Have you or a family member lost a job, a house, healthcare, or sleep because of the recession?

Thanks for your help! Congress needs to hear that real families are hurting in this recession. If you or a family member has lost a job, a house, healthcare, or sleep because of the recession, tell us about it here and we'll share your stories with Congress and the White House.

*Scroll down to the bottom of this page to input your story.

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We could figure out some Responses to Financial Institutions!

— 10:59 PM Mar 04, 2009

We can figure out some common response to this barrage of financial bad news. For example, what about swinging the few cash assets we have toward the credit unions instead of banks? Perhaps that would help separate the good assets from the bad.

I found a website that rates banks and credit unions. That helped. One credit union was clearly better than another. Most banks in my area are in some trouble. Banks way out in the country look best. They have fewer mortgages and more capital, I guess. After finally deciding to be a librarian and completing the degree--look out job market!

Sympathy for all of us over 50 who hope for better employment now that kids (may) leave the nest to pursue their careers. Current need may be merely to preserve a nest.

Remember that husbands may be depressed and angry in this time period. Right before Valentine's Day mine felt free to comment: "I'd divorce you now if we weren't in so much debt." It's very hard to stay positive even if you realize the stress level behind a remark like that.

We will see what's left
after this economic downturn passes,

I am going to run my race. Both of my parents have spoken of their childhoods during the Great Depression. All my life I have been scared of something like they experienced, but now I feel prepared to be and accept that the 'new' career may be a summer job to be outdoors for a change, or that I may join a teacher corp.

Love to you all, Joni

Furious over lack of professional opportunities for working mothers

— 09:25 AM Feb 24, 2009

First off I am a Mom and an HR professional by trade - at least I am trying to be a HR professional - when I can find a company open to flexible work arrangements. Until recently I was very fortunate. For the past 2 years I had been working full-time from home as a contract recruiter for a Fortune 100 company. Contractors were cut by the end of 2008 and here I am looking for work in a recession where companies are cutting employees and looking at part-timers, telecommuters, virtual employees, work-share partners, etc as roles that need to go. (I am leaving contractors out - from a budget standpoint I get that piece.) Most of the employees in the roles I just mentioned are women, and per chance, mothers. Why are cutting these roles a priority? And why in economics times of boom, or bust, are professional working mothers slighted time and time again?

I look around my world of smart, educated, professional women and time and time again am floored when I hear the same stories over and over again for years; "would love to work in my field, however I can't work from 8AM-6PM", "I have a graduate degree/law degree, but am working part-time in retail, restaurants, banks, due to the flexible hours", "I am working in a contract/temp role because they were more flexible in my hours, (even if I did not get paid for the hours I did not work) but have been cut due to the recession", "I have been working from home a few days a week for years but have been told I need to come back in to the office full-time because it "looks" better to the boss". "I was turned down for a full-time role temp role because I could not commit to being there everyday from 8-5:30. I asked if I could start at 8:30 and leave by 4-4:40 (with no lunch break) for childcare reasons".

The stories are endless and all say the same thing to me. If you choose to have children in this country your value as a professional is over. Yet being in HR I still hear companies complain there is not enough talent "out there".

No bonus for Wall Street? Cry me a river!

— 12:34 PM Feb 19, 2009

The nicest bonus I ever got from a job was a turkey. I fully support Wall Street execs getting turkeys for their bonuses. As for the money they are crying about, let them eat cake with the rest of the little people.

Re 2-11-09 Post

— 11:49 AM Feb 16, 2009

I wanted to clarify something from my 2/11 Post. I was asked, "how is it your husband and kids have insurance and you don't?" Well, my husband is taken care of thru the VA and as a condition of his employment he is forced to get insurance. His employer deducts the insurance from his hourly wage. As it is, we can barely afford it but if he wants to keep his job, he is forced to pay for the insurance. My children qualify for CHIP right now, my oldest who soon will be 18 will no longer qualify soon and he will be in the same boat as I am. Our oldest will be graduating this June, goes to a high school which has many pregnant, unwed girls. I was appaled to see so many, when I would go to the school to pick him up. One of my son's friend is 17 and he and his girlfriend are already having thier second child! They both go to the same school and are unmarried. Persons such as these get free healthcare, while many like myself and soon...my son have none. Here is another example. I am familiar with people who work and make good money. They have kids, yet will not get married because if they do they will not qualify for govt assistance anymore. People like this are greedy and selfish. They milk our govt and get away with it too. They tell the human resources people that the father is not in the picture in order to get free assistance. These people have no couth. Personally, I myself cannot do this without feeling guilty. But people like this....forget it! They don't care! What irks me the most is, they get away with it everytime and never get caught. Makes me sick to my stomach. I can't even afford life insurance, so I guess my husband will have to just bury me in the backyard when I die. (No pun intended)

When can we have peace?

— 01:59 AM Feb 14, 2009

We working Americans are the nuts and bolts of this country. You lose us, you just lose. My daughter and all the children are relying on us to make it work. We need to make it work for them. We need to work together. Please help us to help each other.

Hard Working Dad Out of Business

— 09:00 PM Feb 13, 2009

My father recently had to let all of his workers go and give up on his business that he has run for twenty-five years. He had a construction company and has worked harder than anyone I know my whole life.
For the past few years work has been really slowing down for him, but the past year it just ground to a halt. After paying his men out of his savings for several months he just couldn't do it any more since no new jobs were coming in.
It is a terrible thing since these men depend on him as does his family and theirs. Please don't forget about small business owners and the middle-class who are suffering and are now unable to give opportunities to others.

Help for all

— 10:55 AM Feb 13, 2009

You know that help for one is help for all. Everyone is included in this help even those that have made what people are deaming as crazy. All of us need help. If we got that money that they used for the banks and auto we could have paid off our houses. Bought a new car. Paid off our debts. That would have boosted our selves up again. Giving the people the money makes better sense for with freed up funds we would start spending. But with every penny counting we will not spend when we are barely paying the bills.

When four families have to live under the same roof becuse three out of the four cannot afford to live on their own. That says something.

Congress needs to help us so we can help ourselves. Wher are our American jobs? Oh I know they are over seas were they can pay someone cheap with no medical or any benifits that we enjoy here. We need jobs here. We need the help here.

So give us that help. We all truly need it more then our corprations. For we the people are the ones truly effected by this.

Affordible Health Care

— 01:34 AM Feb 13, 2009

We are all being manipulated by big insurance. Do you think for one instance that the CEO'S AND CFO'S of the health insurance companies care about you???? They have the 100% plan and it is paid for by the subscribers to their insurance plan. They are only interested in PROFIT$ and will do WHATEVER IT TAKES TO INSURE THAT THEY MAKE A PROFIT even if it is denying your claim. Hey they can starve you out by delaying and delaying your claim and the DIRTY LITLLE SECRET IS THAT IF YOU TRY TO TAKE THEM TO COURT TO SUE OVER THE CLAIM, you probably will end up in "arbitration" and not civil court because of the fine print that got inserted into your coverage in ajunk mail flier that you didn't read. GUESS WHO GETS TO SELECT THE ARBITATORS? You geussed it, the INSURANCE COMPANY so you should realize the game is allready rigged in their favor.

Culprits are wars, illegal immigration, outsourcing.. GOP greed/capitalism caused this.

— 12:17 AM Feb 13, 2009

I've read many of the stories above. Laid off last month, single parent, 2 kids in CA. America has over regulated business, preventing it's citizens from taking the jobs,.. leaves, leaves outsourcing and illegals to take them because their underpaid and under the "radar".

Until republicans take ownership for taking advantage of the systems and America take responsibility for its freedoms, we won't get anywhere but keep crying the blues. BTW, don't blame Barack for his 21 days in office, nor the Dems for their 2 years in the House, this is Reaganomics and Sr Bush war and corporate profiteers. Economics will teach the world that there is no long term profit, service to humanity is the only real profit any of us can provide. So stop worrying and start deciding what you can do with your time to help American citizens. Pay it forward for your blessings.. even for momsrising.org. (but not for the octuplet creep, that's what's wrong with America).. not enough responsibility.. stupid libertarians.

— 09:55 PM Feb 12, 2009

I work in pharmacy, its scary to see the $$ spent on medication. This must stop! We need health insurance for ALL at an affordable cost.

SINGLE, 50+, UNEMPLOYED DUE TO CPSIA, ANYTHING IN "STIMULUS" FOR ME?

— 09:18 PM Feb 12, 2009

Somehow I always seem to be missing the boat. Whether it's child income credit (my children all 5 of them are adults), nope not a first time home buyer (had to house those 5 children when younger), food stamps (not eligible), free health care (not eligible), too young for Social Security and Medicare, heck no matter what my income is (all $20,000 anually), I always seem to owe taxes! 50+, don't have job skills to rise too much over mininum wage (provided anyone is willing to hire a 50+ over a perky 20 year old)! My ex-husband past away last year and with him so did my spousal support (6 years of worry free income). I have an empty property for my income, I can't sell it in this market and renters think I should rent it to them for free. Creditors are calling at least 10 times a day and I pay bills just before disconnections. I have given up my medical insurance to save a few dollors (over $300.00 monthly)!
Oh and by the way thanks for passing "CPSIA", it burried my micro-business before it even got off the ground. I spent 2 years putting it together and getting it ready for lauching (poof, gone). It was supposed to be how I would "make ends meet", instead it's how it "met the end".

Help for the people who really need it.

— 09:02 PM Feb 12, 2009

I knew when I had my daughter in December of 2007 money would be tight. I never dreamed how tight. I feel fortunate to have a job and to have all my bills paid each month, but what is left over never goes very far. I usually have about $100 left after the bills are paid. This has to buy groceries, home/car/health emergencies, gas, and all the little things that add up: toys for the baby, stamps... Many weeks there is only $30 for groceries for a family of 3. As I look at the proposed stimulus package, I see tax breaks for making your home energy efficient (which takes money in the first place), for a new car (which takes money in the first place), for a home purchase (which takes money in the first place)... you see where I'm going? I don't want a big check sent that will be gone on bills (though it would sure help when property taxes are due). What about help with the everyday bills which seem to get bigger and bigger with each passing month? The grocery bill, the gas bill, the insurance bill, the energy bill... Farmers get subsidies, what about the people buying the groceries? The energy companies, gas companies... all get breaks. What about the small, day-to-day breaks that would help the rest of us make our $30 go farther?

choice

— 08:28 PM Feb 12, 2009

I had to choose my daughter health scare with cancer , and my own health problems over my job. I now survived barely on my children part time-s jobs. They said if I had asked them for reasonable accommadations, I still might of had a job. But let me tell you, they still havent pay for my daughter medical bills last year, she was 18 in the late summer. "This is how they say they dont have to pay. Because she wasnt in school. In college.She turn 19 in June. Someone tell me how these is fair.!! So this surgery I had was more because they didnt pay for her. Now I cannot even pd them due now that they cut off my disability package. The cr told them I couldnt come back yet and they didnt care. I have so very dispress over this.. Trying to get help is out of the question with out money. I am still sick and wont ever recover now. Bucreacy at it finest. My mother is trying to help but she has her husband to care of. He has dementria. Dont know how long I can hold on to house and car!!! I wish there was a lawyer out there who could help me get some answers. But I know it not going to happen.

recession is a polite word for it

— 06:10 PM Feb 12, 2009

I just sat in a meeting listening to the superintendent of my district tell us that we will face a $12 million deficit next year. This size reduction will probably leave 10% of our teachers without jobs. It will also trip our activities sports programs, and electives.

The garbage man makes more than I do and his job is safe because garbage stinks faster than poorly educated children.

Now is the time to invest in the future.

Stimulus should create jobs in education and in building infrastructure.

Feel free to strip the perqs from irresponsible millionaires and corporations that started this mess.

The gray area leaves me nowhere...

— 05:57 PM Feb 12, 2009

As a young mother and student I don't truly fit into any category. My boyfriend just got laid off and that put so much pressure on our family because at the same time our car broke down and we've been praying for the medicaid application process to go through for our son. We are all uninsured currently and as a student I could get insurance through school but I don't meet the credit requirements, and either way I couldn't afford it either way if I did. We are blessed to be all very healthy because otherwise I do not know what we would do. We've been waiting four months already to try to get my son insured at the very least but with the growing number of families seeking resources I feel that we will never be able to even have the peace of mind of being able to take him to the doctor if he got sick. It breaks my heart because as a mother I am doing my best to better myself through school and work for my own sake and especially for my son's future but what can I do if when I ask for help I don't qualify for anything or get a 4 month waiting period? My boyfriend lost a very good job to the lack of spending in our state and now he was lucky enough to get his previous job back but we will have to wait a year to try to use the insurance his company offers, he's trying to go back to school again now that he sees that everything can change in a heartbeat and needs to have skills that reach a much bigger network than he currently can. I hate to even say this, but what would happen if something were to happen to any of us during the year -and if my son's insurance application never goes through? It terrifies me.

Dominos!

— 05:08 PM Feb 12, 2009

My dad, on his 81st birthday yesterday, pointed out that my husband and I are the only ones employed in my family! My brother was laid off a year ago, my sister was let go the week before Christmas, and my other sister's husband was laid off last week.

My husband's job seems set at present, but I run my own company and if parents are losing jobs, they will not be sending their children to extra-curricular activities and camps for whom I provide programming! We could be looking at a domino effect!

Terribly Underemployed

— 03:54 PM Feb 12, 2009

Our family has been hurt from many sides of this economy. My husband's is a tipped employee. Not only has his nightly tips greatly decreased in the last 6 months by about 50%, he has also been reduced from 6 shifts a week to an average of 2 shifts per week. His monthly take home pay is about 80% less than last year. He has been applying for second jobs for months now and has not been able to get anything. We also own a rental property where the rental income is about $300 a month less the rental property's mortgage. (We call it a $300 a month long-term investment) We have two renters who both lost their jobs - one is an editor and one in IT. The third renter has had her income drastically reduced as well and as a result her rent checks are either late or short. THIS is heartwrenching as we don't want to throw ANYONE out of the property in this economy- one family has 4 children! But we may go into foreclosure on this property if they can't get jobs. This summer we moved to a smaller, less expensive home to save money, but with very little income from my husband, my raises and bonues frozen (and I work for the biggest health insurance company in the US!!) we are terrified that we'll also lose our primary home. To add to this, I'm pregnant with our second child, so my finding a part-time job in addition to my 40+ hours as a Business Consultant may impact the health of me and the baby. Our parents have lost most of their retirement investments and our friends are losing their jobs. We can't borrow from anyone. The saddest part of this is our medical bills from my husband's biking accident (he was biking to work to save money!) that are only partially paid by our health insurance - remember who my employer is!!!!!!

I lost my job.

