[speaker002:] so what are the benefits working for a large organization
[speaker001:] gosh I wouldn't know I've never worked for a large organization
[speaker002:] uh uh that will make it interesting
[speaker001:] well I will take that back I I was in the Air Force for thirteen years I guess that qualifies as a large organization
[speaker002:] yeah I I would qualify the U S government as large if not too large
[speaker001:] sort of large yeah just a little bit little bit bigger than TI
[speaker002:] yeah yeah
[speaker001:] okay I never really counted that as an organization because it's uh
[speaker002:] the benefits are funny
[speaker001:] yeah the benefits are strange they change every day and uh you don't really have a lot of choice
[speaker002:] yeah
[speaker001:] not like TI do you want this or do you want this or do you want this
[speaker002:] well we don't have that kind of choice either
[speaker001:] um
[speaker002:] oh
[speaker001:] oh I mean you certain
[speaker002:] yeah out here in the real world it's all the same
[speaker001:] oh really
[speaker002:] no matter who your employer is
[speaker001:] no I mean you have the choice of taking this health insurance or or some other or something like that
[speaker002:] uh yeah uh yeah here in the Springs we have a choice of two either an HMO or a company health insurance
[speaker001:] yeah yeah
[speaker002:] so there are two
[speaker001:] yeah of course I can't say we didn't have a choice if you always wanted to you could uh go out and buy your health insurance
[speaker002:] out of your own jeans yes
[speaker001:] yeah out of your own jeans and stay a way from the base hospital which is generally what I did
[speaker002:] ooh
[speaker001:] kind of scary
[speaker002:] it was that bad huh
[speaker001:] uh I I never fully trusted them the only time I ever went there was when I had to for a flight physical or something uh which has to be their doctor but they're not doing anything to me other than testing me so I let them do that
[speaker002:] well there are other benefits with the military
[speaker001:] well I don't I
[speaker002:] that the civilians don't get
[speaker001:] yeah I don't I don't I don't bad mouth the military too much I had a I had a good time
[speaker002:] well I just meant from a benefit standpoint
[speaker001:] well from benefit well that's one of the reasons I made a decision to get out uh I what I perceived as the benefits were just eroding
[speaker002:] yeah
[speaker001:] uh
[speaker002:] well the their pension plan is really good
[speaker001:] yeah you know that part is good except for the except for the little thing that you're paying into social security for twenty years and when you start
[speaker002:] and then you can't draw it
[speaker001:] that's right and then and then you start drawing your retirement pay and if you start drawing the social security they offset your retirement dollar for dollar
[speaker002:] yes
[speaker001:] and I always thought that that that was a big rip off uh
[speaker002:] yeah well on the other side of the fence
[speaker001:] but still
[speaker002:] the way it works is that uh some employers although they have a qualified pension plan they don't have a viable pension plan
[speaker001:] yeah yeah
[speaker002:] and we won't mention any names
[speaker001:] don't worry they're recording every word
[speaker002:] I know I didn't say it was them
[speaker001:] oh okay you're right you're right
[speaker002:] but I didn't but but I didn't say it wasn't either
[speaker001:] that's right
[speaker002:] we will let them draw their own conclusions
[speaker001:] that's right draw your own inference um
[speaker002:] uh
[speaker001:] but but but what you are saying about the military times is is true I mean fifty percent uh of your base pay is pretty good
[speaker002:] and uh medical for the rest of your life
[speaker001:] yeah that you know that sounds great on paper but it's not it's not something that I would look would look forward to
[speaker002:] well we have we have had some medical I mean some military retirees work up here for us or a bunch really and they did use the heck out of the medical
[speaker001:] yeah
[speaker002:] military medical
[speaker001:] yeah
[speaker002:] now the military dental was poor
[speaker001:] no now uh-huh
[speaker002:] at best
[speaker001:] yeah
[speaker002:] but the medical seemed somewhat adequate somewhat adequate
[speaker001:] yeah I mean don't get me wrong for something something that was major I I wouldn't have any problems with them it's the daily uh go in with the with the flu or something like that and and the the treatment is terrible I mean first you wait for hours and hours and hours and then the guy says you have a temperature well I knew that we're going to give you Sudafed you know I've been taking Sudafed for two weeks it doesn't do any good that's all I can do that's all I can do
[speaker002:] yeah yeah yeah uh I'm a member of an HMO and uh from all indications it's quite similar to the military
[speaker001:] yeah yeah well that that's HMO's are designed that way I mean they are going to they're gonna they're gonna get the most bang for their buck
