Quitting

So this past Friday I quit my job. Many people were surprised that I showed up for my last day. Some people were surprised that I would show up for work in general. It was pretty clear I did not enjoy my employment. The thing was, I didn't mind the specifics of the thing all that much. The people were nice, the job was easy, we had air conditioning. Customers were almost always a bundle of insane nerves, but they were mostly willing to work with me and make things run smoothly. I mean, I was basically walking them through something that would just as easily have been done with a form online. So I was just the input devise. The keyboard. A keyboard with a voice maybe, but not much more than that. But I did hate my job.
I hated that it turned people into keyboards. I hated that there are people that have been there for seven years. I hated that the economics of the situation demanded that the time employees spent working was more valuable than employees were paid. I hated that this is the modern world. I hated the system I was a part of. I hate AT&T. I hated helping people to feel entitled. I hated the needless team building for a job that is performed without any kind of teamwork whatsoever.
I was supposed to hate these things. The hate was built into the situation. It was the lens through which the job was shown.
They don't do that on purpose. I know that. But the situation slowly reveals itself as more and more ludicrous and less and less worthwhile. There was no reason for this job to exist. The customers don't want it to exist. The company doesn't want it to exist.The employees only want it to exist so that they can pay rent. It is a job that wants to disappear. It wants to be automated. It wants to be an online form. We're just not there yet. But the needlessness of it shows through. There's just so little positive about it.
The thing is, I helped people as much as I could, because I still thought of them as people. And I didn't want to do anything crazy on the last day, because I knew who would have to clean up after me.
I was just glad to be done.
And I still am.

Insurance is a racket. Sometimes. It's gambling against yourself. And so you only win by losing. And otherwise the house makes bank. Insurance should not be for-profit. Ever. The end.
I understand that it makes sense to pool our resources together in case something bad happens. I just don't think anyone deserves to be made fabulously wealthy by the process. It takes people to run it. And they need to make a living. But it should not be publicly traded (Asurion is owned by CNA which is owned by Loews, which is sort of a super-corporation that is owned mostly by one guy, Bob Tisch, and then by his three sons (from what I can tell). It's stock symbol is the single letter L and it is traded on the NYSE). Its goal should not be profit. It is a public good, where we get together and say to ourselves, 'hey, it costs a lot to pay for medical bills, but I don't have them all that often. Also getting in a car crash is expensive, and while I hope to not have one, I don't even think I could pay for one at all if it happened. How about we all put a little bit of money in a box and then if something happens to one of us, we'll be able to pay for it?" On that level it makes a ton of sense. But as soon as there is a house making money on the deal, it's Vegas without any of the fun. For the people betting. For the house it's just as much fun. With a good understanding of statistics, some good starting capital, and creatively written contracts, a person can make some serious bank in the insurance biz. Especially since it makes so much sense to people. But basically the insurance companies rob people blind, and do it with a smile. And make billions of dollars sitting back and watching the money roll in and trickle out. Without doing anything really useful. Because if it's automated, if there's no one at the top collecting, if it's not trying to squeeze every dime out of people that it can, it's easy. We do the same thing as the insurance companies do, but without trying to turn a profit by doing it. And it helps us out when we need it.
Ah but that would be socialism.
Like the roads.
Or the schools.
Or the MILITARY. (This one drives me bonkers. That it's the one thing the most Ayn Randian of capitalists will be all for socializing and keeping socialized. It's the one they won't let go of. And it's the first one I'd want dismantled.)
Or the libraries.
Or the parks.
Or just about anything in this country. Half of the corporations are socialized with goverment subsidies anyway. So lets drop the sheen of capitalism guys. And stop robbing each other blind. Maybe that would be nice?
At least with insurance. And banks.
Let's start with those.
I think it would be a good start.
And hey, making health insurance not-for-profit and state run has worked in places, and we're looking at doing that here.
I'm just saying let's apply that logic to all insurance. I think that would be just dandy.

In any case. I am no longer part of that business. And hopefully never will be again.