— 01:15 PM Feb 12, 2009

Luckily, I don't have a family to support or a mortgage to worry about. Unfortunately, many people in my office had worked there for over ten years, which is over a third of my life (I turned 25 two days before my layoff). I didn't have a whole lot to lose. It's still hard, though, and it sent me into a deep depression for about 6 weeks until I realized Corporate America wasn't for me anyway.

My family is seriously impacted by the current economic crisis

— 11:06 AM Feb 12, 2009

My daughter has lost her childcare business, affecting her own income and that of her assistants, as well as the welfare of the children who depended on them for loving care.

My daughter and her husband have had to declare bankruptcy. With the income from several part-time jobs, they struggle to make the monthly payments on their mortgage and utilities, let alone the upkeep of the home, car, food, clothing, medicine, and other necessities.

With the income from several part-time jobs, she has gone back to graduate school in an attempt to break into the field of social services. I applaud her bravery. There is no guarantee that there will be a job waiting for her when she graduates in 2-3 yrs.

In the meantime, they may lose their home. Their children are doing very well in school, but I worry about their health and the assistance with health care they will need.

My daughter is an intelligent, caring person who has spent a considerable portion of her life helping others. I gladly do what I can to help her. However, we need our federal, state and local governments to provide the safety net to protect our families from losing what they still have. We need affordable comprehensive health care options for all Americans. And we need our schools, hospitals and institutions of higher learning to improve their facilities and services to our families.

Unemployed and Underemployed

— 10:48 AM Feb 12, 2009

My husband and I have three kids. We have a 3 year old and obtained custody of his other 2 children just this past fall to give the kids better stability. They are 10 and 11 years old. Our income did not increase although our family size went up by 2. We are blessed to have the children and they are in a stable environment. However, my job just doesn't pay the bills. I have a BA and a Master's degree and have been looking for more than a year for a job when my full time job ended. It was a contract job. although the organization is still there they downsized the staff. I haven't found anything paying me more than $10 an hour. I have looked everywhere in Ohio and still haven't had any luck. As it stands. We barely cover our rent without help from my mom who uses part of her prescription money for Multiple sclerosis to help us out. We don't know what to do. My husband was driving truck but that didn't work out and he is a stylist and a barber but business is so slow, people are cutting their own hair or going without. We don't know what to do. We are literally taking things day by day. For this month, are rent is paid. Nothing else is paid and already notices are coming in the mail to take our car away. What are hard working families to do who truly want to work but can't find the job? We had food stamps but they are gone and we are trying to get them back. OUr kids do have health insurance and I finally was able to receive insurance due to our increase in family size. My husband is a veteran so he is covered , to some extent. However to get assitance with cash or even our electric bills the treatment is so horrible you feel worthless after waiting forever at the job and family services places that it sometimes makes you fearful to even go there and you are treated as if we are worthless beings who asked for what we got. When does it all end?

I am out of work

— 10:46 AM Feb 12, 2009

I am a divorced 57 year old and was blessed with a decent job and salary. January 4th, with no warning, my position was eliminated. I now have no insurance and I am struggling to live on unemployment. I own a home but I fear I may not can sell it with the economy the way it is. I just had reconstructive foot surgery in January so that the insurance would cover it before I was no longer on the policy. I need your help. Please pass this stimulus package. It will not be easy for a woman my age to get another job.

Help The Truly Poor & Working Class

— 10:32 AM Feb 12, 2009

My husband and I are taking care of two elderly disabled parents, as well as one intellectually disabled child, two sons over the age of 18, and our nephew, also over the age of 18. One son is a Marine Corps. reservist who has been told he will most likely be deployed year end to Afghanistan, and is attending community college right now. My nephew is attending college near our home but could not afford housing. My oldest son is employed, thank goodness but at 23, cannot even come close to affording to live on his own. My husband and I are truly blessed that we still have our jobs, but the stress of watching co-workers being laid off and not knowing if we will be next is excruciating. Handling my mom and dad's financial issues, paying their insurance premiums, watching them get more and more stressed as that new Medicare Drug plan gap gets closer and not knowing how they will pay for their medicines while in the gap, is sickening. But what is more sickening, is watching Congress and the Senate thwart every effort President Obama is making to bring some real relief to the regular people, and taking their sweet time over partisan spending provisions and haggling over misappropriations that should not have been put in the bill in the first place. There was swift action in bailing out the banks and insurance company giants whose irresponsibility has gotten this nation into one of the worst financial messes ever. WHY? Because those banks and insurance companies are in the back pockets of each and every member of government in one way or another and it's our elected leaders just taking care of THEMSELVES, not their constituents who have elected them to represent US! There needs to be a public outcry for government reform and for transparency in all our elected officials financial dealings and there needs to be parity with the constituents in terms of what Congress and The Senate gets in the way of health insurance plans and retirement plans and salaries and stop the elitist way that the people we elect to SERVE US, SERVE THEMSELVES! REFORM GOVERNMENT NOW. GET THE STIMULUS BILL PASSED NOW-YOUR CONSTITUENTS ARE SUFFERING! AMERICANS, INSIST THAT YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS SERVE YOU WITHOUT SERVING THEMSELVES FIRST! It used to be in years past that serving in government did not pay a salary or benefits, it was an honor and a privilege to volunteer to serve your country in that way, and that's the way it should still be, especially now that the only people who are able to get elected are those who are rich beyond belief anyway! The country is in dire straights. We need government reform and we need representatives who care about WE THE PEOPLE.

— 10:16 AM Feb 12, 2009

I am a middle class professional, single mom with a six year old boy. I worked for a nonprofit with most of my work focused on women and poverty in the developing world. I just found out I will be laid off in early March. I pay almost all my son's expenses, own a home, and try to put money towards a college fund for him. I have been scrambling to do what I can to avert catastrophe. I am trying to get my mortgage reduced but don't qualify for many of the low-income programs. I don't qualify for most assistance programs but because I spent my retirement on my divorce proceedings, I don't have a safety net. My son can go on his dad's healthcare but I will have to forego healthcare even though I have several chronic conditions. I have a housemate already to help with the mortgage and am bringing in another housemate but I don't know if that will be enough. The only job I have found (and I know I am lucky to have a job offer) pays half of what I currently earn. I have taken it and will hope to work 2 more jobs if I have to in order to make ends meet. It is frightening--I have paid my bills and paid over my minimum mortgage bill, continue to pay for my Master's degree, had saved money in a retirement account and it could all be gone tomorrow. I have also been sending money to my mother who has been ill but that stopped a few months ago because I could no longer support her.

It Hurts Everyone

— 10:11 AM Feb 12, 2009

My brother-in-law, who is a brilliant computer person, lost his high-level job at a new start up company because they went bankrupt - they went Chapter 11 owing him over $20K.
He'll never see a recovery in that money and he's living off his savings with two houses, alimony and two children to support.

He's been out of work since November and he looks for jobs every day with no bites, and no prospects.

It frightens me because he has his Master's Degree, he has kept up with all the latest trends in computer science and when I say he's brilliant, he really is.

If he can't find a job, what hope do I have, with just my Bachelor's degree? What hope do any of us have?

Unemployment and loss of health insurance

— 10:08 AM Feb 12, 2009

My husband lost his job in October 2008. Our low income status before the job loss allowed our children to qualify to receive health insurance through the state. I am so grateful for this program, as their coverage has been unaffected by my husband's unemployment. However, he and I are both now uninsured. I would really like to see something as fundamental to quality of life as access to health care become universal.

Help the Middle Class

— 09:27 AM Feb 12, 2009

My husband recently lost his job with a major aluminum manufacturing facility in Western PA and as a result, our health insurance. While my company offers health insurance, the premiums are far too expensive for us to afford (especially with the job loss). We have 3 children (the eldest of which is in college) and are struggling to keep our head above water, our son in college and our mortgage up to date. Something has gone to be done and QUICKLY!

— 08:41 AM Feb 12, 2009

My husband and I are college students. Until recently, I worked for my university, but with the recent cuts to my school's budget my position had to be cut. At this point, the only money coming in is from our student loans and the help we are lucky enough to get from our parents. I know that many of my classmates are in the same boat, and that many of them aren't lucky enough to have a family support system in place like we do.

Even when I was working, I did not have access to health care except for my university's Student Health Center. That means that doctor's visits are free, as long as no lab work, MRIs, etc are required. Then, I'm told, they bill insurance or the student directly. So every time one of us is ill, we have to check out WebMD to be sure that the doctors won't need to run tests we can't afford if we do go to the doctor. If so, we are faced with the decision: hope we get better or pile on yet more debt.

My husband suffers from what is probably a bulging or ruptured disk in his back, and we have not been able to afford medical care for him - to treat the problem, his doctor would have needed to do MRIs, and since we can't afford it... He is living on a steady diet of Naproxen Sodium and glucosamine just to get through the day, and I'm terrified that he will end up crippled for life because we couldn't get him the health care he needs.

What frustrates me the most is that both of us are working so hard to finish our educations, improve ourselves, and enhance our contribution to the world - but the current health care system is so caught up in making a profit that our health is at risk every day. All it would take is one broken arm, car accident, or serious illness and all our work could be undone. I have high hopes that the new administration will address those concerns, and I know it can't all change overnight. But I really, really need it to change soon.

What is going to happen to rural America?

— 08:38 AM Feb 12, 2009

Companies are closing left and right around here. There are no jobs so they are either living off of unemployment and hoping for better times or moving out of state. I'm wondering how local towns are going to survive. So many of our employees are laid off and chancing without health insurance because they CAN'T afford it. I'm afraid the stimulus plan doesn't have the ability to create jobs like they are saying it does. Forget lining the CEO's pockets, give the aid to those that need it. The banks should have never been given that money without provisions. They drilled the Automotive industry, but handed the banks more money than we will ever be able to pay back in a lifetime.

What about us who owe more than our house is worth.

— 01:58 AM Feb 12, 2009

We are still making our house payments but it is strangling us and we can't sell our house because we owe more than we could sell it for. We make our payments every month and we are being left out of the option to lower our loan amounts to match what the market is. There is no plan to help us raise the value of our homes, and we are stuck trying to do the right thing and TRYING to not have to declare bankruptcy. We ALL need help NOW!

Healthcare for all

— 01:50 AM Feb 12, 2009

My daughter entered an ICU in Gilroy, CA last week with a very large kidney stone, massive infections, dehydrated, etc. At 23, in a teaching credential program locally, uninsured since being bounced off our insurance last year - her future is bleak at the moment. She still has the kidney stone, and probably no response from MediCAL in writing for another month. If you call, you are on the phone for an hour or more and no one answers. She was shipped out of the same ER a month ago with the same symptoms; yet one of the doctors told her yesterday if she had come in 12 hours later last week - she would be dead by now. No one would fill a Rx or see her wherever she went the two weeks prior to last week after being verbally approved for MediCAL - but not having an official number or card. She finally got the MediCAL appointment for a urologist for yesterday -- but she would have been dead if she had waited till then. She is likely to be back on her own shortly and having to wait another month or two or longer to get in to see the approved urologist - all the while still in much pain. Her problems started on 1/5/09 this time. It is too inhumane how we treat people these days. She is supposed to quit school now and just wait in pain? When will this country become civilized enough again to treat eveyone who needs it?

economic times

— 01:13 AM Feb 12, 2009

I have found out why the government bailed out AIG. This company is where congress and our government receives their health care. Talk about taking care of self first and to dickens with everyone else. My husband and I are on fixed incomes. I am disabled and he retired 2006. Thanks to the astronomical drug bills. I have one medication that cost over $1000 for a 3 month supply. Those months I worry about being able to pay the electric and water bill. I've been looking at the different cans of dog food to stretch out grocery budget. He has collected and sold all the junk he can find. Americans need to band together and make some noise- a lot of noise. People without money make up 90% of the United States population. If we vote right we can make some changes. OUT the ones who only vote for the rich and the big businesses that sells out jobs out of this country. Microsoft made the remark the if you want a job move to India. Sounds like the CEO is a great American. NOT!

A Bankrupt Landscape

— 12:43 AM Feb 12, 2009

In the depths of cruelty, seniors and disabled people are being evicted from nursing homes in Seattle and some are dying as a direct result of this economic debacle (see recent Seattle P-I front page article). I work for the biggest hospital group in the NW and last month all agency nurses were cancelled and hiring is now frozen. With less staff, nurses are working two or three times as hard, but being warned against overtime and last week all of middle management (including the Chief of Nursing) were given four days to clear out from their offices. Over the holidays we sent a WA National Guard unit to Afghanistan without enough rifles for the soldiers. My partner is a professor and director of a program that is getting the ax. My brother in Oklahoma lost his job driving an airport shuttle van and my sister's hours at Pottery Barn were cut 25%. Everywhere you look the ground is crumbling, yet the band plays on for Wall Street.

Staying in abusive marriage

— 11:33 PM Feb 11, 2009

I can't make it on my own, in this economy with my children...the most desperately needed, basic services are going away

5 MONTH OLD BABY NO JOB

— 11:26 PM Feb 11, 2009

Both my husband and i got laid off of our jobs! We are caught up between cobra and the rest of our bills We've applied for the state ins. plan but havent heard back from them. We dont qualify for food stamps. Im so afraid were not going to make it! I LOVE BEING HOME WITH MY FAMILY I JUST NEED TO KNOW WE CAN PROVIDE FOR OUR SON!! Need jobs need cheaper healthcare cheaper daycare Whats that... DENTAL?. we need to stop paying all these bank fees late fees FEES FEES FEES...

My Mortgage

— 11:07 PM Feb 11, 2009

I brought my house in Feburary 2003 on a variable rate, I have been able to make the payments even with unemployment and medical hardship; however, currently the rate is going up, I'm not in a position to refi. and jobs and pay are decreasing. YOU GAVE THE BANKS MONEY TO BLOW OFF AT THE EXPENSE OF TAXPAYERS AND KNOW YOU REFUSE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE THAT SUPPORT THIS COUNTRY!!!! CONGRESS GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF YOUR ASS AND CORRECT YOUR MISTAKES TO THE BENEFIT OF YOUR CONSTITUENTS.

Jobs

— 10:42 PM Feb 11, 2009

My daughter's job was outsourced to India, one son lost his job to downsizing, another son had his hours cut and the last son refinishes floors and there are no jobs available to do that type of work. My husband and I run a Food Cupboard at our church and we are seeing more and more families, singles and seniors coming to get food. Everyone is hurting at this time in our history. What this country needs is jobs so we can pay for our mortages, buy food and other goods. They have to pass this package and get America back to work.

A LOST SOUL

— 10:41 PM Feb 11, 2009

I WAS TOLD RECENTLY THAT A FATHER OF 2 TEEN AGE CHILDREN WAS LAID OFF IN NOVEMBER. HE COMMITTED SUICIDE THIS WEEK.

