Oh and regards the financial security inequity issue, one way I think this could realistically start to be addressed is to use that reinstatement of a more progressive income tax to offset allowing sliding scale buy-in to Medicaid for people who otherwise don't qualify. My aged 87 & 76 years old inlaws on their garment factory pension plus Social Security are just over the income max for Medicaid, which has been placing an unsustainable load on my three-generation household as their health declines, including my FIL’s 2022 cancer diagnosis that has not killed him but the ongoing treatment logistics are really hard on our household to shoulder alone, and I know it is so much worse for families with elder care needs who don't share a roof and have a not-mainstream-employed highly compent midlife adult with daytime availablity.
I also worry about my sons getting trapped in jobs that exploit them for the wealthy head of the company's gain while leaving the younger generation caged into that employment situation once they age out of being able to be covered by their parents' insurance (if their parents HAVE health insurance that will cover them) instead of branching out and trying to build their own business with their talents. My eldest is in law school after College Credit Plus paid for his B.A. in Organizational Leadership and my secondborn has an accounting degree paid for by CCP. I don't want them trapped working in firms that exploit them instead of being able to start their own thing or do consulting because they need access to health insurance for themselves and hopefully someday my grandchildren (unless they’ve not updated me on a very new relationship, they are both single, which is another reason I really want to be coordinating community gatherings in the hopes they will meet a good life partner through that! Both of them very much want to be solid family men and fathers as core identities, not just career men… they have been raised with concepts from Robert Putnam and David Brooks and Terry Real and William B. Irvine and Ward Farnsworth… they know that there is more to a Good Life than vocational time, and I very much want them connecting with age peers who cultivate that mindset as well… but so many of them are getting ground to burnt out dust by Hustle Culture Grindset that does not respect their basic humanity and needs as members of a highly social species, and it constantly triggers sadness within me to watch that from the sidelines feeling helpless about it. Giving them a way out through being able to buy in to Medicaid (which would also help shore up the financial sustainability of rural hospitals) is something that feels do-able to improve things for them so they can free up the mental energy for civic and community engagement.
Also, I am absolutely down for showing up to sustain and boost College Credit Plus. I currently have two participating sons (Lincoln, a high school junior who already has his Associates at Tri-C with upper-division coursework in progress at CSU, and 8th grader Ulysses who has completed 9 college credits with 13 more in progress and 13 scheduled for spring term at Tri-C). We are trying to start a nonprofit to provide social support for other kids who are dealing with the social awkwardness of being academically ahead of their age peers and life experience outliers with their college classmates, but it is a slow roll with how much I have to do with my time and other resources being stretched nearly to the breaking point (which is why I haven't been putting articles on my own Substack pub in the last many months).
My socialization processes expertise part of my brain (and vested interest in educational funding as a mom and wife of a CMSD teacher) was going into overdrive here. I would really like to be a part of organizing some gatherings that might energize and connect the younger electorate here and nurture them into serving our communities via seeking elected office. Rep. Tristan Radar is a long time friend of my 22-year-old firstborn William aka Liam (who was one of the first two Ohioians to complete an entire Bachelor's degree with College Credit Plus in 2022 and is now a CSU law student with plans to try seeking elected office again in the future -- he ran for Lakewood mayor at age 19 because I raised him to believe that democracy requires contested elections and otherwise Meghan would have gotten a second term by default instead of by voter choice). I also want more conversations happening inclusive of people who (like me ;) ) would probably be amazing public servants in elected office but our reality-based life logistics are an insurmountable barrier to our serving our communities in that way without it becoming a self-harm or family role neglect situation, and how those voices can be more fully incorporated into the discussions in our legislative bodies. I cannot serve beyond Cuyahoga County because my disabled body is not reliably up to the commute and I don't recover quickly enough from travel, but I can get myself to Cbus or DC multiple times per year with enough lead time to make sure I will have a recovery window afterwards.
" he ran for Lakewood mayor at age 19 because I raised him to believe that democracy requires contested elections and otherwise Meghan would have gotten a second term by default instead of by voter choice"
Oh and regards the financial security inequity issue, one way I think this could realistically start to be addressed is to use that reinstatement of a more progressive income tax to offset allowing sliding scale buy-in to Medicaid for people who otherwise don't qualify (my aged 87 & 76 years old inlaws on their garment factory pension plus Social Security are just over the income max for Medicaid, which has been placing an unsustainable load on my three-generation household as their health declines, including my FIL’s 2022 cancer diagnosis that has not killed him but the ongoing treatment logistics are really hard on our household to shoulder alone, and I know it is so much worse for families with elder care needs who don't share a roof and have a not-mainstream-employed highly compent midlife adult with daytime availablity)
Aren't your in-laws already covered by Medicare? Are you saying that Medicare isn't covering their medical expenses, or that you need Medicaid to help pay for long-term caregiving services?
