Health and safety.

First of all I would like to point out that this is my 100th blog post! Yay!

This time I've got a variety of observations to share, and they start from San Francisco. I did a day-trip there a couple of weeks ago, and just like last time, managed to walk down the wrong streets in the absolutely worst area (Richmond) after dark. Nothing bad happened, but I remembered once again that the land of the free indeed requires some bravery to walk outside instead of driving a car everywhere. The other people who were on the street seemed crazy, homeless, drunk or criminal... and the way how they behaved really made me scared for my life. This is something I've never experienced in Europe or Asia.

Returning to Davis after San Francisco was such a bliss - my beautiful home town where I can walk and bike and be safe after dark! Except that all the students are back for the new academic year, and Davis is full of people who don't know how to bike. Campus is full of cyclists who can't operate the roundabouts, do not seem to be able to read the signs that say "yield" and never signal when turning. A friend of mine was in a bike accident today, someone talking on phone crashed into her. Inspired by this I went and finally bought myself a helmet.

Interestingly, the law enforcement also scares me. This is probably because in movies American policemen are always tough and out there to get people. There seems to be legislation against everything; no drinking beer in a park, or even in front of your house if you live in an apartment complex. No loitering, no this, no that. However I've been assured that the police in Davis are nice, and not all of them pepperspray peacefully protesting students.

Also, I'm not always sure if the legal system is on the side of an individual, as you can be held responsible and sued for a variety things. Like someone visiting my house and accidentally slipping and hitting their head... yes the medical bills would be mine to pay. Which neatly takes me to my next topic: healthcare.

I had a minor health issue, so I went to test out the healthcare system. I would've got an appointment for the same day, except as a new customer (patient?) I had to book a longer appointment which weren't available until two days later. No problems there. At the clinic I filled in a lengthy background questionnaire as well as answered a multitude of questions to the nurse and the doctor about my eating and exercise habits etc. They checked my vaccination record and decided to give me three more jabs. They did a general check up (eyes, ears, lungs, stomach, blood pressure), the minor health issue was taken care of, and the doctor addressed the variety of symptoms I had indicated in the form I had filled in (stress, stiff neck from working on computer, tiredness). So all in all very positive experience, and it cost me only measly $10.

However, my health insurance costs my employer way more than that. Like, more than thousand dollars a month. People here seem to think that it is a benefit, something extra that you get, and not a deduction on your salary. I view it as a lot of money being paid in the pockets of an insurance company and to private healthcare system, which is convoluted and makes healthcare more expensive. Apparently the percentage of GDP spent on healthcare in America is 17% whilst in Europe the figure is 8-10%. And yet European countries tend to rank ahead of America on most measures of health, such as life expectancy.

I do understand that people here complain about the taxes when they do not get anything of direct value for it; suboptimal schools, the roads, the police and firemen, a massive war, some science. Well what if the employers did not pay that incredibly high amount of money towards insurance but instead paid it to the individual, people could afford higher taxes. Unsurprisingly I expect a lot for my taxes; good schools, accessible healthcare, and social security system that supports every member of the society (including the sick, the young, the old, the students and the unemployed).

And with the presidential elections coming up, I don't think either one of the presidential candidates would even dream of offering everything I'd want. California is a strongly Democrat state, and I somehow would love to meet someone who's supporting the other side to hear their justifications and more about their opinions.

I guess I'm really lucky being offered healthcare benefits by my employer. For that I can thank the University of California Postdoc Union who have negotiated us great minimum salary, 25 vacation days per year and the healthcare benefits.

I can also thank the Union for the free beer and snacks last Tuesday, and an opportunity to meet someone who's applied for a job on Koh Rong (one of my most favourite places in the world, remember?) to study the underwater life and help setting up Cambodia's first marine national park. It seems that Cambodian government is attempting to do some good after the marine life has been wrecked by legal and illegal fishing (they sold the fishing rights to Thailand and were surprised when the Thai fishing fleet came and emptied the waters). It's a shame that Koh Rong is planned to become a five-star destination with airports and all, but at least they're attempting to conserve some of that amazing nature.