THOSE WALL STREET CRIMINALS FATTEN THEIR BANK ACCOUNT AND WE ARE SENT TO HELL...WHEN WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO DO SOMETHING TO GET THESE MONSTERS!

Dominoe effect

— 10:38 PM Feb 11, 2009

About 3 years ago a new law was passed here in Oklahoma that affected not legal imigrants, where police officers can ask for legal documents, as soon as that happened f course many not legal imigrants left. That had a great impact in my business, Banco popular fom Houston stoped giving loans unless you could prove you were legally in the states, so money stoped moving there, then all the people, appraissers, handyman, inspectors, my mortgage company and real estate company got into a complete halt. Many companies closed or startd producing half of what they were producing before because those people that left were consumers too. I still don't see the benefit of this just close minded, racist law, but here we are many of us trying to find a way to make even one third of what we used to. I believe politicians need to think about the consequences at all levels, before something like this ruins alot of citizens and colapse many businesses just so we don'thave not legal immigrants. What a joke!

— 10:35 PM Feb 11, 2009

Friend who just gave birth lost her job

— 10:33 PM Feb 11, 2009

My good friend from college lost her communications job recently when the non-profit that she worked for went bankrupt. Her husband makes less money than she did, and his salary can't cover their expenses. She just gave birth to their third child. I really hope she can find something quickly, but it's a tough market out there.

Afraid I May Lose My House

— 10:13 PM Feb 11, 2009

After escaping an abusive marriage from a man that also ruined me financially forcing me into bankruptcy I had no choice but to take a subprime mortgage. I was assured I would quickly be able to refinance into a lower rate. Well, that never happened even though I paid $20,000 down as well. I needed to secure a home for me & my daughter. I am paying over $1300/month while trying to go to school to better myself. It has eaten up all of my savings and I am not going to make it.

7% STIMULU$$

— 10:12 PM Feb 11, 2009

The Community ReInvestment Act destroyed our housing economy. Home ownership went from 61% to 68.5% in ten years. Everyone bought up, up, up. Except my wife and I. I was a Trim Carpenter and a damn perfect one. My wages went down, down, down. The Illeagals in this country, who aren't cleaning toilets, picking crops, or raising Senators children, are framing houses. They (14,000,000 to 32,000,000) are bringing down wages drastically. Especially for minoritys! Hospitals (70+) are closing in CA alone because of them. Californias budget has grown over 40% in five years because of them. Now the SOB's in congress have removed the e-varify requirement in the HR1 BILL! This will create the second greatest migration on planet earth. the first was when R. Regan pardoned 3,000,000, then all their familys moved here as well.
I have no job or credit cards. I am sober. My wife is a social worker. We have no car payment or nice car. We have a very modest morgage. We have always tried to live well within our means. Our third child is on the way and our country is on the aby$$. Tim Gightner (The tax cheat) wants 1,400,000,000,000 more for the banks and to buy "the bad loans". Stupid IDEA. Did anyone pay attention to the Japanese lost decade? They did percisly that and ushered in stagflation! (12 YEARS!) Thats the only thing worse than inflation. Comrade Obama wan'ts to reward every liberal idea ever hatched to the tune of 832,000,000,000. Even his own CBO economists are telling him it wil cause a definite ressecion in ten years. 7% of this bill goes directly to infustructure and tax breaks for the middle class. Any one who votes for this bill will never be re-elected. My unborn babys children will never be able to pay it all off. I now think that the last hope is if our bonds get downgraded so no one will buy them.
Didn't anyone else ACE Public Finance 403?
Ushering in economic peril for at least a generation, by then Islamic law will have prevailed and most of us will be vaporized anyway.

I can't pay for grad school!

— 10:07 PM Feb 11, 2009

I plan to go to graduate school in a year or two in my homestate of California, but scholarships are even harder to come by. What's worse, tuition rates are skyrocketing. And I was laid off my job as a tutor and have been having absolutely no luck finding a new job. I lost count of how many resumes and applications I've sent in.

How can I try to earn the means for a better future for myself if I keep getting rejected at every turn and being squeezed out of all my money because of this faltering economy? SAVE US!!!!!

Working families need help

— 10:04 PM Feb 11, 2009

My family is one of many who have been affected by the economic crisis.

My job in marketing for a construction management firm was eliminated in a sweeping cost-cutting move, as many of our projects have been either postponed or canceled altogether.

My husband's work provides no health benefits, and COBRA costs more than our mortgage. We have two small children who need regular checkups, and my husband has a chronic disease that requires frequent outpatient treatments. And thanks to the 2005 changes in bankruptcy law, if we were to find ourselves buried in medical debts, we'd have no recourse.

I supported the initial TARP funding, but am disgusted that it was not used for its intended purpose - to get money flowing through our system again. Instead, lack of oversight and regulation allowed the same banks who'd mismanaged themselves into insolvency to hoard the money, a hedge against bad debts so carelessly incurred.

And now most of the Republicans in the House and Senate are trying to cram more reckless tax cuts down our throats, rather than investing in the kind of massive stimulus projects that even a first-year student of economics knows are necessary to jump-start our economy.

We need help. Real help, not political posturing. Will someone please remind the Republicans that they LOST the election? It's time for them to accept that they need to change, for the good of the entire nation.

Where can we turn....

— 09:54 PM Feb 11, 2009

My husband works for a city and they've just 'agreed' to what equals more than 2 days furlough every month for the next year. I pay more at the grocery store, water and garbage fees have gone up, we are still recovering from gas prices and I hate opening my 401K mail. And we are the lucky ones.

I have three friends struggling to keep their homes, three others have lost jobs, one filed BK because of credit card fees and several have 3 or 4 generations living under one roof. My neighbor and I are in school to get our teaching credentials but prospects for finding a job are bleak. 8 years ago things looked great but the glut of large corporations (banks, insurance, mortgage, oil, the list goes on and on) have sent our economy into a tail spin and they all expect the rest of us to bail them out, first with increased fees and now the bailout.

Where do we turn to recoup our costs? We can't lay a family member off or fire the pets. We can't not feed our kids or take them to the Dr's. We can't cut out food or electricity or heat. We quit paying credit cards with ridiculous interest rates, bail on our mortgage with a payment that goes up every month, tell our kids they can't go to college and skip taking that family vacation.....again. All the while hearing about the weekend luxury trips and corporate jets, record profits and bonuses being passed along by those who want us to help them out. Makes me want to scream "are you kidding me?"

We don't just need a stimulus package, we need tough oversight by our government to make sure that these companies taking OUR AID don't squander it, that it goes to fixing the problems they created with their greed. Angry, you bet! Mostly because they seem to be getting away with it.

SINGLE MOM ON PART-TIME INCOME

— 09:14 PM Feb 11, 2009

I relocated to Orlando from Fort Lauderdale this past June after losing my job as a Legal Assistant and out of not having any other choice, I also lost my apartment and I had nowhere to go, I was not so worried about myself as I was for my 8 year old twins; my old babysitter who moved to Orlando about 3 years ago offered me and my girls a place to stay until I got a job and had enough to move on, I'm still trying to move on after all of these months. At the time I moved to Orlando, I thought that I would be able to find a job without a problem, the only employment I found was @Disney World as a part-time and making less than half than what I earned in Fort Lauderdale (with many rules and restrictions and very low wages; they know that most of the people that they hire need the job...). I have submitted resume after resume and I've also completed so many applications that I have lost count, this economy is so bad that finding a job and a decent salary is a thing of the past. What enfuriates me the most is that while most companies are making cuts, even the ones that are well established and have been around for many years, I don't see any changes on the side of State, County and other Government businesses, where a great deal of our monies as tax payers are wasted and used for purposes other than helping the people that need it the most, the service is usually very poor and it takes forever to get through to get any type of information or any assistance at all. While some of us have had angels along the way, I truly feel for those families that have lost their jobs and their homes, and for single parents that are struggling to get by with no help at all and trying to figure out how they are going to survive the next few hours, days, weeks and even months ahead.

We need help !

— 09:00 PM Feb 11, 2009

I work for the state of California. Due ot the state budget, we have had no raise for 4 years, despite increases in the cost of living. I finally had to replace my old car and have had escalating health care costs due to medical problems. Therefore, even with a so called "good" job, I am having trouble making ends meet.
The Governor is now threatening to lay off state employees and is imposing a furlough and a 10% paycut. Many state employees and their families, including myself, cannot afford these cuts and will face disastrous results.
In addition, due to illness, I have been unable to work for several weeks. and am not sure when I can return to my job. I have exhausted my sick leave and due to the financial problems described above, I have no safety net. I am unable to pay my bills and fear that I will soon lose my place to live if I cannot pay my rent.
I also have 2 elderly parents who are low income. I need to be able to help them, but cannot do so in this situation. On top of it all, in California, the Governor has cut the Senior Ombudsman program, which protects frail, isolated seniors from elder abuse.Therefore, seniors are left vulnerable to physical, emotional, and financial abuse, with no one to speak for them.

Something has to be done. People cannot make ends meet, we have no job security, and an illness can have devastating financial and personal results. Our elderly, our children, our poor, and our disabled are especially vulnerable in times of economic crisis such as these.

Please pass the economic stimulus program.

Worried about what the future is going to bring

— 08:54 PM Feb 11, 2009

I am single mother of 3 children and am the primary (basically only) provider for them. Many of my friends and family have lost jobs, are working with cut hours or having to take forced time off. In the last year my boyfriend and I have narrowly escaped foreclosure on our home...and since his fab for Intel is scheduled to close in September ther is a very real possibility that we will lose our home anyways as my income will not be able to cover our mortgage and other bills.

My employer has put a freeze on wages...which means I'm not getting a raise this year and not sure how long this freeze will last. This is a scary time and our government needs to quite bailing out corporate America and focus on helping the people that make up this great nation.

When it trickles down to town services too

— 08:42 PM Feb 11, 2009

We live in a small town in the north east. Recently, the town had to pass an override to increase property taxes. Without the override, we would have lost critical police and paramedic services. We would have also lost the senior center and the library. The override passed, which saved the town services but increased the tax burden on people who are already really struggling to pay their bills each month. This is happening all over our state right now. And I don't think our override will be the last of it. State and local governments are struggling to cover basic services like education and safety. Are there any places left in the country where these things are secure? Doesn't seem like it.

Even if you are lucky enough to still have your job and health benefits, it is sobering to think about raising small children in a town with no emergency medical services, no library, and a struggling school system. I am worried about our family and families across the country. I am worried about my kids.

Excellent To Average

— 08:35 PM Feb 11, 2009

I'm 43 yrs. old and have lived on my own since I was a responsible 17year-old, all while finishing high school. I have had an excellent credit score all of my life. This past year my credit score is now only considered Average. All I continue to do is pay down my debt faithfully. I have not requested a loan, I have not requested anymore credit, my income has only increased. Yet, my credit score went from Excellent to Average. This is frustrating, unfair and absolutely wrong to continue to stand back and watch while we who are not financial rich but who have indeed been rich in responsibility, continue to spiral downward without immediate action from you to STOP and reverse the multitude of situations that you may not realize is happening with each passing day you sit on the passage of this Restoration & Reinvestment Act. Btw, I am a severely disabled single mother raising a child. May you understand the desperation and urgency we are facing. There are no more corners left to cut for us.

Husband laid off, putting our autistic child in potential danger

— 08:06 PM Feb 11, 2009

My husband was laid off in December. We have an autistic son, the thought of putting him in daycare puts me into a panic attack. We've tried it before, nobody else can handle him. He's come home with unexplained bruises, once he was found by a stranger wandering near the highway after dark right before I picked him up.

We're discussing walking away from our house. My husband has applied for hundreds of jobs and he's just not getting any offers. Tomorrow he's interviewing for a job that pays a full thirty thousand dollars less than he made last year with no benefits (we'd have to continue paying 1,200 per month for Cobra insurance). If he takes that job, our choice will be to lose our house and move into a rented apartment; or put our son in daycare so I can work full time. I'm no stranger to work; I only quit to keep my disabled son safe.

I am scared.

help for the middle class, not bonuses for wall street and bank execs

— 08:03 PM Feb 11, 2009

We are a one income, middle class family scared about our future. My husband depends on the advertising industry for his income, and his clients have dried up because no one wants to spend money in tightening budgets for advertising. We are expecting a new baby and are scared of what our future holds. We'd like to buy a new home to fit our larger family, but we have to sell our current home first, and no one can get a loan to buy. In these times, who has 20% cash for a down payment?

Our retirement packages, so pushed by the govt in the form of tax incentives, have tanked so we are watching what little we have saved drain away.

I listened to testimony today about the millions in bonuses paid to Meryl Lynch execs right before the merger. This info, along with the knowledge of financial abuses that wall street execs have done willingly using govt bailout money, is sickening.

Please give the low and middle class US taxpayers the same "rescue" that wall street, the auto industry, and the banking industry has received. We deserve it, and we need it.

husband & father - unexpected laid off, lost housing and health insurance, baby due in 6 wks

— 07:45 PM Feb 11, 2009

As a community-based midwife, I have been providing maternity care to a particular family over the course of several pregnancies. They struggled with lay-offs when she was pregnant with her last child (2 yrs ago) and had to move in with her mom, who was remodeling the kitchen and *only* bathroom, so it was really difficult for everyone.

Finally, her husband got a stable job with benefits and they moved back into their own house. Another baby due is 6 wks and they were so looking forward to being in their own home for this time.

But when my client came to her appointment today, she told me her husband was unexpectedly laid off, their health insurance had already been terminated, they must again give up their house and move back in with relatives while he frantically looks for work.

I tried to be encouraging, but we all know 5 unemployed people are looking for every 1 job, so many months (or even years) may go by without work, just 2 years after a previous long stretch of unemployment.

And mind you, this husband and father is a highly trained profession pilot. I can only hope that the newly passed legislation to cover uninsured kids will at least help this family.

We are counting on the US Congress to be effective, whatever that takes, bipartisan or not. Get the job done, do it soon and do it right. Pay as much attention to detail as you expect the pilot of your plane to do on your behalf. If you aren't, we could all metaphorically wind up as little pieces in the Hudson RIver. The stakes are high, but if Capt. Sullenberger could do it, so can you.

faith gibson, California

supplemental Income

— 07:41 PM Feb 11, 2009

My wife and I retired a few years back with a moderate pension plan and when Medicare kicked in then all was great. We were able to give to charities we wanted to and to live okay...no fancy house, just
a Ryan home in a moderate subdivision.
Life can change in a second my oldest grandchild's husband was killed in an auto accident (not his fault) my pregnant granddaughter with identical twins was
stranded. Her parents struggling business was going, they had contracts by the ton, but suddenly no funding, so finances for everything fell back on us. Other difficulties have created a significant drain on the family's resources. Sure we could use a lot of help...you wouldn't believe how much the IRS removes and then we still end up owing more than
$5,000 extra. No there is nothing we can do about it. Okay, you would think this was all about my problems and my families, but no, in comparision to some of our neighbors we are doing great. Our house is paid for and yes we have a second mortgage but that was needed for
house repairs. Yes we are doing fine in comparison but I write for my neighbors throughout this country. My grandson is in the Army and will be shipped out soon
to one of the huge trouble spots, still I hope you can see that those of us who planned, who worked, who scrimped, who saved get in a hole not for fun activities, but to pay health insurance for us and family members we did not expect.

