Almighty Coach

Dai Li named his training center "Coach Lee Physical Training Center". To make it easier to be accepted by Americans, he didn’t use the Chinese Pinyin "Li", but used "Lee" in English, instead.

Now that he had a building, the rest was easy. Dai Li spent some funds on lawyer’s fee, in order to get the training hall registration settled. After that, Dai Li made some simple alterations to the training hall. It was a small gym, and soon, the equipment and facilities were all ready. Dai Li also spent a little money to buy some new, modern equipment.

Dai Li hadn’t hired any other workers yet, so currently he only had one task, which was to train disabled athletes for free, which he took as doing charity. No profitable business was coming to him yet, so Dai Li felt that he could handle the training all by himself for now. After all, the most expensive thing in America was human resources, so to hire less people meant to save more money for future use.

Dai Li even did the cleaning by himself. The training center just opened, few guests came to visit, and since there was nothing to do, he had sufficient time to mop the floor, or to wipe equipment. Once the training center got going and on the right track, he planned to find a cleaning company to take charge of this job.

Dai Li knew nothing about finance, so he directly gave those issues to the accounting firm. American small enterprises could afford professional accountants, hence, they usually gave corporate finance tasks to an accounting firm, letting the firm be in charge of all special financial and tax reporting.

It was also different from domestic situations. Domestic accounting firms’ main clients were big enterprises and companies, and the firms usually offered large scale accounting and audit services. Small companies and individual businesses didn’t have many things to ask accounting firms to help with. But in America, the main clients of accounting firms were small companies and individuals, as for big enterprises, hiring private accountants would be more economical.

Unlike a domestic situation, where individual income tax was deducted directly from wages, in America, tax returns should be done by citizens themselves. Moreover, American tax programs and tax relief projects were very complicated, so ordinary people could hardly figure them out. If, unfortunately, someone missed a program carelessly, that individual would be charged with tax fraud. Therefore, they needed professional accountants for help.

Many Americans, especially low-income groups, since they received a tax reduction or subsidy, might not need to pay for tax. But they must have still gone through the tax return process to confirm this. Therefore, when in tax season, it was common to hear that poor people didn’t need to pay even a cent for taxes, but that they had to give their accountants hundreds of dollars for going through the tax-returning process, still.

Dai Li had a clear plan for his training center. In the beginning level, he would not hire any other workers, so he could save as much labor costs as possible. Of course, he would not be stingy, and when there was some money he must spend, like a lawyer’s fee or accountant’s fee, well, those he would consider as unavoidable costs. If he tried to make money-saving moves on those aspects, in the future, he might get himself into big trouble, which could then not be solved by thousands, or even tens of thousands, of dollars!

...

Coach Lee Physical Training Center opened, unknown to the public, no opening ceremony, no ribbon-cutting, no colorful flags or banners. Perhaps, only when neighbors walked by, did they notice that the previous gym had now turned into a physical training center.

The first day, there were no customers at all. Professional physical training centers like this, unlike gyms, were aimed at athletes rather than ordinary fitness enthusiasts, and thus, they charged higher fees than gyms. It was similar to cheap mass-marketed products, which had a large amount of buyers but gained little profit, while luxuries might be displayed for a long time before they were sold, but they brought high profits in return.

Dai Li didn’t expect people to flood in. Physical training valued public praise most, while praises, he knew, were collected over time. But Dai Li didn’t have much time to kill. In the afternoon, a social worker from the Los Angeles Association for the Disabled came to the Coach Lee Physical Training Center.

"Coach Lee, this is the name list of your disabled athletes, twelve people in total." The social worker handed a list to Dai Li.

Training ten to fifteen disabled athletes was what Dai Li had promised. Mr. Anthony didn’t profit at Dai Li’s expense, as he had selected twelve people, neither more nor less, but just the right amount, as agreed upon.

Dai Li received the list and took a careful look at it, then asked, "This is just a list with names on it, but I need more detailed information about my trainees, like age, height, weight, detailed impairments, causes of disabilities, etc."

The social worker frowned. "These facts are private, Coach Lee, America pays attention to the protection of personal privacy."

"I understand, and I know how to protect my customers’ privacies. But to organize high-level physical training, I must know this information, before I make training plans." Dai Li stretched his arms. "Let me give you a quick example: If a normal individual’s standard weight is 150 pounds, then, as a disabled person who lacks an arm or a leg, the same weight would be overweight for him, and thus, my training plans must then include weight loss."

"Alright, I will bring their detailed information to you." The social worker compromised. He paused, then told Dai Li, "Coach Lee, in observing your physical training center, I suggest you add some barrierless facilities."

