There are two articles today in the Miami Herald that caught my attention: SoFla drivers and the cost of health insurance in the state. Amazingly, these topics have been on my mind for the last few days....how did they know? No mind readers, I'm sure, just people like me that feel things are really getting out of hand.....
Dave Barry, who is always funny but on the money, rambles along about driving in South Florida. He portraits perfectly, with real examples and deprecating humor the perils of going out in your car....he advices us that the best thing is to close your eyes and pray. He wants to be positive, though, and says that if we just take responsibility for our driving and show each other a little courtesy, all will be fine....but he is a realist and concludes that we are doomed!!!
Many times I have felt the same way. I go out of my way to avoid the expressways, especially I95; I take all the scenic routes and the out of the way roads. I don't mind getting late to where I'm going, or starting early to be on time. The less I see of SoFla drivers, the better. Courtesy is unheard of, everyone for himself is more like it. There is no respect for pedestrians, much less for other drivers. Some expressways become racing tracts at nights and accidents are the order of the day. I pity the people that have to commute here! No wonder AAA has named Miami Number One when it comes to road rage.... I know sometimes I am ready to kill someone.......
I have no idea why this happens, but I have my theory. I also know that many reading this will call me all sorts of names...but I think I am right. SoFla is a place of different cultures, people from all over Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe and other parts of the world live here with others from all over the US. Everyone has his/her own way of driving, different traffic rules, different traditions when it comes to road etiquette. We all bring these things to SoFla and we fail to learn the local rules. Yes, I include myself! Until we do......we are doomed.
The other article is about the cost of health insurance premiums in Florida. John Dorschner, who writes business related articles, points out several things I have been telling my husband for months!!! Premiums go up and up...and nobody seems worried that we are not going to be able to afford health insurance. Getting sick will soon be a luxury. Coming from Curaçao where we had National Health Care, and even private insurance coverage was reasonable, this is difficult to understand....that is a Third World country!!!
The article points out that premiums have gone up 29% in the last year alone. Salaries have not gone up as much...of course. This is not a Florida only problem, it is a national trend: up 10 times as fast as family income. Wonderful! All this would be nothing if the services provided were all covered; but NEE.... you still have a deductible and co-pays and who knows what else.
In a country with the most advanced medical developments, the latest in technology and research....millions cannot afford medical insurance or go bankrupt paying medical bills!!! I can only say that I have been charged for things I didn't need, procedures that were not done and given medications I didn't require. I have never got any satisfaction from my calls to our health insurance company. I was once told: "I don't make the rules, ma'm..." Still, every year on my husband's birthday our premium goes up. Insurance companies, in my opinion, have not a care in the world; and profit for their shareholders come first. Doctors think that if they studied medicine....their first duty is to get rich. WOW, that felt good!!!!
Dave Barry, who is always funny but on the money, rambles along about driving in South Florida. He portraits perfectly, with real examples and deprecating humor the perils of going out in your car....he advices us that the best thing is to close your eyes and pray. He wants to be positive, though, and says that if we just take responsibility for our driving and show each other a little courtesy, all will be fine....but he is a realist and concludes that we are doomed!!!
Many times I have felt the same way. I go out of my way to avoid the expressways, especially I95; I take all the scenic routes and the out of the way roads. I don't mind getting late to where I'm going, or starting early to be on time. The less I see of SoFla drivers, the better. Courtesy is unheard of, everyone for himself is more like it. There is no respect for pedestrians, much less for other drivers. Some expressways become racing tracts at nights and accidents are the order of the day. I pity the people that have to commute here! No wonder AAA has named Miami Number One when it comes to road rage.... I know sometimes I am ready to kill someone.......
I have no idea why this happens, but I have my theory. I also know that many reading this will call me all sorts of names...but I think I am right. SoFla is a place of different cultures, people from all over Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe and other parts of the world live here with others from all over the US. Everyone has his/her own way of driving, different traffic rules, different traditions when it comes to road etiquette. We all bring these things to SoFla and we fail to learn the local rules. Yes, I include myself! Until we do......we are doomed.
The other article is about the cost of health insurance premiums in Florida. John Dorschner, who writes business related articles, points out several things I have been telling my husband for months!!! Premiums go up and up...and nobody seems worried that we are not going to be able to afford health insurance. Getting sick will soon be a luxury. Coming from Curaçao where we had National Health Care, and even private insurance coverage was reasonable, this is difficult to understand....that is a Third World country!!!
The article points out that premiums have gone up 29% in the last year alone. Salaries have not gone up as much...of course. This is not a Florida only problem, it is a national trend: up 10 times as fast as family income. Wonderful! All this would be nothing if the services provided were all covered; but NEE.... you still have a deductible and co-pays and who knows what else.
In a country with the most advanced medical developments, the latest in technology and research....millions cannot afford medical insurance or go bankrupt paying medical bills!!! I can only say that I have been charged for things I didn't need, procedures that were not done and given medications I didn't require. I have never got any satisfaction from my calls to our health insurance company. I was once told: "I don't make the rules, ma'm..." Still, every year on my husband's birthday our premium goes up. Insurance companies, in my opinion, have not a care in the world; and profit for their shareholders come first. Doctors think that if they studied medicine....their first duty is to get rich. WOW, that felt good!!!!
1 comment:
Well written article.
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