This thread opened my eyes a bit... I assumed most people understood desert !== a sterile sand landscape.
Here's a photo I snapped from my backyard just now. This is the Sonoran Desert in Phoenix, but much of the southwest is like this. Not exactly a dead ecosystem.
> face health risks that relatively few people are willing to take on
My perception of this (not a firefighter, just have a few friends that are), is that you need to know someone, usually close family, to even have a shot at getting in. Have had other friends give up after years pursuing fire jobs, because it is difficult to break into. Those who made it in had parents in the FD.
Don't let the healthcare issue scare you. I've been on high-deductible Marketplace plans for the past few years, having gone through a pregnancy and delivery with complications, among a few other health concerns.
As long as you have the cushion to cover the high deductible (~$6000), there's probably not much to worry about. I had the same deductible at a previous employer, so the current situation feels identical to me.
This is pretty unusual for anyone doing it seriously. I've "flipped" (not exactly -- mostly major additions and teardowns that we hold for 6-12 months) the past 5 years and haven't met anyone who exclusively uses their own cash. We use some of our own cash, but you have to look at the opportunity cost.
The interesting part has been the interest rates. We started out borrowing hard money at 14% and are down to 7-8% now depending on the lender. Lots of cash out there chasing returns.
> I've also seen things like lamp cord used in fixed wiring behind walls or in attics.
We found exactly that, lamp cords and extension cords, when we started our remodel a month ago. The former owner did some renovation ten years ago, and was an architect so we always assumed he did a decent job. That was one of a few questionable choices he made, so we're now re-wiring the entire house.
In the short term, sure. In the longer term, when increased taxes and decreased services impact the average person, these promises will be renegotiated.
> if we had politicians who did their jobs and demonstrated competent leadership we could sort out this mess.
This feels like the crux of the problem, but we've got the politicians we voted for. I'm starting to wonder if its even possible for the average person to vote in the long-term interests of their community against their own short-term interest. Some will... but the majority?
Many also retire young. My firefighter buddy will retire well before his 50th birthday and collect >$100k/yr in a relatively low COL state. He's in good shape, physically and mentally. He could easily live to 90, no problem. Good for him, but not great for taxpayers.
Is there no level of personal responsibility involved? If the whole of my retirement was tied up in the promises of one entity... I have to imagine I'd be deeply concerned when my pension is underfunded. And underfunding is not new, there has been plenty of time to adjust on a personal level.
> The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the nation’s largest municipal utility, says its proposal would increase the productivity of the dam, which operates at just 20 percent of its potential, to avoid releasing too much water at once and flooding towns downstream.
Any idea of the cost per sqft (or square meter) to build your block house? I build wood-frame homes in the US for ~ $95/sqft. These are nice homes with decent finishes, proper insulation, etc but we benefit from low labor costs in my area.
Anecdotal, but I worked for a specialty EMR and consolidation was the big trend at the time (~2010). Lots of one-offs and small chains getting acquired and folded into larger networks. Many of these smaller providers were either not or barely profitable and we saw plenty of others go under.
Long term strategy for the EMR was focusing on the hospital networks because the trend seemed clear at the time.
My wife needed an MRI last year. The hospital quoted us $4000 as self-pay, but would knock it down to $2000 if we paid cash up front. This was late December, so we picked up insurance through the marketplace and she had the MRI done in January, billed to insurance at $250.
This still boggles my mind... I understand the insurance provider negotiates bulk rates, but we were paying up front, in cash, and were still quoted 8x the insurance price.
