Category Archives: Pithy Ponderings

Random thoughts, obscure musings.

It’s All In The Details

Care to guess what government program affecting every citizen is comprised of:

• 2728 “core” rules
• Thousands upon thousands upon thousands of codicils explaining the “core” rules.
• Formulas like this or even more complex*:
B(a) = PIA(a) (I-e(n)) (I+d(n)) Z(a) + max((.5 PIA*(a) – PIA(a) (I+d(n))) E(a), 0) (1-u(a,q,n,m)) D(a)

Social Security!

Finding myself with considerable downtime and being the age where I could file a claim I thought it was time to educate myself on the labyrinth of Social Security.  Checked out Get What’s Yours from the library.  130  pages into the book and already have had some preconceptions about Social Security blown out of the water.  For example: those estimated benefit amounts they provide in the hardcopy statement you receive in the mail or via the online tool are very likely to be incorrect.  Worse yet is that the amount can be significant.

The book points out numerous examples of how the arcane rules of Social Security lead people to make very costly errors when filing their claims, how incorrect interpretations and advice by Social Security personnel negatively impact the amount people receive  and so forth.  All typical of any government bureaucracy.  Those who advocate the government taking over healthcare insurance  should peruse this book and ask themselves why they think a healthcare bureaucracy would be any different.

* This equation gives the benefit B, in dollars I presume, for a person of age a.

Inversion, Solid gray overcast …

We have officially begun the Inversion season here in Boise. That means solid gray overcast and temps colder here in the valley than up on the mountain tops.  The swing between day high and low temps is around 4-5 degrees. As an example for the last few days and the next few forecasted days highs will be in the low 30’s and lows will be in the mid 20’s. Brrrrrrr! Good news is that so far the third element in the equation, air quality, is still good.  After a couple days of these conditions I get in a funk. So with 1 out of 3 parameters in the green I triple-layered up and went for a ride today in a balmy 26 degress. Feel much better now.

“It” Arrived

“It” showed up in today’s mail.  That dreaded envelope that comes around each fall.   What is “It” you ask?  Property assessment notice?  Nope.  Car registration renewal?  Negative.  IRS tax forms?  No.  “It” is worse than any of those and far more anxiety inducing.  “It” is the relatively recent phenomenon and new ritual.  Yes, “It” is my Open Enrollment packet.  Now I get to see how much more coverage, deductibles and co-pays are going to be for 2018.  Ironically, it arrives on the same day that President Trump announced, rightfully so, he has decided to rescind the illegal subsidy payments to insurers.

The packet will remain setting on the desk for a couple days.  Takes me a bit to work up the courage to open and see the increase.

Cheers!

“It’s A Mixed Up, Muddled Up, Shook Up World …..”

Woke up this morning to see a grumpy deranged old white man took out 50+ folks and injured 100’s more in Sin City.  I wish the government could reallocate our tax dollars going to malingers and slackers, illegal and otherwise, to provide better mental health care for wack jobs like this guy.  Wait maybe this guy had an Obamacare policy that provided mental health coverage and he didn’t use it do to the high deductable/co-pay.

Continue reading “It’s A Mixed Up, Muddled Up, Shook Up World …..”