Tapestry of Obscenity

In 'A Christmas Story' Ralphie describes his father as working in profanity the way an artist would work in oils or clay (or something like that.) He says that his father wove a tapestry of obscenity that still hangs over Terre Haute to this day. So here's my own tapestry of obscenity, so that I can get it out of my head and move on with writing papers, looking for jobs, etc.

• from the NY Times, Jan 22, "Workers Warm to Contract Jobs": ...Now contracting has grown up. More workers are choosing a self-directed career, leaving behind company politics and gaining flexibility. Many work from home and have more time with their children. And contracting usually pays better than the same job for a full-time employee. Even the major downside of contract work -- the lack of health insurance and benefits -- has abated somewhat with the rise of third-party groups providing everything from dental and medical insurance to 401(k) plans, financial advice and billing services for contract workers.
  
  When the dot-com romance ended, Mike Barlow of Fairfield, Conn., a former journalist and then a businessman, became a contract employee of a public relations firm.
  
  ''You have so much more time with your children and at your house,'' said Mr. Barlow, 53.
  
  He eventually started his own public relations business so he could work directly with clients, including SAS, the software company, where he is a spokesman. But Mr. Barlow still confronts many of the same challenges he had while contracting. He pays a high monthly deductible to be able to provide his family with health insurance. ''Both my wife and I make a point of staying healthy,'' he said.
  
  Employers, who traditionally hired contract workers as a way to test potential long-term hires, now do it more to counter rising health insurance costs, manage their risk in an uncertain economy and fill positions they may not need three months or a year down the road, Mr. Wilkerson said.
  

So, in other words, in uncertain economic times, employers shift the burdens and risks to employees. Our new economy is so great. Also, we should all be successful in the first part of our careers and set money aside so that when we have to shift to independent contracting, we can still afford to maintain our lifestyles (and health insurance.) And, of course, 401(k)s are SO much better than pensions, what with being tied to the ups and downs of the stockmarket and all...I take note of this because of the number of librarian positions I've seen listed via temp agencies and independent contractors--librarian positions at public libraries and university libraries. I'm thinking contracting is in all our futures.

• In the Jan 27 NYTimes: "Wall Street Senses Opportunities Health Care Savings Accounts":
  ...Banks, credit unions and money management firms are now quietly positioning themselves to become central players in the business of health care, offering 401(k)-type accounts to cover future medical expenses...
  
  Banks and others are drawn by the promise of lucrative fees they can generate by offering consumers mutual funds and other investment vehicles as their account balances grow. Most also charge $50 to $75 to set up a health savings account, and they collect perhaps $40 or more each year in maintenance charges and service fees.
  
  Not since the creation of the individual retirement account in the mid-1970's has such a potentially huge mountain of money landed in the lap of the financial services industry.
  
  ''Billions of dollars that used to be written in the form of checks with insurance companies' names on them would instead go to credit unions, banks, and long-term investment houses,'' said Dan Perrin, the publisher of H.S.A. Insider and executive director of the H.S.A. Coalition, a lobbying group backed by 70 small-business and medical industry groups as well as the American Bankers Association. ''You know America: you see a financial opportunity and it sets off a gold rush.''
  
  

I'm so glad that Wall Street moguls are poised to make billions off of sick people. God knows I have enough extra cash sitting around at the end of the month to divide between an IRA (no penisons for me, see above) and healthcare (since I will employ myself, see above.)

Finally, with the ascendancy of Judge Alito, I can only assume that it's a matter of time before legality of abortion is challenged. I hope to never, ever have to make a personal decision regarding abortion, and I'm horrified that societal forces make it necessary for such a medical procedure to exist. But the fact remains that the service must be available because we haven't evolved to the point where 1)every kid is born into a loving family that has the means to ensure their health and safety 2)all individuals are aware of their contraceptive options. This whole abortion thing would lose a little (though not much) of its sting if the damned country weren't so big into pushing abstinence education. I can be kinda thick sometimes, but I just don't understand how keeping kids ignant about sex and its consequences is going to prevent the spread of STDs or unwanted births. It seems like to me you can know all about sex and still choose to abstain from it. Katha Pollitt has a really good piece about this topic.

Let's see...what other remnants of civil society can we dismantle this week?