Plight of the Financially Worthless

Budget Shopping

2008-12-04T18:57:00.002-05:00

I just found the budget shoppers paradise! and in this economy that's a really good thing.

Aldi's has locations in Cranston, East Providence, Warwick, and Providence( Smith Street-12/15) They are a well-run grocery store with German roots. Their stores are a model of efficiency:

The checkers are sitting and placing items into your cart and not wasting time with "proper bagging technique."

Bags are 10 cents to encourage people to use fewer bags.

The staff is well paid to encourage low turnover and help with employee morale.

Not to mention their prices are REALLY low. A dozen non-hormone containing eggs- 1.19

Organic soymilk 1.39 a quart

Beautiful romaine salad 10 ounces for 1.99

Their produce is beautiful and cheap.

The staff is cheerful and helpful.

In short, I LOVE THIS STORE!!!! and you should too.

lack of accessible dental care: America's dirty little secret

2008-11-29T23:22:00.006-05:00

In the past 8 years, I've seen a dentist for one course of treatment! Admittedly, part of the reason is a fear of dentists, but a much larger part is lack of dental insurance.

Dental insurance is offered by most major employers, but is currently unavailable to individuals. The insurance companies answer to this is dental discount plans. A link to these plans can be found here: http://www.dentalplans.com/statesummaryrhodeisland.asp

Aetna, one of the major dental insurers, has a discount plan. Since they're offering this plan, I know they can successfully manage "individual plans." So, why not cut the crap and just offer people the option of purchasing dental insurance?

I need major restorative work done. I have advanced gum disease and I'm losing gum and bone every day. Despite my brushing, flossing and rinsing. I even have a pick to clean out the pockets where my gums have separated from my teeth.

I would like to have this work done and if necessary have my teeth removed and have implants put in, but I can't afford it. The final bill could be 15k or more. I don't know where I'm going to get the money since no one will hire a receptionist with missing gums.

My apartment at the corner of Rock and hard place is causing me great distress.

Job search annoyances.

2008-11-26T16:56:00.002-05:00

I was searching for an admin job the other day and happened upon this ad for a small business in East Providence, RI. They were looking for an Administrative Assistant to support the 3 Sales Managers on staff.

Apply in person the ad said, so I made the trip out to E. Prov. and much to my annoyance the manager told me the position had been filled almost two weeks ago. He told me receptionist had forgotten to take down the ad despite multiple reminders to do so. He also said that she would not be back in tomorrow. In a half joking manner, I said can I have her job? he said no, but thanks for coming in.

Why can't employers and job search sites Craigslist in particular get it together in terms of having up-to-date job postings, and legitimate employers advertising on their site?

Is it really that hard to institute some sort of screening device such as: nominal fee to post (ie:$25) or form that requires the business to list contact information other than a gmail address?

Why?

2008-11-20T17:05:00.001-05:00

I have a question. Why are we, as Americans, without a national healthcare system? We are the only industrialized nation without some form of social welfare.

There are 2 state-run healthcare programs worth mentioning: Massachusetts’s Commonwealth Choice and Rhode Island’s Rite Care. Both programs have aimed to reduce the number of uninsured Americans with mixed results.

RIte care is a very well managed and effective Medicaid program. It however is only available to women who are pregnant, or already have children. Families participating in FIP are also eligible. Why isn’t it available to all low income and unemployed Residents?

Commonwealth Choice is mandatory in Massachusetts if you aren’t otherwise insured. This is a stab in the right direction, but it has a fatal flaw in that it forces people who don’t qualify for Commonwealth Care to pay up to $600 a month for health insurance that they can’t afford or face tax penalties. Affordable health insurance should