Ever notice that big companies or governments get to do what the "little people" can't? Like flaunt laws with impugnity. Of course you have.

Sonoma County has a great resource for job-displaced folks called JobLink, and miracle of miracles they fought to keep the workshops open to the public. This has been of immense help to hubby and myself. But the rules to see a counselor are that eligibility includes having used up your unemplyment -- leaving out those who did not get unemployment -- and a disgustingly low limit on how much you can have in the bank -- for instance, a single person could only earn $4600 total in the past 6 months to qualify. So we aren't getting one-on-one help.

But that is all to say I did talk to a counselor there once who told me that legally employers must get you your COBRA forms right away. For those who wonder, this is the program that allows people to keep their health insurance once they lose their jobs. For a price. A very steep price. We'll get to that. I have to say I was surprised to hear they were supposed to speed that info to us, since it took literally a dozen calls to HR and 7 weeks before the paperwork showed up.

In the meantime, I slipped in the kitchen during the 4th of July weekend, and my knee is still messed up. Honestly, our health plan had just raised its co-pays to $25, and $500 for an emergency room visit whenever the doctor's office is closed, such as holidays, so even if hubby were still employed I wouldn't have gone unless broken bones were involved. But it was annoying to realize if something dire had happened, we didn't even have the paperwork to cover it.

But here's the thing: COBRA costs a fortune. The per-month cost to keep the insurance we had is over $650. Add another $150 and that's a mortgage payment! (I'll discuss housing costs another time.) If that isn't a kick in the teeth I don't know what is. (And at almost $40/mo. to add dental, let's hope there are no dental accidents! It's cheaper to risk it and pay $85 to get your teeth cleaned every 6 months.)

I call Shenanigans on this system! I call Bullshit! [pounding fists in angry frustration] Hello, government, we are out of work. We have no money coming in! How do you expect us to pay those gouging prices??? It is a system that is supposed to help those between jobs, but all they are doing is helping themselves to your savings, helping you hit rock bottom faster, helping you slide faster into a pit that you'd never be able to dig your way out of.

Did you know that to be eligible for food stamps and medical the individual can only have $2000 in the bank? At that point they wouldn't be able to afford to pay their bills. Why wait until the situation is hopeless to offer "help"? And yet...

The feds want to make it even worse by making it harder for people to erase their debts and file for bankruptcy. (Of course I don't want to go there, since that would ruin my perfect credit rating -- I think I'd probably sell my house and break my own heart before I went to bankruptcy.)

Hypocritically, this slap-in-the-face to the have-nots is coming from the administration that has tanked the US surplus and plunged us trillions -- yes, trillions of dollars in debt! Mega bullcrap! You didn't vote for the Bushies against your own self-interest, did you?