President Obama impresses me every day with what he is doing, and what he is trying to do. But I'm appalled at the obstructionist, mendacious behavior by some of the Republicans, taking advantage of his openhanded overtures to try to turn the stimulus bill into something that weakens or destroys its impact, and then falsely claiming they've been shut out of the process and voting against it anyway. Either they refuse to belief the economic facts in the face of all evidence, or don't care about anything but the approval of like-minded constituents. Perhaps they really believe that, as GOP Chairman Michael Steele said, "The Obama-backed stimulus is just a wish list from a lot of people who have been on the sidelines for years.. to get a little bling, bling."
Yeah, right. That's what President Obama and his allies are trying to give the country: the "bling" of jobs, a stable power grid, a decent education, bridges that don't collapse, levees that don't fail, and a safety net to catch us as we fall with this crashing, underregulated economy. Here's what's at stake for me: the difference between a decent job in my field and economic ruin. I'm pretty sure John and I can't keep up house payments if we both end up working for minimum wage, or not at all. I know I've written about my job situation before, but here's an update, because things are only getting worse for us. This what I just wrote in response to one of those Obama "Share Your Story" emails:
Late in 2002, in the last month of my mother's life, I returned to college while working full time as a travel agency's bookkeeper/accountant. I got my accounting degree in early 2005, and left my job of 12 years to work for a mortgage firm as a staff accountant. In August 2007, the mortgage firm went bankrupt in the housing meltdown, even though it wasn't primarily a subprime lender. I learned about FMFC's collapse from a newspaper headline outside McDonald's on my way to work.After a temporary maternity relief job with a used clothing retail chain, I started work with a large RV dealership. But gas and diesel became too expensive to fill an RV's tank, and people don't buy $100k luxury items when their jobs are at risk. So I was laid off, and the dealership subsequently declared bankruptcy. A month later, the travel agency where I'd worked for so long closed its doors after 50 years in business.I had a 90-day temporary contract with a local aerospace firm last summer, but I've been completely out of work since early September. Actually, I did get a job briefly, doing taxes inside a check cashing store, with no rest room access. But I had no tax experience, and the CPA decided to pull out of that location after police spent half a day there. I had been employed for 29.5 hours.Now I'm working on a CPA review course, and watching job sites that have fewer relevant listings each week. That degree was supposed to make me more employable, but it's not longer working. Clearly, I'm neither lazy nor unreliable nor undereducated nor stupid, but there are no jobs for me. Unless something changes, my unemployment benefits are scheduled to run out in seven weeks, shortly after I turn 52 years old. Meanwhile, my husband just survived a major round of layoffs at his company, so our position is more precarious than it's been in decades. We refinanced our house in 2005, and have never been late on a payment. But that could change all too easily if John loses his job and I don't find one.I figure that here in Tucson, infrastructure investments mean construction and solar and education and maybe broadband. Such projects will need accountants. I haven't done governmental or construction accounting, but I can learn. And I'm ready to go on payroll accounting for new jobs in the private sector.Put me to work. Please. Or failing that, help me and my husband stay solvent until people start hiring again. If it comes to that, I'll work at some low-paying job until something better comes along. But it makes more sense to get the economy moving again, and open up jobs for people in the fields for which they are qualified.Thank you, President Obama, and all who are working with you to solve this terrible economic crisis. And shame on everyone who stands in your way due to cynical political calculations and disproved economic models. President Obama, Paul Krugman, Robert Reich et al. have it right. Don't stand in the doorway, don't block up the hall.
Oh, and by the way, I had a cancer scare this past fall, and no health insurance to pay for tests. No cancer, but I have to figure out how to pay the last of the bills for that.
This is the world the obstructionists are ignoring, a world where formerly hardworking Americans are sidelined through no fault of their own. A capital gains tax cut will not get me a job or health care, or help me keep up the mortgage payments. The stimulus plan might. Even if it doesn't help me directly in the short run, I'm confident it will help us all over time. We need it, badly.
I'd write to my Senators, but I'm darn sure that neither McCain nor Kyl will listen. I only hope the rest of us can overcome the obstructionists, and get the economy moving again.
Karen
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