Here is the letter I just sent the White House about my predicament:
The State of Tennessee is withholding the federal money that Congress enacted on November 14, 2009 for those of us who are unemployed. We learned this three days before Thanksgiving. Both my husband and I have been unemployed for over a year and are dependent upon our unemployment benefits. We need this money.
We have always worked full time jobs, been taxpayers and have always supported the Democratic Party. This is new territory for us. The anger I have about this is not something I am used to feeling. Our government needs to help those of us who are unemployed.
I have applied for 100s of jobs and rarely get an interview. I have a college degree, as does my husband. I paid more in taxes in 2008 than I am earning in 2009 on unemployment.
Please, President Obama, the middle class and upper middle class are suffering. I dread to imagine what life is like for those who have always lived on the edge.
Last weekend, I spent some time with my family. Some of these family members (in fact all of them) do not like Obama, as much as I do. My Latino sister-in-law, who is a naturalized citizen, distrusts him so much that she bought a Glock after the election last November. I fear that she will accidentally shoot a family member (me?) or a friend with such a weapon in the house. A friend of mine claims that those who are killed by intruders are often killed by their own gun. I told my sister-in-law that I hoped that she knows how to use it properly. I’m somewhat of a clutz, which has always prevented me from considering getting a gun. I would do a Plaxico Burress and shoot myself.
My sister, who is a Republican, was oddly quiet over the weekend. She is one of those Reagan Democrats, who is liberal on a lot of issues, but very conservative on fiscal matters. She will be entering the job market soon, as her son will be going to college. I think she will be interesting to watch. Her son voted for Obama in the school mock election. Since then, he has come of voting age. I need to remind him to get registered to vote.
My husband’s parents are anti-Obama. John said that his Dad called him today almost in tears because he fears the United States is becoming an Islamic nation. Come again? I have no plans to start wearing a burka any time soon. The in-laws fear the amount of money that Obama is spending. What did they think when we were spending billions in Iraq to rebuild a country that we blew up. What about the billions that Bush gave the financial institutions before Obama took office.
I did not support President Bush and was often critical of his policies, I feared during his tenure that my personal freedoms were being taken away from me. I participated in an anti-war rally the weekend before we invaded Iraq. I was verbally abused by one passer-by who claimed that I was supporting the bombing of the World Trade Center. Come again? I often feared during President Bush’s time in office that my freedom of speech was threatened. I never participated in another anti-war rally.
We are probably going to have lunch with the in-laws over this weekend. I guess that I will get a second dose of Obama fear.
I argue up to a point. I mostly express my opinion, but I’ve learned that I cannot change their opinion.
Has President Obama been in office 100 days yet? I have to admit that I have been so concerned about my own personal situation that I very rarely watch the news these days. Oh, I see the updates of the unemployment figures. I occasionally see where the stock market is hovering. I am reeling from my 2008 income tax return and the taxes that I am paying on investment income. Let’s just add insult to injury.
I am amazed that I am living on such a small amount of money. What the hell will I do if the unemployment benefits stop? At least, it is giving me money to get out and try to make money. I am out daily now trying to make a living.
This is the longest period of unemployment that I have experienced in my career. I had always found a job with a weekly paycheck within two months of being laid off.
Will I have to tap into my dwindling retirement funds to pay the mortgage soon? There are so many uncertainties in my life right now.
As I’ve said many times in this blog, its purpose was to write about the changes in our country under our first African American president. As is the case in life, our goals get altered. I think President Obama would agree with that right now. I’m devoting the blog posts to the changes in my life caused by the breakdown of our capitalist economy. I’ve written about my trials and tribulations as an unemployed 50-something in a world that seems to be crumbling around me.
I can no longer depend upon a large corporation or even a small business to provide me a safe income. Those safe 401K and IRA mutual funds have evaporated as if I had bought lottery tickets.
I have had recurring dreams the past few months that I am rearranging furniture in the rooms of my house. I love to move my stuff around often to the chagrin of my husband, who trips over the ottoman suddenly appearing in a strange location. The dog paces nervously as I place my stuff in his favorite nesting spots. But I am currently rearranging my life and my career. Thus my dreams of moving furniture.
While I have had a successful career in catalog and magazine publishing for 35 years, I am following my passion, the environment, or the green movement, as it is tagged. I have always considered myself an environmentalist. I have always recycled when convenient, fought to protect wildlife when convenient. I’ve bought responsible products when convenient.
Since I’m only human, I am a Greenie when convenient, but I have opened myself to becoming more cognizant of my footprint left on the earth. I am moving more and more into the Green Community. I have joined a small company to market to green businesses. It’s a contract position, which means I do not make money until I sell my services. But hey, maybe that is the way it has been all along.