Great Interview guys
Oh and regards the financial security inequity issue, one way I think this could realistically start to be addressed is to use that reinstatement of a more progressive income tax to offset allowing sliding scale buy-in to Medicaid for people who otherwise don't qualify. My aged 87 & 76 years old inlaws on their garment factory pension plus Social Security are just over the income max for Medicaid, which has been placing an unsustainable load on my three-generation household as their health declines, including my FIL’s 2022 cancer diagnosis that has not killed him but the ongoing treatment logistics are really hard on our household to shoulder alone, and I know it is so much worse for families with elder care needs who don't share a roof and have a not-mainstream-employed highly compent midlife adult with daytime availablity.
I also worry about my sons getting trapped in jobs that exploit them for the wealthy head of the company's gain while leaving the younger generation caged into that employment situation once they age out of being able to be covered by their parents' insurance (if their parents HAVE health insurance that will cover them) instead of branching out and trying to build their own business with their talents. My eldest is in law school after College Credit Plus paid for his B.A. in Organizational Leadership and my secondborn has an accounting degree paid for by CCP. I don't want them trapped working in firms that exploit them instead of being able to start their own thing or do consulting because they need access to health insurance for themselves and hopefully someday my grandchildren (unless they’ve not updated me on a very new relationship, they are both single, which is another reason I really want to be coordinating community gatherings in the hopes they will meet a good life partner through that! Both of them very much want to be solid family men and fathers as core identities, not just career men… they have been raised with concepts from Robert Putnam and David Brooks and Terry Real and William B. Irvine and Ward Farnsworth… they know that there is more to a Good Life than vocational time, and I very much want them connecting with age peers who cultivate that mindset as well… but so many of them are getting ground to burnt out dust by Hustle Culture Grindset that does not respect their basic humanity and needs as members of a highly social species, and it constantly triggers sadness within me to watch that from the sidelines feeling helpless about it. Giving them a way out through being able to buy in to Medicaid (which would also help shore up the financial sustainability of rural hospitals) is something that feels do-able to improve things for them so they can free up the mental energy for civic and community engagement.
Also, I am absolutely down for showing up to sustain and boost College Credit Plus. I currently have two participating sons (Lincoln, a high school junior who already has his Associates at Tri-C with upper-division coursework in progress at CSU, and 8th grader Ulysses who has completed 9 college credits with 13 more in progress and 13 scheduled for spring term at Tri-C). We are trying to start a nonprofit to provide social support for other kids who are dealing with the social awkwardness of being academically ahead of their age peers and life experience outliers with their college classmates, but it is a slow roll with how much I have to do with my time and other resources being stretched nearly to the breaking point (which is why I haven't been putting articles on my own Substack pub in the last many months).
My socialization processes expertise part of my brain (and vested interest in educational funding as a mom and wife of a CMSD teacher) was going into overdrive here. I would really like to be a part of organizing some gatherings that might energize and connect the younger electorate here and nurture them into serving our communities via seeking elected office. Rep. Tristan Radar is a long time friend of my 22-year-old firstborn William aka Liam (who was one of the first two Ohioians to complete an entire Bachelor's degree with College Credit Plus in 2022 and is now a CSU law student with plans to try seeking elected office again in the future -- he ran for Lakewood mayor at age 19 because I raised him to believe that democracy requires contested elections and otherwise Meghan would have gotten a second term by default instead of by voter choice). I also want more conversations happening inclusive of people who (like me ;) ) would probably be amazing public servants in elected office but our reality-based life logistics are an insurmountable barrier to our serving our communities in that way without it becoming a self-harm or family role neglect situation, and how those voices can be more fully incorporated into the discussions in our legislative bodies. I cannot serve beyond Cuyahoga County because my disabled body is not reliably up to the commute and I don't recover quickly enough from travel, but I can get myself to Cbus or DC multiple times per year with enough lead time to make sure I will have a recovery window afterwards.
" he ran for Lakewood mayor at age 19 because I raised him to believe that democracy requires contested elections and otherwise Meghan would have gotten a second term by default instead of by voter choice"
I love this.
Oh and regards the financial security inequity issue, one way I think this could realistically start to be addressed is to use that reinstatement of a more progressive income tax to offset allowing sliding scale buy-in to Medicaid for people who otherwise don't qualify (my aged 87 & 76 years old inlaws on their garment factory pension plus Social Security are just over the income max for Medicaid, which has been placing an unsustainable load on my three-generation household as their health declines, including my FIL’s 2022 cancer diagnosis that has not killed him but the ongoing treatment logistics are really hard on our household to shoulder alone, and I know it is so much worse for families with elder care needs who don't share a roof and have a not-mainstream-employed highly compent midlife adult with daytime availablity)
Aren't your in-laws already covered by Medicare? Are you saying that Medicare isn't covering their medical expenses, or that you need Medicaid to help pay for long-term caregiving services?