What have I ever done to make your party hate me so much, Mr. Boehner? [View all]
I've worked for 161 quarters, according to the Social Security Administration, every single quarter since I turned 14 until I was laid off by AT&T last August. I went to college and law school (another story), studied hard and graduated, and spent over a decade paying back my student loans. Until 2012, I never collected an unemployment check, received SNAP benefits, etc. . I always paid my bills, contributed to my 401(k), never filed for bankruptcy. I raised and loved my nephew like he was my own child, after his parents died, and sent him to college and grad school. I went and still do go to church, have done charity work all of my adult life, voted in every election in which I was eligible to do so since I turned 18. I served 2 terms on a school board, 3 on the library board. I belonged to the group who started our local soup kitchen, food pantry and 'brown bag' food program for poor children in my town, so they'd have something to eat on weekends and over the summer.
That 401(k) I mentioned? YOUR party allowed Wall Street and the other banksters to destroy 94% of everything I'd scrimped and saved for 25 years to put into it, and recent health issues have forced me to spend the remainder, because I couldn't afford the COBRA payments to continue my health insurance from AT&T on the niggardly amount unemployment pays me. YOUR party also made it not only legal for AT&T to outsource my job, but profitable for them to do so. So now, this...
This week, YOUR party passed legislation that will cut SNAP benefits to people like me AND also passed legislation intended to de-fund AHCA! My monthly SNAP benefits are $200, not a huge amount, but with careful shopping, coupons and paying attention to bargains, I eat 3 nutritious meals a day. I received a letter today from the State of Illinois telling me that I will very likely qualify for Medicaid, starting 1/1/2014. Thankfully, my PCP, my rheumatologist, my orthopedist, my general surgeon and my local hospital all accept Medicaid, as does my pharmacy.
In the past 13 months, I've applied for over 200 jobs, including fast food, grocery stores, etc., and I've also sent out 500-plus resumes. The sad reality is that there are 3 people looking for every 1 job that's available nationwide, 4 looking for every 1 available here in Illinois. I suppose I COULD move somewhere else where the job market is a bit more robust, but that would mean abandoning my blind, widowed and childless 88 year-old aunt, someone I dearly love and physically care for on a regular basis. So, I have to ask...
What have I ever done to make your party hate me so much, Mr. Boehner?
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