How come I forgot?! Adding barrierless facilities also costs money, so even basing only on this point, I could ask for a higher discount from Anthony. Dai Li suddenly regretted not doing so earlier.

But Dai Li maintained a smile, saying, "Sorry, I didn’t think about that. This place used to be a gymnastic hall, hence, while most gymnasts don’t have mobility impairments, there were no barrierless facilities."

"A polite suggestion, Mr. Lee, that building barrierless facilities can bring you tax incentives." The social worker smiled and said, "American barrierless facilities are widespread, and are also benefit from the Tax Reform Act of 1986. This act stipulates that companies that build barrierless facilities can enjoy tax preferences. Hence, enterprises are enthusiastic about building barrierless facilities voluntarily. Except in public areas, barrierless facilities are built by enterprise owners."

Dai Li showed a "This is a good lesson" look in reply. In the country, public intellectuals told people that the reasons enterprise owners voluntarily built barrierless facilities were that they had high political quality and good virtue, and that they sincerely considered disabled people. Until now, Dai Li had not realized that by doing so, he could pay less tax.

But Dai Li still praised, "America is very kind to vulnerable groups like disabled people. Even in my country, we know that, in America, as long as you are disabled, you can receive 800 dollars per month from the government."

"Who told you this? I never thought that the Far Eastern World had such a misunderstanding of America." The social worker stared at Dai Li with surprise, then said, "Our welfare for the disabled varies from state to state, let alone having a so-called fixed amount. So the person who told you that disabled Americans receive a certain amount of subsidy every month must be a liar! Once, there were scammers doing similar things in America."

"Then what about common disabled people, how much can they get from the government?" asked Dai Li.

"The disabled receive benefits mainly through two programs, the first one is the Social Safety Disability Insurance. Every individual with a job should pay a social safety tax, a part of which is then turned into a fund of Social Safety Disability Insurance, and the taxpayer is the insured. If the insured became disabled, they could receive money from this insurance. The actual amount of money that person could have depends on their age and income, hence, it is not a fixed number. If the insured is dead, the insured’s minor children and spouse, who hasn’t reached retirement age, could also receive money from the insurance," explained the social worker.

"Ah, is that so!" Dai Li nodded. He now understood that the so-called Social Safety Disability Insurance was equal to domestic employment injury insurance 2.0. The two insurances were mandatory, and only people with jobs could buy the insurances. The difference was that employment injury insurance only compensated injuries on-the-job, while American Social Safety Disability Insurance compensated the insured, as long as the insured was disabled.

The social worker standing in front of Dai Li continued his explanation: "The second one is Federal Supplemental Security Income, which is the so-called SSI. Disabled people, who are above age 18 and without working ability, can apply for it. If the individual is not disabled, but over 65, that person can also apply, as well as can blind people. The government then investigates applicants’ economic and asset conditions. If the application is successful, the applicant will receive a living subsidy every month, depending on specific conditions. In California, people who receive SSI will be automatically included into a medicaid program."

"Is the medicaid program the free-medical-care white card?" Dai Li immediately asked. He knew this white card with so-called free medical service was something that domestic public intellectuals boosted most, and probably because of this, people propagated that seeing a doctor in America cost nothing.

"Free? Well, if you think so." The social worker showed a sarcastic smile, then said, "The California medicaid program has been lavish. Currently in California, at least thirteen million out of forty million people have received low-income, free medical care, which means that one out of three Californians owns the white card you mentioned. At present, many doctors are beginning to refuse patients with white cards."

"There will always be some doctors who are willing to take care of them, right? After all, the government pays the fee, so doctors won’t lose anything." Dai Li showed an indifferent look.

"The government is willing to pay only ten dollars, which, to doctors, is like doing charity. At least, doctors with fame do not want to have these ten-dollar patients. Therefore, white-card owners have no choice but to go to public hospitals, waiting for one or two months to finally see a doctor." The social worker explained.

Dai Li was suddenly enlightened. He recalled that American doctors only gave diagnoses, then sent patients to buy medicine in pharmacies. Doctors offered inspections, while patients made appointments in hospitals. Doctors only earned the amount of fees that belonged to them. Of course, surgeons performed operations that would charge extra fees.

American doctors set their own "prices". Doctors with high abilities charged quite high fees, some of which, depending on specific market conditions, could be two to three hundred dollars, four to five hundred dollars, or seven to eight hundred dollars. There would never be a specialist offering five-dollar treatment.

