Nothing annoys me more....

[Judy Canty]

Don't that be what everyone voted for in the last election?

No, Chip...no it wasn't.

[CoolOptician]

No, Chip...no it wasn't.

Yea, I agree with Judy here.....and while 'having a 22 year old on a parents insurance plan' has been brought up.....I really don't think that was the basis for the original rant. Or the stories shared since. Although, when I went back to school to finish my bachelors (less than ten years ago), part of positive aspect was I was able to obtain low cost health insurance coverage at an excellent rate, since I was a 'student.' I think most people would not have a problem with that particular aspect of any 'health law changes' either way. Adding a year to parental coverage, I mean.

But to ignore what we see happening around us in regards to more (than we would like) young people (or not so young) and the level of them being responsible for one's self. Or learning to 'live within one's means' and what does and does not constitute a 'luxury' for young people nowadays, well I think we are all going to feel/see the detriment of that. I don't know anyone, who isn't touched in some way (either a family member or other person one knows) with someone who has been given 'help' so much, that they no longer feel capable of doing it all for themselves any more. I also think this is the basis of the 'education crisis' we have in our country. So many young people have all they want, without very much effort, and are not taught by parents that if they really WANT to get ahead in life, it is going to take hard work, determination and some type of education (or paying attention in school). Unfortunately, in our school district, they are at least a slight majority. And they cover a wide-spread of parental economic spreads as well, middle class, poor, & better off. Most come to school for 'social' reasons, and many parents have let themselves become so engrossed in their own 'attempt to earn' to buy the stuff to keep their kids happy, they are not making sure they reinforce the importance of learning in school, to their children.

Lol, not to digress even more, but in 04-05, I was told by a college psych professor that he was instructed by the administration to create a curriculum that would cause his students to perform so the average grade was a B+. I was a little surprised that we no longer have a 'set amount of information' that was part of learning a subject, but instead the effect was he was 'dumbing down' classes so that with the poorer and poorer prepared students coming into college classes, he could still keep his 'average' grade being requested. :-)) I wonder where the 'tipping point' occurs with this type of education? Maybe many subjects, no big deal. Uhm, but I'm pretty sure there are a bunch of occupations where we don't really want someone who 'squeaked' by learning just enough, factoring in his dumber classmates, to bring the average grade to a B+ to be taking care of OUR services. Maybe even Opticianry?

[NeaOptikiSA]

I do not understand what the insurance has to do with the young people. Why they have to lose the insurance if they are individuals?

[CoolOptician]

I do not understand what the insurance has to do with the young people. Why they have to lose the insurance if they are individuals?

Uhm, silly American rules. Lol, we have a lot of them! Kids are insured thru their parents health insurance policies here. I'm relying on my memory here, as my children are older, but I believe they could stay on the parent's policy thru the age of 21, if they were in school. Then they had to get their 'own' policy as an adult. This is an issue that has been 'evolving' here for a lot of years. (Not just young people on parent's policies, but 'universal healthcare', if 'care' should become 'rationed' etc, etc, etc.) And everybody had a different way of looking at it. Bottom line, it has to do with 'money' and people being responsible for themselves (in the way they care for their own health, etc). Those two items do intersect one another a lot, anyway you look at it!

[NeaOptikiSA]

ok i understand, Here in Greece the limit is 26 if you have a kid that goes to University etc. Else he has to work on its own. Same rule but totally different age limit! i think that this is the whole picture of the culture difference on this issue!

[CoolOptician]

ok i understand, Here in Greece the limit is 26 if you have a kid that goes to University etc. Else he has to work on its own. Same rule but totally different age limit! i think that this is the whole picture of the culture difference on this issue!

You know, I believe that was part of their discussion....I think with the latest Health Care Act that was passed a few years ago, they did raise the age to 26 for us too!

[optilady1]

This isn't an insurance issue! Who could fault a parent for allowing a 21 year old on their insurance while going to college? It's the blatant inability of grown adults to do basic things for themselves. If you are legal to drink, you should know how to order a pizza! If your shoes cost more than a weeks worth of groceries, you shouldn't be relying on your mom to buy your contacts. And for petes sake, if your video game collection could pay for a down payment on a house, buy your own damn pair of glasses!!!!!

[Johns]

This isn't an insurance issue! Who could fault a parent for allowing a 21 year old on their insurance while going to college? It's the blatant inability of grown adults to do basic things for themselves. If you are legal to drink, you should know how to order a pizza! If your shoes cost more than a weeks worth of groceries, you shouldn't be relying on your mom to buy your contacts. And for petes sake, if your video game collection could pay for a down payment on a house, buy your own damn pair of glasses!!!!!

I have 12 year old Amish kids come in to my office, get an eye exam, pick out their glasses, whip out their OWN checkbooks, pay the bill with money they earn at their jobs, and walk out the door. No big deal.

My neighbor (also Amish) is 24 years old, has 4 kids, a 2,800 sq. ft. house that's paid for. and he owns his own lumber mill. Kids around here are expected to learn a trade, move out of the house, earn a living and support themselves. They are given no other options, and expect none.

[CoolOptician]

This isn't an insurance issue! Who could fault a parent for allowing a 21 year old on their insurance while going to college? It's the blatant inability of grown adults to do basic things for themselves. If you are legal to drink, you should know how to order a pizza! If your shoes cost more than a weeks worth of groceries, you shouldn't be relying on your mom to buy your contacts. And for petes sake, if your video game collection could pay for a down payment on a house, buy your own damn pair of glasses!!!!!

+100 and to Johns comment too!

[optilady1]

I have 12 year old Amish kids come in to my office, get an eye exam, pick out their glasses, whip out their OWN checkbooks, pay the bill with money they earn at their jobs, and walk out the door. No big deal.

My neighbor (also Amish) is 24 years old, has 4 kids, a 2,800 sq. ft. house that's paid for. and he owns his own lumber mill. Kids around here are expected to learn a trade, move out of the house, earn a living and support themselves. They are given no other options, and expect none.

My first two years of college I went to Messiah college, in Grantham Pa. We were required to take 3 foreign language classes, but could do a semester abroad for the third class. One option was three weeks with an Amish family, and I always regretted not getting to do it. I think the experience would have been really cool.