I have a lot of faith in our President, but he is one person, it takes a lot of us to change
this around...change it around before there
is no USA left...sold to the highest bidder...how well do you speak Chinese?

Yours Truly,

Richard H. Welles, Jr.

Who would have thought

— 07:05 PM Feb 11, 2009

I am a mother of 2. I work as much as the coffee co. will let me with the labor cuts. My husband hopes to get in a 40 hour week of manual labor. I fear for my job as there are more cuts everyday. I do not make much but it helps and it is the only way I can keep health coverage.
The bills get higher,the stress gets higher and we all make less.
Sorry to say I remember the good old days. Dad worked and Mom could stay home if she chose. Schools were well funded and the future looked bright. It is hard to remain optomistic in these times.

Need to hurry

— 06:38 PM Feb 11, 2009

It's too late for us. We have lost our home, and one of our vehicles. You need to do something fast so that all of America doesn't end up like us!!

Americans need help!

— 06:31 PM Feb 11, 2009

My hubby lost his job a few months ago. It was completely out of the blue because they were trying so hard to afford to keep him so they didn't tell him till they had only enough funds to pay him a 2-week severance. He thankfully got some contract work, but that company couldn't afford him for longer than two months, although they did offer him a job...at a severely lower rate than he'd been making. With no other options on the horizon, he took it. But now we can barely keep up with our bills and are in danger of losing our house. Jobs are just too scarce these days.

losing our store in Boston

— 06:29 PM Feb 11, 2009

Our family-owned store, which has won awards for service and quality for the past 20 years, is now in grave danger of going under. People in Boston familiar with Newbury St. will be shocked when we close our doors.
Because we are self-employed there will be no unemployment benefits. We have enough savings to get by for 3-6 months (there would have been more if we hadn't lost half of our savings in mutual funds).
We bought a house we could afford, don't have credit card debt, saved every month, and we're still in trouble.
I knew that Bush and the Republicans were going to screw the middle class. But I didn't think they could take everything from us.
The Republican Party, so-called Centrists included, have no right to any say in how this stimulous bill is passed. They have betrayed the middle-class of this country and we all know it.

All for economic stimulus but NOT for the billion for nuclear weapons!

— 06:26 PM Feb 11, 2009

This info is from a peace newsletter I get. What a nasty surprise! The Senate's proposed cuts to the economic stimulus package include $13.9 billion in cuts to Pell Grants for college students and $1.1 billion in cuts to to Head Start. But at the same time, some Senators have managed to add something that wasn't in the House bill - $1 billion for nuclear weapons! For more information on this, google Peace Action (in Silver Springs, MD) and see their website.

Extremes

— 06:24 PM Feb 11, 2009

My sister, the mother of 2 preschoolers, has track marks up and down her arms. Last July both she and her husband lost their jobs. Although they applied for every job they saw, she didn't find a job until late November--and then only a part-time one. My brother-in-law still hasn't found one. The track-marks? My sister, my wonderful sister, gives plasma several times a week, earning $25 each time in order to feed her family and pay her car insurance. Don't talk to me about bonuses and earmarks, all my sister wants is a job. How much plasma does she have to give before the government does something for regular people?

double even triple insurance for some- none for others

— 06:20 PM Feb 11, 2009

My husband lost his job over a year ago. He is 64 years old, we are his second family. Our family lost it's health insurance when he lost his job. on the bright side for him, he is entitled to veterans health benefits- and as we found out this week by mail, he is also eligible for medicare due to his age. He is now doubly insured but his three minor children and myself do not qualify for any health insurance program. Private insurance is beyond the budget of our household. I run a family daycare for the last 18 years working 12 hours a day watching 5 children but can't afford to pay for private insurance. My husband feels guilty that he has double insurance but his family has none.

Stimulus

— 06:14 PM Feb 11, 2009

I am a 60 year old college student with a 6 year old granddaughter to raise. I am assisting my 26 year old daughter with her 2 year old daughter, as well. I love learning, so that is not the problem. The problem is that this government is not listening to the population. Poor Pres. Obama, I wouldn't want to be in his shoes right now, because some people think he can walk on water and make the dead rise up from their coffins! But, and it is a big But! I am tired of bailing out all the financial institutions and car companies that did not listen to the American people either, at the expense of the American people. Free market is just that. Let them fall on their swords, because lord knows we have it hard and no one seems to think we are worth investing in. The American car companies employ more people out of the country than in it. They make gas guzzling lemons. The foreign car companies employ more Americans. The corporate welfare was supposed to yield trickle down. Instead, they drank stop leak, gutted HEW and sent the jobs overseas. We should be indicting the bankers, and the CEOs who paid multi-billion dollars in bonus's to loser employees that got us into this mess in the first place. I have a difficult time swallowing the fact that our great grandchildren will be helping to pay back these bonus's to people who created these problem's . Why is Madoff not in jail where he belongs? Goes the distance in pointing to class discrimination. That last regime that was in power here? Bush/Cheney/Rumsfel/Wolfowitz, et al should be at the Hague, answering to international charges of war crimes. I almost wanted to find another country, but I know what America is capable of, alot better than blatant Fascism! Pass the stimulus! At least our great grandchildren will be paying a bill that actually helped their families!!!! Oh yeah, I Vote! Jeanette L. Davie-Peters

PLEASE PASS THE STIJULAS PACKAGE QUICKLY!!!

— 05:47 PM Feb 11, 2009

We th People need this bill passed now.
We have suffered enough at the hands of the super selfish rich. DIVINE ORDER!
Rev. Doris L. Hayes

It's going around...

— 05:41 PM Feb 11, 2009

My three daughters have their college degrees. My oldest has her Master's. My oldest is working in a $12 per hour job with a charity. My 2nd daughter is getting her training in cosmetology - because a college degree doesn't mean you are employable. My youngest graduates this year to be an elementary school teacher (in California!). The state with the $40B deficit. My sister worked for the Miami City Ballet. She has on-going medical issues due to losing her hearing in one ear. Laid off in January. Lost her health insurance. Lost a condo last year. My brother-in-law worked for Comerica Bank. No health insurance. Laid off end of this month. My husband is the Sales manager for a local, multi-million dollar company. He has worked there for 10 years. The company will go under in the next few weeks. And he will be... laid off. No health insurance. My husband and brother-in-law are the sole support for their disabled parents (apart from the little they get from disability, etc.). Not anymore. I don't know what's going to happen there.

How do I keep from feeling like the sky is falling?

— 05:33 PM Feb 11, 2009

We are sinking fast and I don't know how to stop it. My husband is an independent contractor and has gone from working 7 days a week to barely working 7 days a month! I just went back to teaching part time after being on maternity leave. We have a 3 yr old and a 5 month old. I can't afford to add my husband and kids to my school's insurance because it would cost me $1500 A MONTH more. So I have private insurance for them. That ONLY costs me $550 A MONTH. But, I can't afford that anymore because my husband is not getting any work. Luckily for us he worked for a company for 10 years and has a retirement account (mostly saved because we had to move it out of the co's 401k when he left and put it in a roth IRA) and we have been drawing off that and taking the tax penalties for early withdrawl. But, it's dwindling fast. My husband's not too proud to take work "beneath him". He's pulling weeds right now for some extra money. We always thought that if his business failed he could always go back to highway work. But, here in CA the state froze those projects because they can't get their heads out of their asses long enough to pass a budget besides their's no money anymore. The highway contractors are not hiring, so he can't get a job there. There are no unemployment benefits for self employed people. We don't qualify for public assistance because I bring home $2300 a month. WOW Add up our mtg, debt from an investment that went bad due to the realestate market, health insurance, car insurance, food, gas/electric (that is SKY HIGH) and I don't even come CLOSE to covering our expenses. We are both college graduates and we are close to losing everything. I never imagined that when I was in school. We followed the rules. Work hard in school, get an education and you will have a good job. Work hard in your job and you will be ok. Now I sit here wondering why the Republicans think a tax cut (We got $600 from Bush's big stimulus) is going to help me pay my bills? I need public works jobs to be funded so my husband can get a job and bring home a couple thousand dollars every month so I can keep my house. It doesn't seem like brain surgery to me. CREATE JOBS and people have money to spend!

Out of Business

— 05:11 PM Feb 11, 2009

I own a mobile espresso stand on a trailer with my daughter. Last summer all of our profits went into the $4 pr gallon gas, and so I did not have the money to repair my machine when it broke. I am now homeless and unemployed. My daughter had to move in with her mother or she would be on the streets also.

Beyond anger and disbelief!

— 05:10 PM Feb 11, 2009

I didn't need to read all of these awful, depressing, and demoralizing stories of honest, hard-working Americans losing, in many cases, everything they have, from homes to savings to health care to self-respect by having to ask, for the first time in their lives, for help, to feel unbelievable anger at what is happening in our country. All of these politicians hold our lives in their greedy little paws, and 99 percent of them couldn't give a rat's ass about the rest of us. Every single day this goes on is a huge blemish on their souls, but what do they care - THEY have steady jobs with good pay, THEY have great health-care benefits, THEY can still pay their mortgages and send their kids to pricey schools. May THEY rot in Hell!!! I can't write any more about this because the fury I feel raises my blood pressure, and God knows, I don't need to have a heart attack because I, like millions of others, don't have health insurance. God help us because President Obama can't do it alone. "Capitalism is the extraordinary belief that the nastiest of men, for the nastiest of reasons, will work for the rest of us." - John Hayward Keynes

Self-Employed Feels Like Unemployed

— 04:58 PM Feb 11, 2009

My clients still have the jobs they had 3 years ago (although inflation has eroded their buying-power); however, my clients are too paralyzed by fear to spend anything. The result is my being under-employed, behind in rent and utilities, and unable to find other work in a state with 10% unemployment.

burning holes in our pockets

— 04:47 PM Feb 11, 2009

pass that bill. help us small business owners. www.moeldesigns.com

unemployed

— 04:39 PM Feb 11, 2009

please help us, we had to move from ca. to Texas just to make it. now we used our 401k just to get a place now the taxes are going to kill us because we can not find jobs!!!! to pay the punishment in trying to survive!

America in 2009

— 04:09 PM Feb 11, 2009

You don't need to hear my personal story. The story in our country today is that people are losing jobs, losing homes, leaving school, doing without medical attention, and going hungry in unprecedented numbers. We are already doing what we can to help ourselves and to help each other. Claims (such as from Cal Thomas) to the contrary are just plain wrong. Slogans such as, "Public money doesn't create private jobs" are clever, but likewise wrong. The American public is overwhelmingly behind the stimulus plan, so what's up with Republicans in Congress?

Creating a Family Friendly Economy

— 04:03 PM Feb 11, 2009

Our current economic model (since mid 1970's) has NEVER supported families the way they have needed—in a way that honors our democracy--in my experience. I'm watching my childhood friends and their families spiral into an abyss over the lack of health care. Arizona, my home state, has always made their working poor suffer--which is why it took 3 years for doctors to find my brother's brain tumor in the 1970's. His tumor, and other's, was caused by Hughe's Company's TCE contamination of our water well. Forty years later, my brother, sister, neighbors still suffer from the consequences of their initial illnesses with little access to no access to health & mental health care. Deregulation caused our contamination and deregulation caused this financial mess. Profit at all costs is not responsible capitalism. And I do believe socially responsible capital is possible. We have taken the "social" or "socialism" out of our economic model and find ourselves so far from Goodness...Humanity...God. I feel like our country has abandoned us. We need immediate change.

Hanging in there - for now

— 03:47 PM Feb 11, 2009

My husband has been with his company 12 yrs and still has his job - for now. We moved from Phx to Denver last summer for his promotion, but he is an IT analyst for a hospitality company, and they've already had one round of layoffs in November with another rumored for April '09. Our health insurance is through his company and we dropped to a lower level for 2009 to reduce premiums, although out-of-pocket maximums are increased now. So I'm just hoping none of us has any major health problems. Still paying on $800 worth of dental our 6 yr old needed recently.

I've gone back to school fulltime to finish my degree, thinking work would be there when I was ready, but am now looking into interships for summer to help with tuition costs. That's only if I can get a paid internship, even. I've already got one student loan for $10K, and have to stay enrolled at least 1/2 time to keep it in deferment.

Since I'm not working, I'm no longer contributing to my 401K (funny - I didn't make any contributions last year and only lost 10% of value) while my husband's is down 40%. We do have an emergency fund that would cover about a year's mortgage payments in case he gets laid off, but I would have to drop out of school and work fulltime to cover living expenses. We have a 10 yr old car, which we are hanging on to (GM so hope it lasts - it's already got $120K miles on it) I have 15 yrs exp as an executive assistant and can't find temp work as a receptionist right now.

If we could just get out from under $8K in credit cards, I think we'd be okay. But just got notice that APR's are going up - 15 years never a late payment and this is how they thank their customers!We have good credit, and have spent some of our savings to fix up our house, which was a foreclosure.

Our government needs to recognize that everyone is hurting, and everyone needs help at this point. We are all in this together!

Ph. D. without job

— 03:41 PM Feb 11, 2009

In an interersting twist, I have a Ph.D. and no job. Why? The economy where I am is horrid and I have obligations that compel me to remain where I am.

I have no health care, no doctor, no income, and am living with my parents. I am educated and willing to work but there are no jobs for me here. What now?

I find it interesting that the government seems more interested in bailing out people who use their bailout money for bonuses and fun and let them get away with it rather than trying to find a way to at least make sure the money is properly used to help create and hold the jobs the money was supposed to go toward. I'd love for the government to actually find a way to get back the abused funds as they weren't used in the manner they were supposed to be used when they were handed out.

All I can do is hope that things will change shortly. For me, I have been out of permanent work since 2006.

Unemployed and dying without medical care...

— 03:31 PM Feb 11, 2009

My husband and I are working-class. He was laid off and we lost our insurance. I was denied Medicaid and now I have no way of treating my lupus, which is terminal without treatment. I'm already getting very ill which has made it hard to operate my home-based business.

I am a jeweler and community activist, and my husband is an engineer in the manufacturing industry. We are now on food stamps and unemployment that is not sufficient to even pay our rent and utilities, and we have no idea how we're going to make it.

