed cosmetologist who is launching her own business. She is willing to have Artist Girl "apprentice" when she can, which may mean some extra small change for her.

I'm keeping my fingers & toes crossed that it will all work out for her.