Reader Rave: “Thank you OB, California, and America”

by anonymous OBcian

Often these days, we hear so many bad things about our country – the political tensions and the economy -, and we hear so many bad things about our state of California – how its going broke and the legislative stalemate  -, and plus we hear so many negative things about our southwestern County – its conservatism and shyness in handing out benefits -, that we sometimes forget where we are.

Well, for one, I want to shout out: “Let’s hear it for the other side – let’s hear it for our country, our state, and yes, even for our county: “hip, hip, hurray, hip, hip, hurray!”

What the heck am I shouting about???

I’m shouting ‘hurray’ loud and clear for everyone to hear — for the safety and social nets of our county, state and country.

Me? I’m a professional but I’ve been out of work for a year and a half.  I was laid off at the start of the economic downturn. If it hadn’t been for my beautiful California unemployment insurance, I would have  been out on the streets.  If it hadn’t been for the wonderful American Federal government unemployment extensions, I would not have made it this far.

Thank god for the safety nets – No! Thank you – you earlier generations of our fellow citizens who had the foresight to enable and ensure the safety nets of unemployment insurance for the coming generations.  You earlier generations had the strength and temerity to force these measures to help your people from your-then legislators and governors and presidents.

Thank you for those bi-weekly unemployment checks – checks that have enabled me to pay my rent, my car payments and insurance, to buy gas, to go shopping and pay my grocer, to pay my  bills.

So, not only do I want to thank you – my landlord wants to thank you, my vehicle company wants to thank you, my car insurer wants to thank you, the oil company where I bought my gas wants to thank you, my grocer wants to thank you for all the food and groceries sold to me, and all my utility companies want to thank you – Cox Cable, the cell phone company, SDG&E. They all give you the thumbs up – ‘cuz they got paid.

If it hadn’t been for those unemployment checks, none of them would have been paid. So, they all have benefited as well from the safety nets that saved me. Imagine that – insurance companies, oil companies, and utility companies benefiting from the safety nets installed generations ago. Imagine that.

I also want to thank the County of San Diego for medical help than I desperately needed recently – which I obtained from the County Medical Assistance program that I was eligible for. And even though the paperwork required was a little burdensome, my health was restored because of CMS and this County’s safety net for medically indigent souls. Being unemployed I had no health insurance or coverage, and I was saved by San Diego.

All my family and friends have benefited from my good health, achieved only after it was restored because of CMS. So, they all say thanks as well.  Another safety net put in place by generations past.  Thanks to all of you who came before me – and thanks to the California forebears who wrote into our state constitution that the counties were responsible for their citizens’ health.

And finally, thank you Ocean Beach for being the beautiful place you are, and I also want to thank the previous generations of Obcians who made it possible to keep OB the way it is.

Gracias to you OB, to you San Diego County, to you State of California, and to you America for all that you have done and have provided to me. For all these safety nets – the public health care, the public assistance to the unemployed, which some, I dare say, call “socialism.”  If that’s what it is, then for me, thank you all you past socialists for putting all this together. Thank god for socialism – if that is what this is.  I wouldn’t be here but for you.

I could go on – and thank all these entities for the public parks, beaches, the public schools, the public highways, and infrastructure … but that’s for another rave.