Help us!

health care

— 03:28 PM Feb 11, 2009

Last week we got a letter from our provider, Aetna. They informed us that they are pulling out of the individual policy market in Washinton state. We are self-employed and so that's us. My husband has an existing condition and is going to need a transplant (kidney) so he is no commercial providers will take him. We are applying for the Washington state insurance pool. What's interesting is all our insured friends are under the impression this pool is a safety net. Not quite. While we are very lucky to have this option and are able to afford it at the moment--It is quite pricey. I have lost sleep over all those who cannot afford this option. And I am really angry at the way people have been mislead into believing that this plan is here as a safety net for those of our neighbors in dire straights and desperately in need. I for one am demanding health care reform now. Just like education, fire and police, basic health should be available to everyone with those most able bridging the gap for those most in need. How a society treats the young, the aged and the disabled (those most effected by lack of insurance) says everything about the character and worth of that society. I am going to continue to show with my vote and my feet on the streets that I want to live in a United States of which I can be proud. Now you guys in Congress have pissed off the mamas, watch out!

No Social Safety Net

— 03:26 PM Feb 11, 2009

My brother and sister-in-law had budgeted carefully and put their home up for sale so that when my niece was born my sister-in-law would stay at home with her. Seven weeks after the birth, my brother lost his job in the building industry. Luckily, my sister-in-law was still out on FAMLA and had not quit her job, so she was able to return to work. However, her salary is half of what my brother's was, their house remains unsold, and my brother has now been unemployed for over 3 months. It broke my sister-in-law's heart to leave her baby to go back to work, and the good breastfeeding relationship that she had finally established with her daughter is now in jeopardy because she feels too stressed out about work to take pumping breaks. It angers me that our country has no social safety net to protect its citizens!

Pregnant and unemployed attorney

— 03:19 PM Feb 11, 2009

My husband and I are expecting our first child. We are both attorneys. He works as a public defender and I was in house counsel up until this past October when I was laid off. I am almost 8 months pregnant. We have house hold bills, mortgage, 2 sets of student loans, credit card bills, attorney registration and impending child care costs including hospital extra costs. What help is out there? American people need a bail out not the greedy wall street people. Extend unemployment and increase the amount. Put a jolt in the job force in NYC so that we can live in happiness. Thanks. This country has gone to the dogs in the last 8 years.

Laid off while pregnant, husband's job not stable either!

— 03:12 PM Feb 11, 2009

I was laid off in November and have been unable even to find temporary work since then, let alone be seriously considered for any of the handful of fulltime jobs that I have seen and applied for. I am due to deliver my first child within the next 2 weeks and we certainly did not expect to have me out of work for more than the anticipated maternity leave of 3 months. My husband's firm let folks go yesterday and he's been concerned about the stability of his job for 2 months now. It's just a matter of time really, no longer is it an "if" it happens question.

The main concern is that we are both well educated professionals that are going to have to wait for the economy to rebound before new jobs will be available based on what we have seen. We are concerned about making our mortgage payments and having healthcare (COBRA is not really an affordable option) for ourselves and our soon-to-be baby (that we are hoping is healthy).

Regarding the stimulus plan, we are very concerned that nothing is being done to stimulate the job market for professionals. Sure, infrastructure jobs will help some of the laid off construction workers, but what about the white-collar professionals that don't work in those industries? What's being done to help homeowners to meet their monthly mortgage payments? How is a "tax cut" in the form of less taxes being taken out of paychecks going to help those of us that are unemployed and not getting a paycheck??

While we all have to shoulder some of the blame as to how we got to where we are today, forcing the quick passage of A plan vs. a VIABLE plan is not the way to help provide relief - especially at the pricetags that we have all been losing sleep over!

Trying hard but still not making it....

— 03:03 PM Feb 11, 2009

My husbands hours were cut late last year and we're now getting by on 50% of his income (we were check-to-check before this). I have a Masters degree that I'll need to start paying for in a few months, though I don't know how, since despite sending out dozens and dozens (and dozens!) of resumes, I've only been able to find part-time work that pays about $250 every 2 weeks (my loan payments will by $470/mo). Every month I have to pick which bills will be late or not sent at all so that our mortgage will be paid and we'll have something for groceries. Our credit is slowly going to hell. Our 4 beautiful children are living on pbj and ramen, w/no $ ever for treats/snacks/etc. I bake often to have something fun in the house, but actually could not even afford ingredients last week. We're hard working people, doing whatever we can to stretch $, do things ourselves, make the most out of what we have, but without an end in sight, I don't know if we'll make it. Enough bickering over this stupid stimulus bill and help us already!!! How about student loan forgiveness for those who've already been through school but cannot find decent work, despite trying hard to??

Recovery/Stimulus

— 02:53 PM Feb 11, 2009

I am a widow raising a 10 year old my husband and I had custody of and my husband had guardianship of since 1998. My husband died in July of 2002.
I left a job in November of 2006 because during an interview with PRN, I had been sent to through Kelly Services, I was offered a job to start in 9 days making $12.00 and hour with benefits. Because Kelly Services did not get my background check completed within a week I was unable to start the job. I couldn't get my previous job back.
I have worked a total of 8 months since December of 2006. My IRA's are gone, my stocks are gone, my savings is gone. I am behind on my rent. My credit rating is bad.
I do not qualify for unemployment because I left my job. I do not qualify for state aid because my mobile home and car, which I am paying on, are worth to much money. I can't sell my mobile home because Indiana does not finance them and no one has the $10,000.00 (I am being taxed on over $13,000.00) to purchase it and that would only still leave me with debts I couldn't pay off. The waiting list for public housing is over 2 years long at this time. I have been told by three companies they can not hire me because my credit is bad. I have been told because my work history over the past 2 years is only for a few months because the only employment I could obtain was temporary work through temporary agencies I am not able to be considered for placement with their organizations.
I read 300 pages of this current proposal and then fought my way through page 500 before I gave up! This package will not benefit me in the least. I will still end up on the street in the next few months!
I am against the bill as it is written. It was to provide jobs and build up the economy and there is very little benefit to the orginal goals in this package.
Send each registered tax payer a credit type card for $100,000.00 and each dependent on their taxes a credit card for $50,000.00. The money for the adults must be used to pay off bills, and reinvest in the economy. The money for the dependents needs to be invested in stocks or bonds or certificates or used for the college or trade school educations.
Please for the sake of all us stop foreign aid immediately, send the illegal immigrants home, and put tariffs on our companies having their product made over seas. Offer them tax credits (along with credits to companies still manufacturing here) to bring the production and manufacturing home for 10 years and tax cuts for an additional 5 years if they will sign agreements to keep the jobs here in the US for the next 20 years. Put wage and price freezes into effect immediately. If you will do this many of the unemployeed will go back to work and we will have the quality of product and life restored to this country.

No Healthcare, Foreclosure, Lay-off's, Under-Funded Public Education

— 02:52 PM Feb 11, 2009

Things have got to change for middle class families who are busting their butts to make ends meet while not having adequate resources. We are a professional couple with one child in college and another just coming out of preschool, which in our area costs about $12,000 per year. We lived on credit thinking things would get better, we would get pay increases and eventually be able to pay down our debt. My husband got into an ARM refinancing and lost our home to foreclosure. I work part time so I can care for our son and spend the necessary amount of time volunteering at his school, a underfunded public school which would not work but for the unpaid participation by parents. My husband teaches at night to earn more for our family while his father dies in another state too far away for him to even visit to say goodbye. His mother just got laid off (at 73) from her job which she was hoping to keep to support her daughter, a single mother who has cancer.

Loss of State Funding for Rental Rebate

— 02:33 PM Feb 11, 2009

Each year people who are disabled have been able to reach important personal goals through the Rental Rebate. This year austerity measures deleted that important saving grace. As a result my health has deteriorated, because I could not pay for the detox machine that would improve it. In the long run it is costing money as I have had to go to doctors and hospital more frequently and obtain more medications, for which I am grateful - but I think it would be better not to be so sick. I would be very relieved to hear that the Rental Rebate was reinstated.

Change is needed now!

— 02:32 PM Feb 11, 2009

My husband and I have, as of today, filed for bankruptcy. We have also moved in with family. Thank goodness for the love and support of family members who understand how tough times are these days! Normal, everyday families are struggling to survive these days. What is happening to this country and its people is appalling. This is America...let's pull together and make choices to help get us back where we all need to be!

And we are the lucky ones

— 02:32 PM Feb 11, 2009

I was laid off from my graphic design job at the end of July. We have two little girls and I cannot think about the future, it's simply too scary.

Our tiny little 2-bedroom duplex is bursting at the seams and we can't have the third child we'd dreamed of. We did everything right with our house when we bought it over 6 years ago. Put down a significant down-payment, and got a conventional 30-year-loan. The plan was to sell it in five years and use the equity to buy our "forever" home. But housing values have plummeted so drastically that we now owe more than the house is worth. That means we've lost our down payment, the thousands of dollars we put in for upgrades, and over six years' worth of mortgage payments.

BUT we still have a house, so I remind myself we're lucky. As long as my husband has his job, we can hopefully keep it. Two houses across the street are foreclosed and empty, along with several others on our block. My husband is union, so we have healthcare. Again, I realize we're lucky. Not sure how to manage the other bills. There's not much more we can cut back on. I look forward to seeing good times in our country again.

Loss of State unding for Rental Rebate

— 02:30 PM Feb 11, 2009

The Economic Recovery Plan

— 02:28 PM Feb 11, 2009

The economic recovery plan is very important especially because many sectors of the economy such as the HomeOwners Associations (HOA) industry seems oblivious to the problems of "homeowners" in mandatory HOAs. The HOA management companies, the HOA lawyers - many of whom are affiliated with the CAI (Community Association Institute) continue to demand and charge arbitrary fees to "homeowners" in these mandatory associations. Failure to pay these arbitrary and many times undocumented HOA "assessments" will result in HOA liens and HOA foreclosures of our homes. This is undemocratic,"taxation without representation," and is HOA industry extortion of "homeowners." This contributes to the housing crisis because in addition to mortgage foreclosures, HOA foreclosures are adding to homelessness and economic hardships for families victimized by the HOA industry. After more than ten years of "homeownership" in one of these mandatory HOA corporations, I can testify to what an industry scam it is! This mandatory HOA scam is in some cases assisted by corrupt courts and HOA industry lawyers who have been ripping us off here for years! It is time to bring some freedom and justice to "homeowners" in mandatory HOAs.
The worst states for mandatory HOA abuses are Florida, California, Arizona, and Texas along with some lesser known, but upcoming, eastern seaboard states. Mandatory HOAs represent a serious and growing problem in the American housing market and they are getting worse every year. The mandatory HOA industry harvests "homeowners" in this country, with a new crop of unsuspecting, naive, wannabe new "homeowners" coming into the HOA industry market every year! We will NEVER buy another house located within a HOA "community" because we were fooled once but this will not happen again to us!
The HOA industry is NOT a "democratic process," it is corporatism i.e. by and for the HOA corporations. The HOA "board" concept is a farce, and they are not elected as HOA industry propaganda would have prospective HOA "homeowners" believe. The HOA "boards of directors," many of whom have never read, and many of whom are incapable of understanding the legalese of the developer and lawyer inspired "C.C.&R.s are HOA industry pawns, HOA lawyer ridden, and management company controlled. Many of these BoD "directors and officers" are recipients of the perks and prestige bestowed upon them by HOA industry partners and could care less about "representing" the homeowners in these HOA harassment camps. This is my story and I will continue to report until we are able to sell this mandatory HOA single family home in Florida. And I might add, at a lower price than a non-HOA home would command.

— 02:27 PM Feb 11, 2009

My husband was laid-off a week before Christmas 2008. I have two babies to take care of. My husband goes out every day to find a job and no one is hiring. Everything is for $8 an hour or less. I can't imagine to get us our own home anytime soon. We all live with my mom and her family. And my mom has trouble paying her mortgage because she's a realtor and real estate is not at all what it used to be. There should be more jobs that pay more than $10 an hour for everyone that's willing to work for it. And medical insurance should be made available to everyone. To me that's just common sense.

Husband lost job and no employer health insurance

— 02:22 PM Feb 11, 2009

Hi,

My family (me-stay at home mom to save from paying for daycare, hard working hubby and 2 kids) have had to buy health insurance as none of my husbands jobs provide it. As well, he just lost one of his jobs due to the economy, and at the new one, his first paycheck bounced, and now he is not on the schedule as they don't have enough business. We have about 2,000 in car repairs and dental work that need to be done--of coarse no dental insurance!

We think it is time for our taxes to go toward health insurance. lt is a basic human right to have help when sick. It is the biggest stress in our lives, figuring out how to pay for health care issues, and the cost for regular families is ridiculous. A healthy nation of people is a happy and productive nation of people that would then have the ability to help others. We are educated, hard working, regular people like everyone else. Please help!

Help!

— 02:19 PM Feb 11, 2009

I am also a single mom, who has lost her job due to the recession. I am an Esthetician and I was working in a very small town.
The whole month of November, I did one eyebrow wax for 10.00. I had to move back to Florida and make an agreement with my ex husband to stay at his house for 6 months so I can get on my feet. The thing is that I do not feel that is enough time, because my job is a luxury item that people will give up first before anything else. I am also being sued by my mother for the third time in a custody battle over my son, and she litterally has made me jump through hoops through the court system. I have barely survived and I cannot keep going at this pace. I hope and pray that all of this mess will come to an end very soon. I am very scared and frustrated, and so is my son.

Three trying to make a go

— 02:18 PM Feb 11, 2009

Here's my situation. I have a bachelors degree, have been working for 1.5 years with a theming company in columbus ohio. I recently moved up from production to engineering, and got a decent raise with the promotion. because of the raise, I was able to afford the family health insurance, although things were still tight. Although I work a very technical job, and my wife works part time at a wonderful flower shop, we are still just around the poverty line for a family of three. Now I'm laid off, and if I want to continue my healthcare while I'm job searching, it's going to cost 180% of the original fee per month. the healthcare alone will cost more than I'll make from unemployment each month. how is that fair. how is it fair that the guys at the top, who do not NEED money, get bailed out quickly, and they could go for years without working, by living off their savings.. here I am, living week to week, and the bailout bill to help the middle class is getting choked up... come on. have some common sense, help out the backbone of America, the Americans!

Lost my job, too

— 02:16 PM Feb 11, 2009

I was laid off, and whereas in the past I have been successful in at least getting interviews for prospective jobs, I have not been hearing back from places to which I have applied. EXCEPT for the ones who write to advise me that the position has been canceled... Tough times out there.

Single mom with no income

— 02:15 PM Feb 11, 2009

Lost Job

— 02:14 PM Feb 11, 2009

A financial institution in our small town closed and some 200 people lost jobs, including our daughter-in-law. This was the source of her family's health insurance. Fortunately, her husband is self-employed as an auto mechanic, but times are tough.

