Student Loan Crisis: Survival Part 4 SKINFLINT PHILOSOPHY: PAY BACK YOUR SCHOOL LOANS AND SURVIVE AS A PODIATRIST by Michael Rosenblatt, DPM ROSEY1@prodigy.net 4th of 7 parts In this issue: YOUR SOCIAL LIFE WHO'S TO BLAME AND WHAT DO YOU DO ABOUT IT? =============================================== Reprinted from Podiatry Online, Inc. To get your copied, please Email Alan at the Email below. Every student and Doctor must get these newsletters in your mailboxes. And, please Email all of your friends so no podiatrist or student is left behind. Alan Sherman, D.P.M. Editor - Podiatry Online editor@podiatryonline.com \\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\// SKINFLINT PHILOSOPHY 4th of 7 parts YOUR SOCIAL LIFE: Here comes the negatives. Your social life will suffer because you don't go out to restaurants. But many people with special diets (e.g. diabetes and severe heart disease) cannot also go out to restaurants. So you are not really alone. Your spouse might resent the fact that she/he cannot accept an invitation. You need to be honest and learn the "austerity" word. "Our family has a huge college loan to pay off, so we are starting an austerity program. For a while, we have decided not to go to any more restaurants. Why don't we get together for cards and a picnic instead? Or meet a sub shop for lunch? " I well remember when I was a kid in Detroit. My Dad worked two jobs. Sometimes he had three. When the auto companies went into slowdown (or even stopped), everyone suffered. I know things were different then, because restaurant meals were an "occasion" anyway-often no more than once or twice a year. My mother was never ashamed to tell her friends that things were tight. It was a reality for many. The newspapers were full of it. Now, we're supposed to have the largest economic expansion since WWII. But the health care industry has been cut out of this. This is the result of an active, deliberate decision by big business and government. That brings me to the next subject: WHO'S TO BLAME AND WHAT DO YOU DO ABOUT IT? Chances are when your spouse reads this and you suggest to him/her that your family will have to start this program, there may actually be tears and anger. I have always thought that families need to face reality and the sooner the better. Even though there will be resentment and some social isolation, you and your family will eventually become closer and stronger by facing this reality and doing something about it. But that doesn't mean that you should take all the responsibility yourself. Your elected representatives and big business have contributed much to your torment. Why should you keep these issues private from them? When your church asks you to tithe or spend more time on charity events, why don't you tell them the truth? "Managed care and reimbursements have been cut way down in my practice. I don't have the time or money I used to have to contribute." Dr. Trench has presented some very useful information about consolidating your college loans. But even that might not be enough. Pay back of college loans MUST be made tax deductible! Industry gets huge tax benefits by offering stock options to their employees. (For every dollar in stock options they offer, they reduce their taxes by that dollar). Some large businesses have reduced their taxes to almost zero through this and other means. What about you? How dare they give those wonderful options to large businesses and leave small business on the lurch? So you have some things to complain about to your legislators. Years ago, podiatrists and other health care practitioners had "shortage" areas and some of their college loans were "forgiven" for this. There may still be some shortage areas for podiatrists. Government should consider this a good environment to "push" graduates into small towns. There are a number of people with serious circulatory problems and limb loss potential. Unfortunately, government has almost totally ignored podiatry's inestimable contribution to saving limbs, and thus life, suffering, and increased costs that the system has to bear. Fellowships in limb salvage should be offered and paid by the government. Podiatrists who see these patients should be paid more for their efforts, not the least because these people often represent a higher malpractice risk. With the exception of diabetic shoes, government virtually ignores our efforts. NEXT ISSUE: A SAMPLE LETTER TO YOUR LEGISLATOR Posted on Oct 23 2000, 5:33 PM from IP address 63.14.236.248