Let's make a new deal

[angrycarpenter]

Because I need one bad.

There was once a time when I had money to spend. I was younger then and I went out and had fun. I bought things that made my life better. I had hobbies.

Slowly over the years I have seen the price of everything that matters go up while my income stayed the same. Living a frugal life has turned into being poor.

I have spent the last 25 years learning everything there is to know about residential construction and furniture building. How is it that a man with my expertise is struggling to find work? How can things get so bad that a man who could build anything is wondering why work is so scarce? I need a new deal.

My mom is laying in the hospital right now wondering how she will pay for it all. She has worked hard all of her life. Why should she even have to think about money? She has spent her life caring for the elderly, doesn't she deserve something for her troubles? She needs a new deal.

In three weeks I am packing up everything and moving back home. Work has slowed to a trickle here and one more lay-off will sink me. My parents are having difficulty maintaining the house and paying the bills. We need each other. We need a new deal.

My version of a new deal is simple. More of a philosophy really, it goes like this, It is the duty of a democratic government to work towards freeing it's citizens from want, fear, and misery. These are the freedoms that must be re-won on a daily basis by everyone of us and the government must do everything in it's power to insure that we can.

Some may say that it is socialism, I don't care. If it means that I can work and afford to live and that my parents aren't bankrupted by medical bills then socialize away. I know I would feel free as a bird if I didn't have to worry so much about things that I can do little to fix. I want freedom from fear. Is that too much to ask?

[Anarpeace]

1. Peace can be the answer

When the world is not at war; peace and prosperity becomes a reality.

[Muttocracy]

3. Welcome to DU

:hi:

[angrycarpenter]

4. ditto nt

[Muttocracy]

2. It's not too much to ask

and as someone who's living with an aging parent for financial reasons, I can only say, you're not alone in the situation.

:hi:

[Adsos Letter]

5. People may certainly flame me, but...

I worked for 30+ years to become the equivalent of a Master Painter, and my wage increased in accordance, until contractors started building their crews out of primarily illegal workers.

I don't hold it against the illegals; if I were starving, or trying to support a family in a society where the options were bleak, I would try for a better life too.

But the employers in our area took advantage of it, and wages suffered accordingly.

[Booster]

6. And the very people who are supposed to enforce the laws we

have looked the other way and continue to look the other way.

[Adsos Letter]

7. Yes...it suits their business model.