Both parents out of work

— 02:09 PM Feb 11, 2009

I lost my job in December and have been looking unsuccessfully since then. I am a professional person and the number of resumes per job opening are staggering.

My husband hasn't worked since November. Three kids, no income except unemployment insurance, and since we live in California, that is always questionable.

My car needs a $525 repair. It's just sitting in the driveway.

Not just Automotive in Michigan

— 02:07 PM Feb 11, 2009

My husband and I were forced to move away from Detroit. He's an architect and I'm a florist who got a degree in mechanical engineering and can't find anything to do with it. We maxed out our savings while waiting for him to find a job (almost a year), and then we moved on credit.

Along with our crippling school bills and the ridiculous housing prices in the area we're now living, we're just treading water. If we lost one of our jobs, we would not be able to find another one on short notice, and I don't know what we would do.

We're putting off starting our family, as neither one of us can afford to take a pay cut or time off.

My Husband lost job

— 02:06 PM Feb 11, 2009

My husband was with this company for 3 years and he had heard rumors about some getting laid off, but the company assured that they would try not to, but in spite of him being very punctual. honest and never used his sick time they still let him go...

Take that, Marie Antionette!

— 02:05 PM Feb 11, 2009

I lost my job, like a gazillion other folks. And we're struggling, like a gazillion other folks. But oh, those poor execs whining about $400K? Give me a freaking break. These people clearly have never researched the French Revolution. Because when the very rich hold such a "Let them eat cake" about recovery, aid, stimulus, and support, revolution isn't far behind, from those of us who have little, and less every day, to lose.

Middle-class American Families need help!

— 02:05 PM Feb 11, 2009

Like many other middle class Americans, I worry about what will happen to my family in the coming years. Although my husband makes a reasonable salary, we feel concerned about what will happen with his job in these unsure times. We have over $100,000 in lost equity in our home and a large amount of accrued debt, just trying to get by. We are barely managing to get by at this point. As a stay at home mother, we've already shaved all the "extras" from our budget as it is. I am gravely concerned about where we'd go from here.

employeed but still suffer

— 02:03 PM Feb 11, 2009

I've had to work a second job for quite some time now because of rising costs of living without rising salary. So I bartend part time, only now because of so many people jobless and broke, I'm broke cause I have no customers coming in anymore.

— 02:01 PM Feb 11, 2009

Stuck in the Gap

— 01:56 PM Feb 11, 2009

I was - until last week - a work-from-home mom to twin two-year-old daughters. For a little over a year, I have worked as an appointment setter for another self-employed mom.

She let me go last week because her business will no longer sustain administrative help. I am not eligible for unemployment.

I am the only one in the family without healthcare because we just can't afford $400/month for it.

Now, my husband and I have discovered that even though we managed to buck the trend and purchase our first house last February, we are not eligible for any first-time home buyer credits because those credits didn't go into effect until April.

Now, in a dismal job market, I'm seeking full-time employment that will both cover the tremendous cost of two in childcare and help us keep the roof over our heads.

We're struggling with credit card payments - fielding imperative calls from companies who have already staked a tremendous claim to our tax dollars, and may yet make money by selling our accounts to collectors, but who will not compromise on insurmountable fees and interest.

We're financially drowning here under about $15,000 in debt, while these CEOs are griping about a paycut to $400,000/year!

Please pass this stimulus package so that help can actually get to those who need it.

It's been going on for longer than our government has admitted

— 01:55 PM Feb 11, 2009

The unemployment numbers reported have little to do with the real number of people suffering terribly in this country. I've been struggling for ten years because I've taught at the university level, stuck in the "adjunct" jobs - which means that despite the fact that I have two graduate degrees, and now that I've been teaching college classes for over 10 years, I've never received a raise in pay, and I've never gotten job security -- every 15 weeks, I am out of work, begging a university to give me another 15 weeks of teaching. There are no benefits. Everyone I know who is stuck in this cycle works other jobs, has no health insurance, can't get credit.....and we are educating other people's children -- and those tuition bills are enormous! Where does the money go? To the university Presidents, whose compensation is in the millions of dollars, who are often given homes and cars and drivers and "discretionary allowances" of another half million dollars or so. It goes to football coaches. To expensive new buildings. But it doesn't go to the actual educators, in the classrooms with your children, who can't afford to pay their own living expenses.

I'm losing my home. I can't afford to pay my utilities. I worked another 35 hours a week doing other work, but all that has disappeared in this downturn and I'm stuck depending on the teaching salaries, when I can get the teaching.

What's wrong with this country, when greed runs our systems? When CEOs of investment corporations get hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation and the average American is losing everything?

Forced Time Off and a New Baby on the Way

— 01:53 PM Feb 11, 2009

My husband and I live on one income. I taught for five years before we had our daughter, and we made the decision for me to be home for her. With the downturn in the economy, we started looking into my returning to the workforce, despite the rising cost of child care and gas. However, in August, we learned we were pregnant and decided I should continue to stay home, as raising our children ourselves, instead of letting a day care do it, is very important to us. We believed we'd be okay until we recently learned that my husband is being forced to take four weeks off of work with no pay. Already on a tight budget, and with a new baby due any day, this development has us both stressed, irritiable, and scared. If I could return to the workforce, I would for the good of my family, but I am unhirable at eight months pregnant. Although we know we are lucky that my husband is still employed, the loss of his salary, even for just four weeks, will severely impact our ability to pay our bills, including our mortgage, college loans, credit card debt, and upcoming hospital charge. And the extreme strain we are under due to this makes me worry that we could face a premature baby, which will only mean more stress and debt.

Still solvent....for now

— 01:43 PM Feb 11, 2009

We are a single income family. For the moment, my husband's job is steady, but who knows. I worry every night about money and I know if he lost his job, we would lose the house. I have a college degree, but with the high cost of childcare and lack of jobs, it is cheaper to stay at home with my son. We have cut back on everything. We own one car, we use public transportation as much as possible, we get Angel Food to help us with groceries (a true Godsend!), we use craiglist and freecycle for clothes and other misc. household items. But we still are not able to save in case of an emergency. That thought scares me so much. I know we are so very lucky that one of us is working. It is a crime that people who have decent jobs are still not able to make ends meet but make too much money for help. If I hear one more CEO saying they are suffering, I am going to scream! We are all in this together, the rich and poor, the healthy and sick, the young and the old - I just wish more of the 'haves' remember that. I am sorry so many of us are unemployed or on the verge of financial disaster. Hopefully we will get through this miserable time.

Six Years

— 01:42 PM Feb 11, 2009

For me, this downturn started in August of 2001 when I was layed off from the company I had worked at for 21 years. I was shown the door and that was that. For the last six years I have had several jobs, none of which paid what I was getting paid before. I had to live off the savings I had, which is now gone. I had a daughter in 2002. In 2005 we ended up in a shelter because the job I had was just not enough to pay the rent and the bills. We lived in that hellhole for almost two years. I was finally about to get out and find my own place. Yes we live in the SF/Bay Area so it's not cheap. Then I was layed of again. It's been a year since I was layed off and I cannot find a job here. I went back to school in May and that has helped. We are now facing eviction. My only option is to move to Phoenix. I do have some friends there but leaving my home and the area I grew up in will be difficult. I resisted for years but now I am forced to do this. Honestly, our systems is horrible screwed up. I cannot get food stamps or cash aid because I own my car and they view that as an asset and tak it on to what little money I have coming in from unemplyment. By doing that, it puts me over the income limit. I get no child support either. I did no ask for this to happen. I NEVER dreamed of being in the system. However I did pay into that system and should get what I paid for, rather than seeing all the immigrints in the office getting whatever they need. I do believe our President is trying very hard to get us help. It's partisan politics that are keeping it from happening. One side believes Government should be helping, while the other wants governement out of everything. Privatizing does not work. It' creats a bigger mess. Deregulation does not work either. And shipping our jobs overseas has been a disaster. Needless to say, that car I own, that they think is an assest, will be my home soon if something does not happen.

Fortunate but scared to death

— 01:39 PM Feb 11, 2009

I lost my job of 8 yrs in Dec. when the whole company went out of buisness. My husband is fortunately still working- for now. I pray that his job is spared because our newborn baby has been sick since she was born (and I wonder if all the stress at the end of my pregnancy had anything to do with it). The longer they delay the stimulus, the further down this spiral we all go. They need to create jobs, NOW. It might sound Robin Hood-esque of me, but they should take from rich and give to the real working class. They should restrict benefits so that people can no longer abuse the system. If we had all the money that has been spent on the war, we'd all be ok. A system of finite resources will eventually consume itself. Eventually is here- the government needs to stop the suffering of our people before they go meddling in the suffering of other countries. Buy American!

The Ripple Rffect

— 01:39 PM Feb 11, 2009

I have become one of the statistics, laid off on Monday a.m. with four days notice. I have three children 6 and under and my salary is 1/2 of our household income. We were squeaking by as it was, as my husband owns his own business that sells to retail which has experienced an unprecedented contration. Think of all the families, like mine, who now cannot: send kids to preschool, shop for any retail goods beyond the absolute essentials, participate in sports or extracurricular activities; patronize local dry cleaners, restaurants, other service businesses; pay our mortgages and utilities. This is absolutely crippling - not just to the families, but the other familes that own businesses and organizations that were previously supported by those families.

WORRIED MOTHER

— 01:38 PM Feb 11, 2009

When the nation's leaders came together to bail out Wall Street and the banks, few paused to even question the transparency of TARP. WHY -- now that millions of families, school, communities, are facing finicial crisis -- the purse strings have tighten? Yes our nation's furture will have to pay this expense, but the cost of not helping now will be a longer, deeper, and far more painful burden.

Husband lost job

— 01:37 PM Feb 11, 2009

My husband's company was bought out by another company 2 years ago. Now he was laid off, even though he is a great asset, because they are not loyal to the original company's employees. So, unemployed after 25 years! We need to support jobs in this country.

My in-laws are in trouble

— 01:36 PM Feb 11, 2009

My wife's sister's family is in trouble. Her husband has been laid off following an injury, and he may not be able to return to this job, and even though she has a job, they are hurting financially - and they have three kids and a grandchild living at home. Since losing his job, they now have no insurance. In the meantime, their son, who says he is okay, is occasionally coughing blood ... but they cannot afford to send him to the doctor.

Time Is of the Essence

— 01:34 PM Feb 11, 2009

I will be unemployed in October - yes it is strange to be forewarned but when a company is acquired by another that is what happens. So I watch all of this hoping that something is resolved so those out of work are back to work before the next wave hits. And at the same time worrying if it is just the beginning of the tsunami - KNOWING this is the beginning of the tsunami. I worry about the potential for violence as times get tougher. I have lost 48% of my 401k and I am 55 years old so the time to rebuild is drastically reduced. So I build a food storage, plant a garden, stop spending and lay awake at night. Eventually we will all realize that we will have to make the tough decisions - pay our mortgages, pay the credit cards, eat out, move etc. In Denver during the 1980's with the Savings & Loan and Oil crisis you could buy a townhome for $20k that had previously been $100k, the neighborhoods were filled with vacant homes where people had just walked away and you worked two or three jobs and/or moved. I raised a family on $4.25 an hour at a bank in downtown Denver. Surviving on "generic" black & white packaged food. It wasn't until 1992 that my income finally reached @20k and then jumped significantly in the BOOM times here recently....so we did it once we can do it again. Most importantly is to let it fall apart and then rebuild from the lessons learned. Greed does not pay.

community unraveling

— 01:33 PM Feb 11, 2009

The toy store with the train table my kids adored. The mom-and-pop sporting goods store where I bought my first gymsuit (!) and my kids' first wiffleballs. The restaurant where the owner would bring lollipops to my boys when they waved through the windows. All are gone in the last month, closing their doors in the wake of the credit crisis. I am sad for the owners and employees of these businesses, whose opinions I trusted and whose service I valued. My heart aches for their families as they try to figure out what next. And I am sad for my boys, whose community is growing smaller, and who lost forever places they love for reasons they are too young to understand.

Our Lovely World Today

— 01:29 PM Feb 11, 2009

I am 45 yrs old and the mother of 3 sons and a 2 yr old daughter. Everyone (including my husband) has health insurance but me. I have been without insurance for 2 yrs now, because I could not afford to keep the coverage from my former job. I am worried about not keeping up with my yearly woman exams and such. Thank God I am in pretty good health, only thing I have is that anoying hypthyroid. But I worry because, I am down to my last prescription. After that, then what? I cannot afford no $100 dr visit to get a new refill, because the dr is not just going to hand it over to me; they will send me for lab tests, etc. and all that mounts up to more charges I have to pay. I donot have the money for that. So I had a heart to heart with my spouse and told him he would have to take over after I am gone & care for the kids. I know you all think this sounds funny, but to me it is not. While people in my neighborhood are living off welfare, foodstamps, and drive nice expensive cars, my family will be struggling because we are an honest, hard working family. We live paycheck to paycheck, and barely have $$ for groceries. We were told we donot qualify for govt handouts, yet the ones who lie & cheat do. (Do you think maybe I need to learn from them, and follow thier lead?) This stimulus pkg will noway make things better. It will only allow the lazy, freeloaders to keep on being the same.
I hate our world today. And I am not an Obama supporter.

Husband Lost Job

— 01:29 PM Feb 11, 2009

My husband was laid off from his job in October. I also work with a charity that offers emergency assistance. We are seeing 300 more people a month since October because of the economy.

Stimul...us

— 01:29 PM Feb 11, 2009

My imediate family is OK: we have a 14 year old car, a wonderful ancient Volvo, well loved by our local mechanic. We live adjacent to public transportation. My son is in a terriffic school district. Enough money socked away (as of last month) to get him 4 years of State University education. My younger brother, self employed, uninsured, father of 4, died last year. MRSA infection, picked up from an emergency room visit. My older brother, 3 kids still at home,is now unemployed. His wife works 2 full-time jobs. My parents have been bilked out of their life savings by a group that will "sell your house and move you in to our retirement community". It's bad. Very bad. Let's keep together.

Alone

— 01:25 PM Feb 11, 2009

My dad lost all his work in the medical field, as well as his freelance technology work. My mom is a part-time teacher and hardly earns enough for their expenses.

It's true I have no dependants, but at 25 and with major health issues, I'm also totally alone, with no family or husband to help me.

I was unemployed after grad school (over 100,000 in debt from that) for months, and was homeless even as I started a temp job (no, not just couch surfing, literally homeless). At that time I still had my parents' insurance.

Right now I'm employed, but my company is clearly facing trouble, and the abyss is steps away. As it is I earn less than I owe every month, and since I can't find a second job, I don't make it to each paycheck without having to sing on street corners, babysit (which is getting harder to find), and do whatever I can. And without health insurance and the medicines and dcotors I need, I'd be dead within a few months.
And the arts provisions by these evil Republicans would take away my one side source of a few hundred dollars a year where I do my actual passion.