[speaker002:] yeah exactly and
[speaker001:] and uh you know they're they're in the big profit making business
[speaker002:] and so and so the single benefits that I consider among the most important are medical insurance
[speaker001:] yeah absolutely
[speaker002:] because without it you can be broke for the rest of your life
[speaker001:] that's it forever and ever all all you have to do is you don't have it let something bad happen and that hospital will slap a lien on you so fast because they do it routinely
[speaker002:] yeah and yes and the funny thing is that uh private medical insurance grossly expensive
[speaker001:] yeah oh I know I know
[speaker002:] if you are not a member of a group
[speaker001:] I know my roomie's got the ins urance through the school
[speaker002:] uh-huh
[speaker001:] and it runs fifty eight I think fifty eight bucks a month something like that an that's not bad but you don't get anything
[speaker002:] that's not bad
[speaker001:] I mean to tell you
[speaker002:] well you get what you pay for don't you
[speaker001:] that's exactly right I mean it's nothing um uh it doesn't cover doctors or anything else it's crazy
[speaker002:] doesn't cover doctors
[speaker001:] no I mean you can go it will cover something major but forget about things like eyes or your teeth or anything else  what it is it's medical insurance on paper
[speaker002:] are you covered yes are you covered really no
[speaker001:] that's right read between the lines are you covered no
[speaker002:] so
[speaker001:] but you know I mean the whole health care thing in the states is so screwed up that uh
[speaker002:] yes it
[speaker001:] uh it's totally ridiculous
[speaker002:] it it's a shame it's
[speaker001:] it is I mean I'm one of those forty million Americans running around with no health insurance at the moment
[speaker002:] in our state currently when in Colorado whenever you fill out uh your state income tax they ask you if you have medical insurance if you do you have to pay for those that don't have medical insurance
[speaker001:] huh
[speaker002:] I think it's two or four dollars a person I don't remember something along those lines but it still the idea irks me so that
[speaker001:] yeah well it's sort of like North Carolina North Carolina has an interesting thing on their income tax uh they create money tax you with or to tax you on there's a neat little formula on the back that you have to complete and assuming you're you're you're at poverty line where you're uh deduction or you take the standard deduction of thirty two fifty uh that will work out to an additional three hundred dollars
[speaker002:] right
[speaker001:] tacked on to your taxable income yeah and of course it goes higher and higher the more money you make
[speaker002:] oh no
[speaker001:] but the very least that anybody filing income tax form will have to pay on is three hundred dollars and they create money out of thin air
[speaker002:] huh
[speaker001:] I attached a little note to my my return when I sent it in saying gee I didn't know I had this extra three hundred dollars I wonder where it went
[speaker002:] uh Colorado is a nifty thing if you or they did until last year in times past if you got a federal tax refund
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] you paid state income tax the next year
[speaker001:] on the refund yeah Alabama did that too and I always thought well this is pretty nifty you taxed me when I made the money the feds
[speaker002:] and now you're taxing me again on it
[speaker001:] yeah the feds took it out and now they're giving it back to me and now you're going to tax it again I seem I seem to recall recall something about revolutions and wars about double and triple taxation and stuff
[speaker002:] yes yeah
[speaker001:] course uh course it it's the by word now I mean let let's tax everything three or four times
[speaker002:] and there are tax revolutions going on currently
[speaker001:] there should be
[speaker002:] but the problem is it's not an armed insurrection
[speaker001:] no eleven
[speaker002:] it's not a violent overthrow of the people in Washington
[speaker001:] no because because quite honestly the American people are so apathetic about everything Washington can do what they want to do
[speaker002:] and they are trying to take away our guns
[speaker001:] yeah that too I'm a lifelong member of the NRA I'm not as militant as I was when I was younger but I still firmly believe in the right to own and bear arms
[speaker002:] and those people that say that all that in the Constitution was guaranteeing is that we will have a militia
[speaker001:] yeah that's garbage
[speaker002:] I think they are sorely mistaken
[speaker001:] they're they're wrong the militia in those days was the common man there was no organization of militia the militia made up the everyday common man
[speaker002:] he pulled his squirrel rifle off his wall as he walked out in the yard
[speaker001:] that's right and and if they said hey we need a militia then all the able bodied men were supposed to show up