signs of the times

Just bought one of these babies for doing the laundry. You can re-use the wash water for maybe three loads and THEN drain it into your garden. Hot dog.

Also got a start on the hydroponics. Not AQUAPONICS quite yet but working toward that. Yard sale netted a nice little setup adequate for eight tomato plants [that's a lot of tomatoes; I might decide to diversify a bit on that] for $25 WITH the timer. Wahoo.

the large hospital my mother works for is facing severe budget restrictions. many patients have lost insurance coverage, often they utilize the emergency room for care, or sit in the hospital after their insurance has denied payment. this hospital will not turn anyone away for lack of funds or insurance.

recently, the top tier management took an 8% paycut. the next tier took a 4% paycut. open positions have been eliminated. today, my mother told me that 70 more people have been laid off, and more open positions have been cut.

anyone who does not work in direct contact with patients is at risk of losing their job. although the hospital’s goal is to lessen their deficit without impacting patient care, one has to wonder.

I’ve become the traveling grandmother, spending winters on the East coast with my daughter, where my “rent” helps her with heating bills, child care, etc. and summers in Arizona with my son, which helps him with cooling bills and child care. Meanwhile, sharing food and shelter costs helps us all, and I get to play a more active role in my grandchildren’s lives. Luckily, my job is conducted over the net, so I can work wherever. I’ll be leaving New Jersey for Arizona soon, at the end of March. My son and I have some ambitious plans for setting up an aquaponics system in his back yard and getting a few chickens for eggs.

‘‘American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009’’.

1 SEC. 1114. REQUIRED PARTICIPATION IN E-VERIFY PRO2
GRAM.
3 None of the funds made available in this Act may
4 be used to enter into a contract with an entity that does
5 not participate in the E-verify program described in sec6
tion 401(b) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immi7
grant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note).

Lots of disturbing signs. Let’s see, the utter proliferation of For Sale signs on homes. In particularly the more recently built and sold that house was? The more likely it’s got a for sale sign up now. And I’m talking in well to do areas.

California itself is headed into bankruptcy. We’re going to get IOU’s for tax refunds and disability payments, that kind of things. WTF? This is a combination of structural problems (like the crazy Prop 13 with business property taxes, the 2/3 tax rule, etc) colliding with the economic bust.

In the University of California system, all kinds of construction is being stopped. Payrolls are frozen, top management are taking cuts, tuitions are ridiculously high. Every time I see the mantra about how a recession’s a good time to go back to school and pick up that extra degree, I wonder.