Please, House and Senate, don't murder me with your political games. Save my life and our country.

MIDDLE-AMERICA NEEDS HELP

— 01:23 PM Feb 11, 2009

My son has just lost his job. My daughter recently had her hours cut. One of my brothers was part of a mass layoff after 20 years with his company. He lost his health care. A 61-year-old friend of mine lost both his job and his healthcare. WE need a bailout.

Getting desparate

— 01:19 PM Feb 11, 2009

I am not a young Mom, my kids are adults, but still in college; one living at home with me, and one with my widowed father. My husband is self-employed contractor and I have worked for him, unpaid, for the past ten years. (Prior to that, I worked many years in medical offices.) My son was working for us part-time and living with us while in school, but the recession has caused an 80% - 90% loss of business for us and we can no longer pay my son as an employee, and he cannot find a job with his college schedule. My daughter works full time while still in school, and she has health insurance, but her job doesn’t pay enough to meet all of her bills. So, we are trying to keep the business going on less than 20% of our average income, while still also partially supporting two adult children. I'm behind on my mortgage, behind on my car insurance, behind on my property taxes, have been forced to give up my health insurance due to the high cost of the premiums, and have had to forego making any credit card payments for many months just so we can afford food and utilities (which are also falling behind). So, my once “perfect” credit score is now shot to heck. Since last June I've applied for jobs everywhere I could think of, including temporary agencies, and cannot get a single interview. If things do not improve soon, I could lose my house, our business will go down in flames, and we will have lost everything, with nowhere to go. We will be forced to live in our vehicles in a parking lot somewhere.

I'm still working, BUT

— 01:18 PM Feb 11, 2009

I'm a local truck driver. For the past few months, I've been forced to take at least one day off each week (that's why I'm at home typing this, instead of delivering your copy paper, or bottled water). Now, we're at a point where we're taking a day off AND having one short day each week. I know the banks needed help to keep the whole economy from collapsing, but that first $350 billion hasn't helped me or my co-workers. If Senator McConnell's home finance plan were to be implemented, we could refinance tomorrow and save enough in interest payments so that we could last thru the rest of this year. We, the real workers of America, need help now. not next year, NOW. Stop the partisan politics and send us some relief.

Hungry for help

— 01:17 PM Feb 11, 2009

I have one hundred dollars in my savings account, and I am 54 years old. No health care, with a 26 year old son that has come back to live in my one room studio with me.

Jennifer

— 01:17 PM Feb 11, 2009

I wanted to add - student loan forgiveness should have been in the stimulus package. Now that I'm back at work I can no longer defer my $46,000 loan. I'm working at a job that a high school graduate is qualified for. Why did I go to college?

American Dream???

— 01:11 PM Feb 11, 2009

I moved to Los Angeles, CA from my hometown of Buenos Aires looking for a steady economy where to build a family. Fourteen years later, I realize that the strongest economic power in the world is just as unteady as any third world country.

My husband just got his work week reduced to 32 hours a week. I know we can still consider ourselves lucky because he does have a job.

Two years ago I left my full time job as a Graphic designer so that I could be able to spend some time with my two children and do something that would make a difference in my community. I opened an organic produce market to help also support local agricultute and sustainable farming. I did OK until December 08. Now it is just imposible to keep the doors open and I'm stuck with a huge debt, no chance to re-finance or get any kind of loans to keep going.
After 14 years in the US, we are back at square one: trying to figure out how to pay the rent every month.

Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful for all the chances I have had here in the US. We need a strong middle class! We need our jobs!

Since 1981----recession

— 01:10 PM Feb 11, 2009

I am sick of barely getting by. One job to another NO BENEFITS hostile to the point of illness. Is this Americia ?
I was paid like crap treated worse.
I have tons of debt that i believed i would find a better job and pay NO I GOT HARRASED MOBBED BULLIED
Fix American JOBS NOW
we are all suffering

No Job, Lost my house, lost my 401K, Bankruptcy need I say more?

— 01:08 PM Feb 11, 2009

Any chance I can afford health insurance? You must be kidding. Thank God my kids are grown, and my 86 year old mother is in relatively good health. I am 64, and this is not the way life was supposed to be when I reached retirement.

And the Republicans want to help my family by giving me tax cuts?? Gee thanks!

Woe is me!

— 01:08 PM Feb 11, 2009

My husband's job was lost after the grocery chain he worked for for 21 years went out of business...I have been disabled with MS and am not working...my son had to move to Texas for a job even with a 4 yeardegree from the University of Michigan...my parents lost their home to foreclosure last November and are now relocated to Texas and are renting with their meager social security checks ... 40 year-old brother also lost his home and remains destitute,,,none of us have healthcare anymore, and we are all hard working people with a combined century of work experience. We have an adjustable rate mortgage and cannot refinance because of our SECOND mortgage. My husband is going to school to become a nurse now, and gets some unemployment. We keep the faith, but we need help! Please do something! Millions of us are going through this...

A friend of mine has lost her insurance...

— 01:07 PM Feb 11, 2009

I work with a woman who has lost her insurance through the company we work at because she is working two hours less than what the policy mandates and allows for a person to get insurance. She and I both work at minimum wage at this job, and both had to pay a majority of our income to pay for terrible insurance that hardly covers any expenses at all. It is even harder for her now, being a recent divorce with sole custody of her three children, living in a run down apartment downtown, and not even being able to qualify for government assistance due to guidelines suggesting that ownership of two vehicles is grounds for disqualification in California. She is nearing her forties now and needs a lot of checkups but now is unable to due to the recent loss of insurance. As a young mother of two, with a husband that works at a job that has no benefits available I worry that I may be next and that my one and three year old daughters won't be able to get the checkups they need if I loose my insurance. With the failing economy, my retail job may be cutting my hours to the point I may loose my insurance too. Please help... I don't know what to do...

Fund the Arts, Schools, Zoos, Museums

— 01:06 PM Feb 11, 2009

Dianne Feinstein supported the coburn amendment, that guts the WPA type projects that we desperately need funding. The cut of 55 million from preservation funding also is unsustainable, as preservation is the most "green" development. Ive been unemployed for 7 months, my wife is paying the bills, and we have used up our funds on healthcare, and afterschool programs, that all are targeted at cuts. We rent, but rental prices are just insane, and getting into the mortgage market is a joke. Without true affordable rental housing (that provides families with options) and public works projects that provide ammenities to these urban communities nationwide, we only see more sprawl, and funding for banks and ceo's that profiteer from this madness. Demand funding for kids, schools, public works projects, preservation, RENTAL housing, and a future urban revival so that unemployed architects are seen as the civil servants needed to fix these problems.

laid off - maybe twice in one year

— 01:05 PM Feb 11, 2009

I was laid off last May from my job at a small environmental testing lab. After losing our house, our car, and most of our belongings (we sold them to pay our bills) we moved in with my mother in law. After six months of desperate searching I finally took my job from 6 years ago back, at half the pay I was making in May. Now the lab I work for is facing budget cuts from the university. The director informed us last week that if they make the proposed cut he will have to close the lab. I've given up trying to pay my bills. If I lose my job again I will just have to file bankruptcy and go on welfare (if there is any welfare left). My husband and I have already given up our plans to have a second child, a fact which breaks my heart everytime I see a baby. My husband I and together barely make a living wage - we are both highly educated with years of experience. We need jobs that will last more than a year!

LAY OFF

— 01:05 PM Feb 11, 2009

I'm 62 and got the pink slip. My hubby is disabled and I find it overwhelming to go out and look for employment at my age. Companies are all cutting back and pretty much offering per diem work, low pay and no benefits. We need Congress to get with the program and help the common folks get a health care plan for everyone.

Lucky to still have a job

— 01:04 PM Feb 11, 2009

I consider myself lucky to still have my job. Everyone at the company I work for had to take a 10% pay cut in order to keep his or her job about 2 months ago. 10% may not seem like much, but when you are already paycheck to paycheck, it is just even more difficult... But, like I said, I am one of the lucky ones - there are many others who are out trying to find jobs that just don't exist anymore. Congress needs to step in and do something to help quickly!!

landlords: where Main St meets Wall St

— 01:04 PM Feb 11, 2009

I am a landlord with quality, affordable properties that are vacant... people can't afford to rent. Many have found alternatives--living with friends or relatives, 'squatting' in a foreclosed home or rental--so immersed in their own story that there's no empathy for the poor sap landlord who's trying to pay the mortgage. Investment properties represent one area where Main St. meets Wall St. and small investors are not doing well. Many landlords are barely making it and don't have the resource to carry others through this recession. Refinancing to bring the mortgage payments down--to bring the rents down--is difficult in this highly restricted lending market. It's outside the realm of most people's experience (including my own) to comprehend how common people and national governments around the world have been scammed by the wealthiest, most powerful global cartels--the masterminds and puppeteers that have ransomed our lives for multi-trillions/a quadrillion dollars of wealth and power for themselves... on the backs of national governments and working people who are suffering around the world. They are a cancer that turns our life force against us. We work to build the economy and they take the wealth faster than we build (or rebuild), and who's to stop them?

Lost my job too

— 01:01 PM Feb 11, 2009

just another single mid-30s technology project manager who lost her job. i have 10+ yrs experience, 35K in student loans, a mortgage and 1 month in savings.

should be fun.

Loss of Technology Jobs and Need for Uniform, Portable Health Care Coverage

— 12:59 PM Feb 11, 2009

I was recently laid off from my job at a large hard drive manufacturer. 187 people lost their job along with me that day, many of them older individuals with years of experience working for this company. For now, my husband still has his job, also in technology, but we are concerned as there have also been large layoffs at his company. We both have medical problems, are in our 50s and are very concerned about finding health insurance if he loses his job. I am currently trying to find a friend whose husband recently died of cancer a way to pay his medical bills as well as locate health insurance that she can afford. Our jobs are going to other countries because these countries have health insurance plans that mean the companies do not have to spend as much money to provide those things and can operate cheaply there. It is a disgrace that the richest country in the world cannot provide uniform coverage for its people.

got the pink slip

— 12:55 PM Feb 11, 2009

have a dear friend whose husband lost his job Dec. 1st and has had no luck since. Her children want to help but it is hard to take the handout. We need to get our counrty back to work before this becomes a real depression in the government's eyes, not just ours! Cut the prok fat, the unnecessary payouts that don't help families, the housing and jobs. Stick to helping THE PEOPLE OF THIS COUNTRY FIRST, then maybe we can help car companies, stock companies, etc.!!!

Unemployment

— 12:52 PM Feb 11, 2009

My father lost his job in the computer industry.

One more person trying not to be in a panic

— 12:51 PM Feb 11, 2009

I worked for a non profit, often spending money out of my own pocket to pay for supplies because I believed the program was worth that level of commitment. Then, without warning I was fired, and the organization is fighting my unemployment. I know there are others out there in much worse shape than I, but, it's difficult not to be scared about finding a job to pay the bills. I'm okay this month, but can see the edge of the cliff from where I stand. As is often said, Congress, it's time to lead, follow, or get out of the way!!

Keep Americans Employed

— 12:50 PM Feb 11, 2009

I am a single mother of 2 and will soon lose my technology job to outsourcing overseas. As if it isn't enough that almost everyone over here, in Technology, is from India or of Indian descent, now their sending our jobs over there. That's not good business, that's greed. I have a bachelor's and a master's degree, but what good are they? They can't pay my mortgage or feed my babies. My children are on my ex's insurance, but I will be without. Finding another job will not be easy, and if I do, it will more than likely be for less money than I make now. I want to start my own business, but that's not going to be profitable overnight. It's a darn shame when you have people who want to work (not just need to) but can't. Government needs to make outsourcing less appealing to American companies. Perhaps even severely penalize companies who send skilled labor out of the country.

I didn't know how fortunate I was--

— 12:49 PM Feb 11, 2009

After reading all of the previous stories I now realize how fortunate I am. As a disabled widow and because of my chronic health problems I know I am only one hospitilization away from losing everything. But I have now seen how the rest of America suffers--How anyone with children or other dependents manage is difficult to fathom...I pray for you all that you will receive what you need to make it through this nation wide crisis.

Never thought it would happen to me

— 12:48 PM Feb 11, 2009

I was laid off from my job on Oct 30 last year, they told me that day not to come in the next day, talk about short notice! I'm a single mom to 2 kids, only get $60 a week in child support, and my unemployment check is for only 46% of what I was grossing on the job. I can't get any extra for my kids because, get this, my income was too low! What's wrong with that picture? So now I am getting not even enough money per month to pay my bills, yet I get more in food stamps that the 3 of us can possibly use. So we have plenty to eat like royalty, yet we can't use any of that leftover funds to buy necessities like toilet paper, soap, people with babies can't buy diapers. Something needs reconfigured here. They told me at the job and family services office I qualify for cash assistance but they would in turn take my child support to offset it, so what's the point? I can't pay my electric bill, but I can afford to buy enough steaks to feed half my neighborhood! Fortunately my boyfriend and parents have been helping me out, or I'd have gone under months ago. I have no savings to speak of, living paycheck to paycheck before the layoff like so many others. Not everyone is so lucky. Good luck to everyone out there!

Lay off... then what?

— 12:46 PM Feb 11, 2009

I was laid off from my job, unexpectedly. I had a mortgage that I paid myself for 10 years and I care for my elderly mom. Fortunately, my story has a happy ending. I was engaged to be married at the time that I was laid off. A late life marriage - I waited to meet "the one." My husband planned our shot gun wedding of the 21st century kind - for health insurance. We moved the date up from July to April. We got married in our living room.

Then the fun began. I had to prepare my house and sell it... fast. We had one income and 2 mortgages, it was sending us into financial ruin.

My mom, the cat and I moved in to my husbands house with my new mother in law. Oh boy. It was a rocky road.

I was borderline depressed from not having a job and feeling like my mother in law was judging me every moment of every day. I cried a lot when I was alone and wondered how I was going to lift myself up.

Fortunately, I started to exercise and eat right. I look for a job every day while I keep my mind sharp and my body fit. There's no time to sit and feel sorry for myself because there's always someone in a worse situation.

I help people and I smile a lot. I walk tall. I believe in myself and know that my new job is being discussed somewhere in a boardroom right now.

All we need is for the stimulus package to go through so that there are jobs for all of us unemployed.

We have to help everyone... even the Realtors like Carolyn.

Stuck and overwhelmed

— 12:46 PM Feb 11, 2009

My husband and I bought a 730sq ft. condo in 2005 at the peak of the market. At the time it was the best we could find and it fit the two of us perfectly. We bought at the top of our budget, but we made sure we could afford our monthly payments (mortgage + HOA runs us about $2200 a month). Fast forward 3 years, a dog and a baby later and we're out of room and out of luck. Our condo is now worth HALF of what it was and we are stuck in a house that is too small for our growing family. Our down payment is gone. We can't sell, we can't rent it out for close to the monthly payments, but we're not eligible for any assistance because we're not behind in our payments. Add to this that we now make about 35% less than we were 3 years ago-- I've taken a 25% pay cut to cut down on childcare costs and my husband's company has cut everyone's salary by 10% .

