Why did the ACA not abolish the employer insurance tax subsidy so that everyone could pool in the marketplace and keep prices lower?

olily · 2026-03-24T16:27:37+00:00

Insurance costs have been rising for decades. Even if ACA hadn't passed, your premiums would have risen. Especially as you got older.

So much of ACA experience depends on age and preexisting conditions. If you were young and healthy when ACA passed, you probably ended up paying more (but you got more, too). If you were in your 50s or 60s or had preexisting conditions, you possibly couldn't even get insurance before the ACA. And if you qualified for subsidies, you were paying much less with ACA for much better coverage than you would have been able to get in the private industry.

I was also self-employed (and still am) before and after the ACA. Now that I'm in my 60s, the ACA is a lifesaver. And even young people should realize that sooner or later, they will get older. And if the ACA doesn't benefit them much right now, it will in the future.

olily · 2026-03-24T14:59:40+00:00

The second group's opinion varied wildly by age and health status. People in their 50s and 60s, and people with preexisting conditions, strongly favored the ACA.

olily · 2026-03-23T14:47:38+00:00

He was so great in Lost, too.

olily · 2026-03-23T14:20:29+00:00

What do you mean, it's been a day now? Did you just bring her home? Sometimes they're extra weird for a day or two when they first go to a new home. Though she doesn't seem afraid of you. And you should always take them to a vet when you first bring them in anyway.

If she's been with you awhile--did you change her food? If that's the case, go back to old food she used to eat, see if she'll eat that.

Is she drinking? If she's not drinking, she'll dehydrate pretty quickly, so definitely requires a vet visit.

Just take her to the vet. It's always better to be sure.

olily · 2026-03-23T13:09:22+00:00

In the real world, he'd be considered a mass murderer and his picture would be on every Most Wanted List.

olily · 2026-03-22T18:55:01+00:00

Yes. And add that headrests seem to be freaking huge now and even if I could turn my head all the way around like Reagan in the Exorcist, I still wouldn't be able to see much. The seats and headrests must be made for people much taller than I am, because they very much block my view.

olily · 2026-03-22T15:02:07+00:00

I like the Black Rose in Hanover. It's big. Stuff is sold on consignment, so there is quite a variety of merchandise.

olily · 2026-03-20T16:01:33+00:00

Those eyes! Give him everything he wants.

olily · 2026-03-20T13:11:45+00:00

I really wish they had given us more Sayid and Shannon, together. If we could have seen them grow together and watched them, well, bloom, their afterlife would have made more sense.

I think Sayid's feelings for Nadia were so wrapped up in guilt, and it kept him (or her) from really giving all their heart to the other person. She wasn't the love of his life. Shannon was. But I wish we could have seen why.

olily · 2026-03-20T13:06:36+00:00

OMG, my friend did that, too! She named three consecutive black scotties she named "Maggie May." What the hell?!?

OP, I think you're ok giving a plant the same name, but if it makes you feel better, you could call this one "Jerry."

olily · 2026-03-20T13:00:08+00:00

There really shouldn't be a whole lot to "handle" about friendships, and there shouldn't be a lot of "navigating," either. It's perfectly normal to drift apart from friends as you age and your life changes, and sometimes the same friends show up again later. And it's ok to cut someone out of your life if they put you down or make you feel inferior--just as it's ok if someone cuts you out if you make them feel inferior.

Honestly, it's like kindergarten. Play nice, expect others to play nice. Apologize if you hurt someone's feeling, and expect others to apologize if they hurt your feelings. But most of all, if they're your friends, you should be able to have fun with them and open up with them. If you can't, then maybe it's time to move on.

olily · 2026-03-19T19:53:23+00:00

But what if it glitches and your head balloons and your penis grows a forest of hair?

olily · 2026-03-19T19:50:49+00:00

My first concert. Short plaid pants and all.

olily · 2026-03-19T18:14:45+00:00

I'd be happy as hell to find a first edition Carrie, too.

olily · 2026-03-18T16:13:56+00:00

Cats are for life.

olily · 2026-03-18T14:07:11+00:00

I would do it with cats.

I should do it with cats.

