How Do You Think That the WallStreet Scandal Will Affect Nursing Jobs?

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I am not a master of economics, but it seems that this situation is really, really huge. How do you all think this can affect our role in healthcare?

Specializes in ICU/Critical Care.

This situation is difficult but you know, the government should only take part of the blame. With these predatory lending companies handing out 200k mortgages to people who make only 40k per year, the consumer who signs up for a mortgage well past their means should be the one to blame and so should the lending companies. People need to take responsibility for their actions.

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Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg, Peds, ICU, Tele.

If there is a rise in unemployment you will see some nurses re-entering the workforce or else working more hours in order to compensate for the lack of money coming in from their spouses. You will also see fewer elective type procedures such as knee surgeries, when people lose insurance.

I'm a little worried since I went to all agency work. We have been making cutbacks and trying to be more conservative with money. This sounds like a very serious situation.

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Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg, Peds, ICU, Tele.
Maybe this would be the time to pull our troops out of Iraq/Afghanistan so that we don't need to be sending billions of dollars there. I also think that these execs that are raking in millions and millions of dollars from their company that is now in trouble should be putting their money back into the company to help save it. Hey every dollar counts.

I think the Iraq drain on the economy contributed to this. Another factor is rising oil prices. Also, we had a boom economy and there are natural cycles that can't be avoided.

The combination of several factors are at work here. The public also bears some responsibility with intemperate spending habits, plus the banking industry was irresponsible.

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There's plenty of blame to flow around, but the key element that made it possible for this to get so big and go so far was the "securitization" of these loans.

Banks have re-sold loans for a long time, but they used to sell them as individual loans, so the buyer of the loan could evaluate how good it was.

The newer development was to bundle hundreds or thousand of loans into a package, then slice that package up into shares -"tranches" - which were then re-bundled and re-sliced until the shares being sold were so divorced from the original mortgages that it was impossible for the buyers to have any clue how good they were.

As far as the individuals versus the issuers, I remember getting mortgages a long time ago when I had to prove every last bit of my income and prove I could qualify. Now, from what I hear the issuers were actively encouraging the borrowers to lie on their apps and convincing them it would all be fine because the value of the house was sure to go up enough to refinance. For the average homebuyer, it's not that easy to be smart when the pros who are supposed to know are telling you otherwise.

And it was all enabled by the mania for deregulation - "the free market will do everything right if we just get government out of the way". Maybe not so much.

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.

Part timers at my job used to be able to have medical benefits to cover themselves and their families. Now, they only have individual coverage. Yes, these will be some serious, serious changes...

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Specializes in ICU/Critical Care.

I think the price of gas is dropping. I paid 3.56 for regular unleaded today. It was 3.79 yesterday.

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Specializes in Med Surg, Tele, PH, CM.
More patients coming in with stress and needing antidepressants, more ETOH abuse, less people able to pay for their visits, which may lead to layoffs. We are a city hospital that takes people whether they can pay or not. What happens if Medicaid just can't do it anymore? I hear they will be reducing interpetator services, making it harder to communicate with and assess non-English speaking patients (we have PLENTY of those), who knows?

Some of the off sites are already borrowing copy paper and pens from neighborhood banks. Sheesh!

All of the above is true, I have seen some of it already, but it seems to be more closely related to the cost of fuel and the resultant rise in goods and services that is making money so tight. By the way, is just coincidental that the current Wall Street mess has diverted our attention from the Oil Companies and their blatent greed?

I don't know if your state Medicaid is paying for translator services or if you meant your facility is cutting back, but they still have to provide adequate translation services. That service is mandated by the federal government as part of the Civil Rights Act.

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.
All of the above is true, I have seen some of it already, but it seems to be more closely related to the cost of fuel and the resultant rise in goods and services that is making money so tight. By the way, is just coincidental that the current Wall Street mess has diverted our attention from the Oil Companies and their blatent greed?

I don't know if your state Medicaid is paying for translator services or if you meant your facility is cutting back, but they still have to provide adequate translation services. That service is mandated by the federal government as part of the Civil Rights Act.

What I was speaking of is that it is rumored that there will be cut backs in translator services; don't know for sure if this will actually happen. We primarily use telephone interpeters, and I hear it is $1.50 per minute. Maybe they would look for a cheaper company to provide the service.

I totally agree for sure that this diverted our attention from the oil companies. The entire situation is a mess!

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Specializes in ER,ICU,L+D,OR.
Maybe this would be the time to pull our troops out of Iraq/Afghanistan so that we don't need to be sending billions of dollars there. I also think that these execs that are raking in millions and millions of dollars from their company that is now in trouble should be putting their money back into the company to help save it. Hey every dollar counts.

One we should never have gone to Iraq.

two, make Iraq spend the Billions their surplussing. In fact confiscate their profits to offset our losses.

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One we should never have gone to Iraq.

two, make Iraq spend the Billions their surplussing. In fact confiscate their profits to offset our losses.

We invaded them. And as you said, we shouldn't have done that. Why the hey should they have to pay for losses we incurred through our own venal greed and desire for vengeance against the wrong people?

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Specializes in ER,ICU,L+D,OR.
We invaded them. And as you said, we shouldn't have done that. Why the hey should they have to pay for losses we incurred through our own venal greed and desire for vengeance against the wrong people?

one, their venal greed as you put it. Doesnt allow them to affect rebuilding in their own country. It goes into the banks of the Few at the top.

Vengeance wasnt the motive, outside of what they promoted. The only motive per Alan Greenspan was and is "OIL"

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