With white-card patients, no matter how much the doctor’s fee was, the government only paid ten dollars. If charging only ten dollars per person, American doctors had already applied for bankruptcy. Doctors who usually charged hundreds of dollars, were not willing to see ten-dollar patients. Hence, only doctors in public hospitals offered ten-dollar outpatient services, for they had governmental support that covered some costs.

However, American doctors were not "super-doctors" who could see two hundred patients per day. They saw twenty new patients at most, plus revisiting patients. As more and more white-card owners crowded public hospitals, waiting time would be longer and longer. In this case, waiting for two months to see a doctor was not uncommon in America.

Thinking about this, Dai Li inquired, "But this is free, after all. I know that medical services are quite expensive here, so I think many people are willing to wait for one to two months for the sake of saving money."

"You may have some misunderstandings on ’free’. It doesn’t mean that patients don’t need to pay for the medical fees at all with the white card, but rather, that those fees will be recorded. Patients pay the bill once they are able to pay. What I mean is that, being able to pay includes paying the bill, even after they die," introduced the social worker.

How can they pay when they are dead? Is it also a custom here for a son to pay his father’s bill? Dai Li was astonished.

The social worker stretched his hand out. "Here is an example. An individual under the free-medicaid program spent three-hundred thousand dollars in the hospital. After he died, he left a five-hundred thousand house property. If his inheritor wants to have this house, he must pay for the three-hundred thousand debt first, otherwise, the court will sell the house by auction, then use the money to pay the government first, only then releasing the rest to be inherited by the successor."

"So there is a back-up plan. Then, in this case, only proletarians could gain benefits from this program, as they have neither money nor property, so even when they die, there is nothing left for auction." Dai Li said subconsciously.

"Free-medicaid program is a charitable rescue social welfare. Why would people who can afford medical insurance choose this medical aid?"

The social worker paused, then said, "People who are rescued are poor, they live in the lowest social tier, no job, maybe not even having the ability to work. They depend on food stamps to live. They have no alternative, but are compelled to live life like humble ants. They live for mere living itself."

Stopping here, the social worker showed a serious look, while talking slowly in a poetic manner. "If there was a better option, who would be willing to fight in the bottom of society, living with no dignity?!"

...

Looking at the social worker walking away, Dai Li had an inexplicable emotion. He felt his heart was empty, while his mind was filled.

He was right, if one can live a better life, who is willing to struggle at the lowest class, without dignity?!

Dai Li involuntarily recalled, when he was at home hearing people discussing about how good American social welfare was, like, the government gave out free food, citizens enjoyed free medical service, etc. A few years ago, when Dai Li heard these, he felt jealous about such a kind of life. But now he had a new thought. Just like the social worker mentioned, these were charitable rescues, aimed at guaranteeing underclass life, to help poor people live, even with humble means.

But no one was willing to live humbly!

From the program user’s point of view, the poorer a person was, the more beneficial the free medicaid would be. No car, no house, nothing would be left after the user’s death, which, on the other hand, meant that person received totally free medical service, and the government paid for everything. But if there was a better life, who was willing to live with poverty and blankness?

When a person began to envy American vulnerable groups’ free medical services, he had put himself in the disadvantaged group. Only poor people felt jealous about other poor people who lived better than themselves. It was like two beggars, one envied the other’s better begging location, for that place brought the other beggar more money. However, basically, the two were both just beggars!

Thinking about beggars, Dai Li subconsciously recalled a domestic news report, saying that a beggar earned more than ten-thousand yuan per month. Many people envied such income, but to be honest, how many of those people with jealousy were willing to be beggars? The beggar’s ten-thousand yuan income was exchanged with dignity. Who was willing to easily throw dignity on the ground and let others trample on it?

Now, thinking back, my previous jealousy on American welfare was indeed underclass thought! Well, if considered carefully, only people living at the bottom of the society envy American underclass’ free food and medicaid. Domestic middle-class people are living comfortable lives, so who will envy American poor people? They may probably envy American middle-class, living in houses, having vacations frequently. As for rich people, their lives are alike, no matter where they go.

Dai Li let out a long sigh. He believed that everyone who left their homeland and travelled far to America had their own dreams for better lives. Everyone fought for their future. None of them came here to be in the underclass, then live on nothing. While in America, those poor people who received "free" services didn’t feel satisfied about their current life, nor did they think they had gained extra advantages from society, for their "free" services exactly reflected their life full of failures.

This "salvation" is made for disadvantaged groups in need, which is not worthy of envying. My goal in life is to create a better future by myself, rather than waiting for others’ almsgiving. Dai Li was awakened from his misconception with sanity.

For a bright future, let’s fight! Dai Li sighed with disappointment, but his heart was filled with high morale.