Tale from a land that is sans free at point of delivery health and social care — and induces debt slavery!

American Academic Author, Community College Counsellor and Private Practitioner Left with > $114K medical debt to pay off after drunk driver incident

"You don't know what you've got till it's gone" — Joni Mitchell

As a disabled lifelong learner determined to make the most of my possibilities on a limited income and now a pensioner, I have a lot of decluttering to do. Thus last night I returned to a printout of publisher's information on a book, Moving through Life Transitions with Power and Purpose, 2nd Edition, by Cara DiMarco, Ph D of Lane Community College, Oregon, USA.

Waterstone's Bookshops info on Moving Through Life Transitions with Power and Purpose, 2nd Edition, price £42.49

As can be seen from the above screen capture taken from Waterstone's Bookshops website, the book costs £42.49 — that's about 1/4 of my weekly State Pension in the UK (that is paid monthly), and a much more sizeable portion of a UK jobseeker's income. I had kept the original publisher's information from Pearson's for something like 20 years, as the very idea of the title inspired me, but not got into purchasing the book.

Yet with advances in home computer technology since I originally saved the Pearson publishing page as print-out and going through my decluttering, I looked up Cara DiMarco, Ph D on youtube last night and came across the video of a training session that I present above. In the videoed session, Cara DiMarco talks about student's capacities to rcover from 'developmental trauma' (relating to early socialisation, as I would describe it, family influences as she puts it), and 'shock trauma' (relating to later life incidents). She observes that the intakes of American Community College students, being largely for poorer students, generally have much greater levels of 'developmental trauma' than students at universities.

(Meanwhile, those rejected by the admissions system and/or those turned off by the prospect of student debt are presumably left to flounder.) 

Yet she notes that Community College students probably have greater coping strategies than those who get turned down for places at Community Colleges, and humour in responding to students' distress helps them progress. None the less, I was struck by the nonchalance with which she stated in response to an audience member's question about what she meant by "Stop waiting for motivation"? that starts at about the 10 mins 16 secs mark of the 22 mins 50 secs video.

"Oh, yes, if you want the full chapter, from my third book, I could e-mail it to you; it's about three pages, it's not very much. But it's part of the example I explain in there is, I work a 15 hour day most days [as a hit-and-run driver] that didn't stop left me a million point three and medical debt and so I work a full-time faculty position  and a nearly full time private practice in order to pay $3,000 a month on the medical debt which will be gone in 38 more months, which is, yes, there will be a party you're all invited and then I will sleep for two days...."

"So, I never feel like working a 15 hour day. I don't think many people do, even though I love my work and to get in exercise I get up at this time of year around 5am and go into the dark rainy cold Oregon weather and go for a run, and no part of me goes, 'The alarms can go up at 5am, I get to leave this warm bed and put on 10lb of rain gear and run with a miner's light on my head flopping around my neighoburhood and then come home and get ready for my and if that was the case I'd never work out right.' No part of me at the end of the evenening goes, 'It's going to be so good to floss my teeth and clean the cat box or ....'"

The recording was uploaded in January 2017 [the month of President Trump's inauguration], and I believe that it helps to set the backdrop to the extent of Covid-19 pandemic in the USA, as student debt and medical debt etc. can be regarded as forms of debt slavery.

In the UK, we still have some level of 'free at the point of delivery' health care, though that does not apply to social care. For further information on the erosion of our welfare state, I refer my readers to the website of medically retired RAF medical veteran Mo Stewart, Mo Stewart Research.

As Mo states:

American corporate influence with the demolition of the UK welfare state

In 1982 the Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher called a special Cabinet meeting to discuss the future demolition of the UK welfare state. With cross-party agreement, every government since Thatcher has worked towards that ultimate goal without the mandate of the British people.

In 1992 the John Major Conservative administration invited the American corporate giant UnumProvident Insurance to consult with the UK government regarding future welfare claims management, for claimants of long-term sickness and disability benefits.
By 1994 the company were listed as official government advisers, and by 1999 UnumProvident Insurance were identified in a Parliamentary debate as refusing to pay income protection insurance policies to genuine claimants. Yet, this American corporate giant’s influence with UK social security policies helped to create the agenda for the future demolition of the welfare state, with a 2005 official corporate document quoting Unum’s Chief Medical Officer confirming that the future UK welfare reforms were ‘…to a large extent being driven by our thinking and that of our close associates ’.

There are unaccountable drunk-drivers, and there are ideologically driven governments.

For information on how things could be in terms of Basic Income, I refer my readers to the work of Prof. Guy Standing and Basic Income Earth Network:

The justification for basic income is ethical

In conclusion, I state here, that my insights as a disabled person combine with my drive to fulfil my potentials, in order to help create a more humane world.

To parody Phil Ochs' song 'What — and Who — are You Fighting For?' that was addressed to willing draftees to the Vietnam War, 'What are You Working For or Toward?' What is precious in our lives?