Politics... Grab the Money and Run

Greetings,

RANT WARNING!
Please excuse me as I let off some steam about Australian politics and politics in general. This will have some relation to disability services in my country and may serve as a lesson to others.

Politics in Australia seems to be at the moment, grab the money and run. Or to be more exact, pay-off our fat-cat friends, rip the money from the most undefended of the country, and then when we get removed, let the country pay for our life-styles in retirement. I do not know exact figures but I am going to estimate that millions, if not billions, of dollars have been paid to media magnates, and mining moguls, while the normal Australian is told to tighten their belt. The DISABILITY pension has become more and more restricted, not to mention if you are under 35, magically they will review you and kick you off it to work because, "You are too young to be on a pension." This among other things. Then when they retire, we are expected to pay their pensions, which they get before the retirement age that they set, as soon as they quit politics. Seems if you are a politician the rules just don't seem to apply.

So let me get a little more on target...

To qualify for the Disability Support Pension (DSP) in Australia, you need to achieve 20 points on one table, which they have adjusted again to make it more difficult. These are the Social Security (Tables for the Assessment of Work-related Impairment for Disability Support Pension) Determination 2011, these can be found here. What this means is if you have, multiple conditions which combine together, rather than a single condition alone which causes you issues, you won't get it.

Under the previous tables there were individuals who have since been taken off the DSP, mainly because they were under 35 who had previously gained it due to medical issues of a spinal nature. The tables have been tightened so much that there are people who are in wheelchairs who do not qualify under the new tables and have been removed from the DSP and placed back into the workplace, and often with little or no support.

So while the rest of Australia tightens their belts, and her most vulnerable individuals suffer our politicians go on and do what they think is "best for the country". In my opinion they are doing what is best for their bank accounts and their futures with their nice safe pensions which the Australian population has to pay.

So, I usually complain about people making complaints and giving no solutions. I will give a solution which will solve many of the problems. Make the same rules apply to the politicians as apply to the ordinary Australian. Same age for pension. Same restriction for getting paid pension and other benefits (residency and means testing for example). Reduce the pay of politicians down to the same rate as any other government administrator.

Cheers,

Henry.

"Waiting Room" Survival

Greetings

Have you ever sat in a waiting room and thought "This is taking ages."? I think that we all have. For those of us with chronic health issues this is a common thing, mostly waiting for doctors. While this is mainly focused upon this sort of waiting period, it also applies to waiting for things in general. This post is aimed at how to survive the long wait, be it in a waiting room or waiting for something else to happen.

With regard to waiting, in Australia, the most common is waiting with regard to being in the public health system, but can be applied to pretty much anything designated as "public", be it public transport, or social security. In all these instances there are periods of waiting, regardless of when your appointment was supposed to be, the question here is how to survive the wait.

1. Patience is important. Getting annoyed about having to wait is not going to get you anywhere. It is more likely going to annoy the people who you are waiting for and also the office staff with whom you will have to deal. This is not helpful to them and certainly not helpful to you. Waiting lists count with regard to this one. No point in getting all up in arms if there is nothing you can do about it. Having patience in these situations will help immensely, put your mind on something else besides waiting, this leads to the next point.

2. Look at this situation as an opportunity rather than a burden. This will require a different point of view, and a slight change in attitude with regard to waiting. You can sit there and watch your life tick away, or you can do something productive. The time which you spend in the waiting room could be spent doing something useful. I have found it is useful for making lists and planning for what I am going to do with the rest of the day, and this is just the tip of the iceberg. Change your attitude and look at this as an opportunity.

3. Bring something to read. I pack a book whenever I leave the house, and especially when I am going somewhere for an appointment or will be taking public transport. In fact, for the most part this is my prime time for reading, nothing else better to do then you might as well read. This works best if you pick something that you are really interested in reading. The local rag newspaper or celebrity magazine will only really hold your interest for a little while. Find a novel or some other book to read that you are actually interested in and you will find that time will fly along. Only one point, if you are on public transport, just make sure you still get off the bus or train when you need to, it is a little embarrassing missing your stop because you were too engrossed in your book.

4. Find a hobby that you can do when you are out, or at least read about when you are out. This links back to the previous point in some ways, but also gives you more options. There are things which you can do which are conducive to waiting rooms. Writing, especially with today's electronic means is easy. Knitting is also an option, just be a little careful in your choice. Wood carving in the waiting room of a hospital does not inspire confidence. The choice of book becomes a lot easier when you are reading about a hobby or when the hobby has a lot of books about it. In my particular case I can always find a fencing book to read and there is always something to research.

Surviving the waiting room is not all that difficult, sure it is frustrating, but you can get things done and while away the time relatively usefully. The same can be said for being on waiting lists for specialists or whatever. Ignore how long it is taking and go and find something to do which will take your mind off it. Look at your time waiting as an opportunity to get something done, or get a good book read and you will find that the idea of waiting rooms or public transport actually becomes a positive thing rather than a negative one.

Cheers,

Henry.