The Very-Many-Questions-Not-Worth-Their-Own-Thread Thread 36

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In theory, yes, but I don't know anyone who actually gets approved for them. I've never been approved for transport to appointments and the dietary supplement is amazingly restrictive (I got denied because of accepted terminology use).

I get limited dental but it doesn't cover much. Straight forward procedures only, no surgeries or corrective operations. I can get my teeth cleaned once a year and x-rays taken once every two years. I can get teeth pulled without going under and only if the tooth's readily accessible with that fancy set of pliers. That's about it, in practice.

Some basic medication is covered. For example, all the antidepressants they put me on were free and didn't require co-pay. But other stuff, like antibiotics, weren't/aren't.
I guess it's a good thing I never moved to BC, then (had considered it many years ago, and if my great-uncle had died first, I might actually have inherited a house in Vernon when my great-aunt died).

All of my medications are covered, other than stuff that's available over the counter (frustrating for the pricier stuff, if there's no generic choice available). Upcoming surgery is covered. Ambulance is covered, so I don't need to worry about not being able to get to the hospital if there's an emergency. Mobility and safety equipment is covered.

Of course I had to go through separate assessments for some of this. The next time some paper-pusher says, "Why don't you just _____?" or "Can't you just _____?" or "You must have a friend/family member to help you with _____" I will be very tempted to slap them. If I had any of those, I'd already be making use of those abilities/resources. And no, I'm not obligated to have family to help. The ones who would help are dead, and the ones who don't care are still alive but I don't consider them family.

It makes no sense that antibiotics aren't covered for you. They're what can help you get better so you don't cost "the system" even more money for health care.
 
Social assistance covers some very basic dental here. I had eight (!!!) wisdom teeth removed with only novocaine. Thankfully not all at the same time.
 
I've had all-beef sausage patties and they're almost indistinguishable from the standard pork/chicken sausage patties in terms of texture. Same for hot dogs. Beef simply tastes better.
 
I've recently tried turkey sausage patties, and I feel those are even better than any other kind I've had.

I think that's really terrible about not having your antibiotics covered! Here you can get those for free even if you don't have any insurance.
 
Is there someone who has done a study of what low-wage immigrant workers save the average American consumer in food prices?

I.e. if those jobs had to be staffed by American citizens demanding to be paid like American citizens, it would drive up the cost of cabbage by X, and the cost of corn by Y, and the average American consumer buys N cabbage and P corn, so the average consumer saves Q total on grocery bills by virtue of American agribusiness staffing itself to the degree that it does with non-citizen labor. Something laid out a little like that.
 
Adaptability question: Is there an alternative to either zippers or buttons for jackets? I have difficulty with both of them.
 
Velcro and magnetic clasps though I've only seen the latter on inspirational Reddit gifs, not irl
 
Adaptability question: Is there an alternative to either zippers or buttons for jackets? I have difficulty with both of them.
Depending what is the problem with buttons, toggles work quite well.
 
What are toggles?
 
Those big, button-ish things, like this:

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You mostly find them on winter coats, because they're easier to manipulate when wearing gloves. (And because they're seen as vaguely rustic and Nordic, therefore, cold weather-appropriate.)
 
Those might work. :)
 
Is there someone who has done a study of what low-wage immigrant workers save the average American consumer in food prices?

I.e. if those jobs had to be staffed by American citizens demanding to be paid like American citizens, it would drive up the cost of cabbage by X, and the cost of corn by Y, and the average American consumer buys N cabbage and P corn, so the average consumer saves Q total on grocery bills by virtue of American agribusiness staffing itself to the degree that it does with non-citizen labor. Something laid out a little like that.


The veggies simply won't be on the market all. They'll rot in the field unharvested.
 
Right, I suspect it will come largely as a hypothetical: This farmer (on a small scale) resolved to use all citizen workers, and to do so, he found he had to pay them this much. So that gives us a measure of how much more would have to be paid across the nation if all agricultural labor in the nation were done by citizens. And that would add X to the average person's price of groceries.
 
Right, I suspect it will come largely as a hypothetical: This farmer (on a small scale) resolved to use all citizen workers, and to do so, he found he had to pay them this much. So that gives us a measure of how much more would have to be paid across the nation if all agricultural labor in the nation were done by citizens. And that would add X to the average person's price of groceries.

Problem is that the math is not so straightforward as "have to pay this much" if you want your hypothetical to be even related to reality. If it were a simple wage x vs wage y then you could maybe come up with something, but the more important consideration is conditions. What would it cost to create working conditions where American citizens can fill those jobs, whatever you use for wage y? In California you might find an American citizen who claims to be more than willing to do the job, even at current pay, which is not nearly as low as it is made out to be. But hiring that American citizen is like writing yourself an invitation to visit the California Board of Labor.

I once knew this guy who was a labor broker, and had the opportunity to explore this first hand, since he knew I wasn't a rat. I showed up at this parking lot before the crack of dawn and piled into a van with more guys than there were seats (illegal, and patently unsafe) and rode out to a field. We worked pretty much dawn to dusk with no guaranteed wage (illegal) picking cantaloupes (hard) and being paid by the bin. Breaks were neither scheduled nor encouraged (illegal), but since you were paid by the bin if you took a break it was at your own expense. Lunch that was probably not up to health inspector standards was provided along with a few coolers of water, but bathroom facilities consisting of 'giving back to the field' being all that was provided is also illegal. At the end of the day we piled back in the van for another illegal trip, then got paid in cash with no records kept (illegal) when we were put out in the same parking lot we started in.

At the time I had a state job where I got paid not a whole lot but far more than I really earned and still far less than a lot of my fellow state employees who had even slacker jobs than I had, and I made about half my usual day's pay. There were guys in that van who made more than three times what I made on the day, so they actually were making more than I made at my regular job, for that day at least. There are probably plenty of citizens who would have been happy to have their day's pay, and maybe even a few who could develop the skills to do the work to get it. But the entire process would have to be totally restructured to make it even a consideration...and that restructuring would cost way more than would be reflected in 'wage x vs wage y.'

By the way, I was in good shape then and had a pretty 'physical' regular job, and I was totally wrecked by that one day. I couldn't have shown up the next morning for a million dollars, and the morning after that was even worse. Long term (and not terribly long either) I would guess that work would be crippling for some fair percentage of the workers. Any 'health insurance for your labor force' deal would have to charge an absolutely obscene premium.
 
A few years ago, there was a farmer complaining about how he had to hire all Jamaican (or Haitan? that detail went fuzzy) workers because the Canadian ones were "lazy." His solution was to suggest that welfare recipients be forced into indentured servitude to work at his farm. This made the front page of the local newspaper somehow and has always stuck with me.
 
A few years ago, there was a farmer complaining about how he had to hire all Jamaican (or Haitan? that detail went fuzzy) workers because the Canadian ones were "lazy." His solution was to suggest that welfare recipients be forced into indentured servitude to work at his farm. This made the front page of the local newspaper somehow and has always stuck with me.

How times change. Now we force the Coast Guard into indentured servitude to keep the Jamaicans (or Haitians, whatever) out.
 
I thought it was Mexicans.

I really don't understand the wall. Unless they plan to build it out to the middle of the ocean, couldn't people just go to the coast, get a boat and go around?
 
I thought it was Mexicans.

I really don't understand the wall. Unless they plan to build it out to the middle of the ocean, couldn't people just go to the coast, get a boat and go around?

It's easier to just get a ladder and go over, but that's just a couple of observations in the "this wall is a dumb idea" book of realities.
 
They might put razor wire on top, though. I guess they could dig a tunnel underneath.
 
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