++Most of us are too busy with daily life to avoid thinking about the meaning of the minutia that occupies of all the time. This past year has been the most truly bizarre in living memory.
++No one ill, no deaths but I spent a good part of six months hounding health insurance companies about bills I had never received that came from mysterious charges three years ago. Finally a week before the holiday season I received a notice that --indeed--I was right, I did pay a hospital bill in full from 2011. This process had me call various insurance companies that covered us at the time and claim the other one was responsible. Factor in the time you wait on the line, the number of people you have to talk to ,the wait-time for the transfer to the responsible party and then finding someone "responsible"--which is rare in any transaction. Frustrated then send a letter and then go through the follow-up. That's just one example of many this year.
++Then we have COBRA and finding that your COBRA policy is really not what you had but you are given the new policy that company just chose the week after you opted for COBRA. And you didn't get the discount for the cheaper plan.
++Conservative friends of mine always complain about the government. But for me ,the Post Office,the DMV,the local and federal tax offices have treated me fine. It's the private sector that's the problem. Yes, if they want you as a customer, they will treat just grand. Then once you are in their web,try and get satisfaction if things screw up.
++I have three lawyers and two accountants. Sometime this year I counted the different insurances I had--I gave up at 16. Then if you rent a car,I don't want my regular car insurance to go up so I waste money of the temporary insurance. I am a member of at least 8 groups that give discounts although only two of them I use.
++So let's start with the lawyers--three real gentlemen. From last tax time until today, I have put in the equivalent of two months of work time giving lawyers the documents ,papers and diaries for them to prepare their work. Much of which could have been done by paralegals. But I still get charged at D.C. legal rates even though all the factual preparatory work is done by me. Out of one such instance, the lawyer who earns $629.per hour produced a two-page letter ( a very good one) and another document written by me and my colleague but edited by him. OK,I guess you just hope he is successful and give it a by.
++More to everyone's experience. The accountant. Last year I spent about three week part-time assembling the figures for my taxes--we are not talking any significant sums or exotic Mitt Romney investments here. He spends a half an hour jotting them down in his computer program. And then "Voila" the next morning I hear the news about whether there is a refund or taxes owed. Then the bill.
++Auto Insurance. This has been a J.G. Ballard Crash year--Three--count them--three. The last occurred three days before Christmas. The Family was sound asleep--the first time in many weeks--and Boom,Boom on the front door. A policewoman appeared to say "Someone Crashed Into Your Car." Our car was parked perfectly two doors down from our house and two spaces away from the corner. My wife and i walked down toward it and saw nothing wrong. There were Six cop cars surrounding the scene. I saw 5 cops. I spotted a mini-Cooper with two men inside. The Mini-cooper couldn't do anything to my Obama Ford Escape 2008. Turns out a rich man just picked up his son who had crashed his Camry into my car. Still no sign of damage. Then I saw that he had taken off the left side of the car until the fuel engine and had even torn one-third of the bumper off.
The young male was sober--claimed he was avoiding a dog--dogs don't run free here. My wife and I suspect he was "texting". The crash defied my limited knowledge of physics.
++Now skip to the next day. Four phone calls to the other guy's insurance company and no call back. Finally one women answered the phone and took all the information. Now this episode just opens the door to how numbers have haunted me all year. I had to have the Case number,his insurance number, my insurance number,my phone numbers. Then she wanted the number of a Body Shop I wanted the car towed to. Next what towing company did I know around here. And what car rental company did I use?
++Now I believe --and I am sure anyone else in the same situation would believe--if I didn't know these things, the car would still be wounded at the end of the street with pieces of the fender in the middle of the road. And dutifully like a good citizen, I followed up to make sure the towing company did what they said they would, that the collision shop had the car,that photos have been taken,the insurance company notified.
++So add up times spent with auto crashes and the follow-up,lawyers and accountants, it's not difficult to see why there are reports that America is not generating mid-level jobs. Because we are filling them with our own work for free.
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