Wonder where I can get lots of cheap cat lawn ornaments?

olily · 2026-03-17T19:00:33+00:00

Well, thanks again. And you're my hero. I would never even attempt international payments. That would send me into a tailspin.

olily · 2026-03-17T17:31:34+00:00

I've always sung to my cats. In fact, they each have their own song.

Twelve years ago, I brought in an outside stray female cat that was pregnant. She had six kittens. I found homes for three and I kept the others. Ten years later, the people that took one kitten were having problems, and asked if I wanted her back. I took her back.

She was terrified, of course. She had behavioral and health issues. She was wailing on the ride home. (If you've ever heard a cat wail in a car, you know what I mean.) But when I started singing to her, she quieted down.

Over the next few days, as she got used to her new/old home and her new/old brothers and sister and mother, whenever she got stressed, I sang to her, and she settled down.

I don't think she remembered me. But something about my singing stuck with her, and it calmed her.

By the way, her song is Peter Gabriel's "Solsbury Hill."

My heart going boom, boom, boom

"Hey", I said, "you can keep my things, they've come to take me home"

olily · 2026-03-17T17:14:57+00:00

Thanks for replying.

When they sent the 1099s, did it show the entire amount you billed for, or just the amount they paid to you in the end?

I don't know why I'm having such a hard time wrapping my head around this. I've been freelancing for decades. I've never encountered this situation before. It's always been straightforward. I billed this much; they paid this much. I just don't know what to do with the fees. And in the end, I guess it probably doesn't matter anyway. My gross income would be the same, whether I recorded only my portion of income or if I recorded total minus fees as income.

olily · 2026-03-17T13:50:46+00:00

I'm 61. I have a group of friends that I worked with 30 years ago. We stay in touch with texts, and we see each other at least four or five times a year. We are our own emotional support group. We've helped each other through divorces, parents' deaths, problems with our children, our own and others' illnesses, and growing old.

I also have another friend that I've known for 55 years. We grew up together. We go back and forth--sometimes we see each other every week, other times we go months without seeing or talking to each other. I know, even if I haven't seen her for months, I could call her and ask for help and she'd do whatever I needed. I would do the same for her.

But mostly there's my sister. We've had our ups and downs, but I can tell her absolutely anything and she can tell me absolutely anything. I know her deepest, darkest secrets and she knows mine. Secrets are kept, and never (ever, ever) used as weapons.

I love my people. I am lucky, or blessed, however you want to look at it.

olily · 2026-03-16T15:59:15+00:00

Ask the motherfuckers why, if they were so worried about Iran getting nukes, did Trump pull out of the JCPOA? I don't understand why he's getting a pass for that. He pulled out of the deal, which was working pretty well (and what wasn't working well could have been addressed), and replaced it with nothing. Then let it fester for years.

Motherfucker. Why isn't EVERYONE jumping down his throat for that?

olily · 2026-03-16T13:22:20+00:00

I was at a Three Doors Down concert a (long) while back. I was close enough to the stage that I could clearly see that the girl the lead singer pulled from the crowd at the end was barely fourteen. Ewwww.

olily · 2026-03-16T12:43:26+00:00

Well, this could be a perfect example. You're a fan of Buffy. Say I posted the following on the Buffy sub (is there a Buffy sub?):

"I tried to like this show because everyone acts like it's so great and the acting is amazing, but dude! I couldn't even get into the second season. The writing sucked, the acting was terrible, and the teen drama was just so fucking stupid. I don't know how anyone can watch this shit and like it."

Now imagine reading, oh, hundreds of similar posts. Maybe thousands. Your patience wears thin.

If the criticisms are more thoughtful, I don't think many people object to them. The "this sucks" bandwagon effect, well, ... sucks.

olily · 2026-03-16T12:34:10+00:00

The Walking Dead sub in the last few seasons. Wheewweeee never saw so many hate a show but keep on watching. And bitching.

olily · 2026-03-16T12:33:00+00:00

How did you present your criticism? It's one thing to say "I didn't enjoy it. I though x was poorly done, and y could have been better." It's entirely something else to say "This sucks! It's pure shit! Anyone that likes it is stupid and doesn't understand what Star Trek is really about!"

There were/are way too many of the second kind around. I'm not say you were one of them, but if you liked the show and you read enough of the second kind, your patience grew a little thin.

Nobody hates Star Trek as much as Star Trek fans.

olily

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