Health and vision insurance

Standard

If my rent went up by 10 percent a year, that would be a horror show.

If my electric bill went up by 8.8 percent a year, I’d be rendering oils for my lanterns before the end of the decade.

But because these increases are happening in my vision and health care insurance (respectively), I’m supposed to be grateful, because those increases have been bartered down from 17%.

Even stranger, my supervisor and co-workers keep talking about how they “don’t know how much longer I’ll be sticking with my job” because hey! writer! As soon as I become rich enough, I’ll be ditching the old day job for self-employment! Any week now, right?

I kid you not, writing full-time is something I want so badly I can taste it. But if it takes a corporation to bargain down premium increases to “only” 8.8%, how am I going to afford insurance on my own, esp over the long term?

Real reform can’t come fast enough.