We're hurting and I'm losing sleep because we can't get out from under this condo. I feel so frustrated that so much of the "bail out" does little to nothing to help us out.

Why Graduate?

— 12:46 PM Feb 11, 2009

After five years of hard work and diligence I will complete graduate school at a state college in California. I have already been advised that despite my numerous awards and honors, 3.9 GPA, experience teaching and committee work, good attitude and extremely high Student Evaluation scores (on my teaching) that there is no chance for me to be hired by the college. My department is facing 30 percent cuts despite crowded classrooms and students who are left without needed classes. Education is in a crisis and needs support!

I have two children and my husband works in construction. We toss and turn every night—there is no rest for us in this economic climate. The entire construction industry in our Central California town is dead. People my husband has formerly employed, his friends and former business relations, come to our front door every day hoping for work. We are hanging on by the skin of our teeth, but worse than that is that the future that we have worked so hard for is lost. The construction industry can not endure more delays in fixing this lending/credit crisis!

My twins were born with some health problems, and if wasn't for CA Healthy Families our family would be bankrupt, and on welfare. We are so thankful for this option, but my husband and I can no longer afford health care, and if something were to happen to us right now-I can't even let myself imagine. Americans need affordable health care!

We are college educated, hard working, family oriented people who have put in 7 days a week for many years now in order to stay afloat. This is not the America I know and love. Shame on the Republicans who have showed zero support for this bill. Shame on the bankers whose corruption has killed our dreams of the future. Shame on the financial industry whose reckless gambling has caused this decline. American families are suffering. Republicans need to stop and think about their own parties contributions to this mess, and stop playing games. Vote to support this bill NOW!
Help us please!

Unemployed Twice

— 12:45 PM Feb 11, 2009

My husband lost his job in two separate architect firms twice this last year, 6 months apart. We had savings which we lived on while he was out of work for 3 months, then he worked for 3 months and was laid off again. He is one of the lucky ones here in North Idaho. He managed to find a framing job for the next month through a labor ready program. He has a Master's degree in Architecture and is working for $8 an hour. I went back to work but I do not make enough to pay all our bills. We are scraping the bottom of the barrel and I don't know what we'll do after this month. We are in an ARM that we can't get out of, due to the fact that my husband is not really employed anywhere. Where is my loan forgiveness? Why can't we just pay what our house is worth at a reasonable interest rate for a reasonable amount of time? Why do we have to pay so much for health insurance? We are lucky because we are all healthy and our cars are paid for. Our only loans are our ARM mortgage and our student loans. I want forgiveness for our student loans also, as my husband and I cannot work in the fields we went to school for. This country needs to change and we need to get rid of paying our Senators and Representatives. A leadership position needs to be a volunteer position. No paycheck whatsoever. To all out there in our position, hang on to the truths that you know: God, Family and Friends.

— 12:43 PM Feb 11, 2009

i lost a good job with health insurance due to serious illness. after i recovered, it took two years to find a part time job with no benefits. i worry about losing that job every day. less money coming in, no health insurance and a pile of major medical expenses i can't pay. well. life could be worse but this is bad enough. i expect it to get worse. washington, especially the obama administration isn't living up to the hype of the campaign. it's business as usual with them. what a disappointment for the country. and a danger to america.

single mom - about to lose everything

— 12:43 PM Feb 11, 2009

I have already been laid off and I'm finding a hard time trying to get a new job partly due to my age (oh sure, I should lie about it but I am an honest person). I am ineligible for unemployment and am about to lose everything. I'm doing contract work right now and need insurance for myself and my kid. We're doing all we can to remain hopeful, but it's getting harder every day. I worked for over 30 years - is this the thanks I get?

Husband asked to take early retirement.

— 12:43 PM Feb 11, 2009

My husband has worked for the same company for 26 years. Friday he received a package for "Voluntary Separation Agreement", along with 250 employees who have over 20 years with the company. My husband is 60 years old, and it will be very difficult for him to find another job. My employer has cut me to one day a week also. The package does give him a good severance pay which will pay off all our bills except our Mortgage, but we will not have any other income. Because of the wording on the agreement I don't think he will be eligible for unemployment. We are so worried because we don't know how we are going to live. If he doesn't take the package, since the company is downsizing he would most likely be laid off and then receive no severance. So were in a rock and a hard place. We need the stimulus package asap, but at our age, I don't think it's going to be much help for us. He has 5 years before he can collect Social Security.

the vulnerable

— 12:41 PM Feb 11, 2009

My pastor, ministering at a small church plant of a larger, established congregration, was just fired. He and his wife have a special needs child with ongoing medical expenses, and are expecting their third child. At this crucial time the church has terminated their salary, along with, of course, their insurance benefits.

Real people need real help. Now. Daddies, mommies, big sisters, special needs kids, and unborn little babies who need a safe world to enter where the people who want to care for them, can.

Make it happen.

My ETS date is coming up, and I don't have a choice

— 12:40 PM Feb 11, 2009

I am a single mother, and I would love to get out of the Army so that I don't have to risk being deployed away from my son, but I cannot get a job outside of the Army that pays enough to pay my bills. I have served my country, but now I want to move on to the next portion of my life for the sake of my son. Because of the economic situation, I don't have that choice. This is supposed to be an all volunteer Army, but it doesn't feel that way to me. Not anymore.

newly single Mom struggles

— 12:38 PM Feb 11, 2009

I've been separated from my husband since last June. I needed some time to recover from some health issues so I didn't start applying for jobs till August. Until the last two and half years, I have worked all my life. I have two kids 7 and 2.5 so I can't take jobs that require a flexible schedule. I have a BS and a BA in science and have put out over 35 applications and resumes. Not one call back. Not one. Thank goodness for state benefits. My kids and I are finally insured after 5 years without. My oldest had 4 cavities at her first dentist visit ever this last summer. I keep applying and keep trying. But I am also planting a good sized garden and plan on preserving as much as I can. I am all about being frugal but I do some income to make any of it work!

— 12:37 PM Feb 11, 2009

The impact on me has been minimal, luckily. But I am a single mother of a very young child, working 9-10 hours a day, to make just enough money to pay the bills. There is no room for anything else. Although my company offfers health insurance, I can't afford it. My daughter is covered by her father's policy, but I'm going without.

How I was affected was the fear. I was offered a merit position with a local government agency, full benefits, working only 30 hours per week, with a 15% pay increase. All but a dream job. Then the news comes about the state economy. With absolutely no sense of security about that position, I had no choice but to decline. Better to stay in a second rate job that I know I will have tomorrow than take that risk.

This cannot continue.

No jobs, no health care

— 12:37 PM Feb 11, 2009

My wife and I are both laid off from work. Unemployment insurance is running out, heating bills are out of sight, and unemployment here in Indiana is close to the highest in the country.

Too many things taken out of the Senate version

— 12:36 PM Feb 11, 2009

I read last night that the Senate version took so many things out of the Economic Stimulus Bill. Not enough money for us but the banks, it is ok. They took out a lot for education, sounds like they took out a lot for even the main reason we need this bill, creating jobs, not giving enough money to the States to help with Medicaid and Food Stamps. The Economic Stimulus Bill will not help Americans if they take out what they plan to take out.

yeah, me too...

— 12:32 PM Feb 11, 2009

My position (considered to be self-employed) ended the last day of December. The way it works is I have to continue to do some work but I don't get paid for it - and I don't qualify for unemployment because of the self-employed status.
We sold the car last summer and haven't had insurance for about a year. We can still pay the rent and buy groceries and pay the utilities/etc. - and expect to be able to for another two months. I hope the stimulous comes through quick because after that who knows what will happen!

Losing work

— 12:32 PM Feb 11, 2009

My husband is an owner-operator truck driver hauling steel, and work has slowed tremendously in the past few months. He has been doing this for almost 15 years and has never experienced it this slow before. He's considered self-employed, getting his dispatch from a small company that manages about 10 trucks. The past few months there's only been work for about 2 or 3 trucks at a time, so he sits a lot. Because he's an owner-operator he doesn't get paid if he sits.

Also, we had our 2nd daughter this past summer and I was considering becoming a stay at home mom because I would love to be able to stay with our girls. However, I carry the insurance and if I quit we'd have to pay our own way. I only dropped down to 32 hrs/wk to keep the insurance and am very glad I did now. We would really be struggling if we didn't have my income and the insurance, but this isn't where I wanted to be. I want to be able to raise my girls and there's no way we could afford that in this economy.

I'm doing what I can

— 12:31 PM Feb 11, 2009

My brother lost his job over eight months ago. He finally bit the bullet and moved in with me, my wife and two kids at the beginning of the year and is continuing to look for work. I'm glad that I can do something to help at least one person in need. His biggest expense is COBRA which is eating his savings to nearly nothing. Without it, he would have had nothing months ago. We truly need a change to our system. Savings should be hard-times, not healthcare.

Terrified of losing Job and Health Insurance

— 12:30 PM Feb 11, 2009

I am a handicapped senior widow and am terrified of losing my job and health insurance. I am able and willing to work but could not survive long without the insurance. SS is not enough to live on with major medical issues. How on earth did this country allow all the stealing and mismanagement to happen. I also want to know why the culprits that are known to be guilty of embezzlement and fraud are not in prison!!

lost my job, too!

— 12:28 PM Feb 11, 2009

I was just laid off from my job at the end of January. I was given a 4 day notice, and because of the way they calculate unemployment, I won't qualify for even half of what I was making. My husband and I lived paycheck to paycheck as it was before I lost my job. I can't afford health insurance, and our family car is becoming increasingly unreliable. We have a five year old, and at this point, we've had to dip into all of our savings and have started to build up our credit card balances just to pay for food and gas. I've never been unemployed, and all I keep hearing about are more local and regional layoff's. That is just going to saturate what little of a job market there is around here. I don't want to lose our home, I can't save for college or retirement...etc. I'm trying to remain optimistic, but our American Dream seems to be slipping right through our fingers. I'm ready for things to change!

What will we do?

— 12:28 PM Feb 11, 2009

My son, who will turn 25 in July, will lose his health insurance from my job, and he has a chronic and life-threatening condition. The only thing that keeps him in remission are infusions every 6 weeks (like chemotherapy) and our co-pay, even with Blue Cross/Blue Shield, is $600+. He was refused treatment in December when the bill got too high for me to manage, and he ended up in the hospital. Without coverage, my son will not be able to work or go to school. He is just a kid, and is trying to start his life. He waits tables, makes excellent grades, even while trying to keep this condition, which is very painful and debilitating, under control. We desparately need help. Please help us.

Retirement delayed

— 12:27 PM Feb 11, 2009

While both my husband and I are lucky enough to still have jobs and health care we have lost retirement savings and we are both in our 60s. We also had been planning on purchasing a condo to retire to but the bank and mortgage debacle has resulted in a lawsuit with the builder and bank. Also, our stellar credit rating that we had built up over the years has fallen. I try to remain hopeful that we can ultimately afford retirement and that the lawsuit will be decided in our favor. I fear for the elderly loosing everything they worked for in this economy.

Good friend's husband loses job

— 12:27 PM Feb 11, 2009

My good friend's husband lost his job and his bonus when he was laid off one month prior to getting his bonus at the end of December 2008. My friend and her husband had been relying on her husband's income while she went back to school to become a ELL (English Language Learner) specialized teacher. My friend may now very well have to change her educational plans and they could possibly lose their home because of the lack of jobs in the Sacramento, CA area.

"Welcome to the ranks of the underemployed...."

— 12:27 PM Feb 11, 2009

My company -- a small technical firm located in upstate NY -- is one of those hit by the rising level of chaos. We were recently called together and told, "You may notice that there are fewer people here than came in this morning: we had to lay off a bunch of folks today. You guys are the survivors, and the future of the company".

Sounds good for me, right? Except that they followed it up with, "Things are still really tight, which means that we need to cut salaries across the board. Effective almost immediately, we're moving to a 32-hour work week, which means that everyone will be taking a 20% cut in pay."

Don't get me wrong. Being UNDERemployed, but still taking home some of my pay and getting health care coverage for my family, beats being UNemployed. But a 20% pay cut after years of not quite keeping up with inflation and not *quite* having to live paycheck to paycheck means my home and my family is now at real risk. And there's no guarantee that tomorrow they won't come back and say, "Well, that didn't work. Here's your hat, and we'll send you the contents of your desk real soon."

We need help. And we need it soon.

House, job, and health-care loss

— 12:27 PM Feb 11, 2009

I lost my house in January 2008. I was laid-off from my job of 17 years in October 2008. I then lost COBRA in January of 2009 (not that I could have afforded it too much longer anyway) because of a glitch AND the fact that all calls to the COBRA administrator, a company located in Georgia, go to their call center in India!! I am so sick of these congressmen and legislators who have no idea what real life is like for most of us. The President does, I believe, and thankfully, I am from NJ, and I believe my representatives are doing right by me. But there are many others who have no clue and do not even care. They care about positioning themselves for the 2010 elections. Shameful.

EMBARRESSED TO BE AMERICAN

— 12:26 PM Feb 11, 2009

IT IS AMAZING HOW SWIFTLY THE BAIL OUT FOR WALLSTREET HAPPENED, AND NOW WE WAIT WEEK AFTER WEEK FOR A BAIL OUT FOR MAIN STREET. ITS PAINFUL AND SHAMEFUL TO SEE WHAT THIS COUNTRY HAS COME TO.

We can't make it.

— 12:26 PM Feb 11, 2009

I'm lucky. I still (as of now) have a job. My husband has a job. We have 2 children, 5 and 3. Daycare costs us $1400 a month, and after food and gas, we have nothing left. I was out of work for 3 years (2004-2007). We are so far in debt, we will never get out. Our house has been foreclosed and we have six weeks to move.

Where is the help? Where is someone to give US a break? Why do the big banks get infusions of cash in the billions, but families are literally out in the street? Where is MY loan forgiveness? Where is the help to pay for daycare expenses?

It's a sad, sad day when I am worth more on my life insurance than I am, alive. I wonder if I'll get lucky and have an accident so my family can pay off our debts.

Pregnant and working

— 12:24 PM Feb 11, 2009

I just wanted to add that I have been struggling as the only person in the house with a 'day-job' (provides health insurance) and I'm 7 weeks from delivering a baby. I will have some time off for maternity, but it will not be paid, which is going to hurt us.

I'm at a company who employs 2/3 of what it did last year and stability doesn't feel very stable.

It feels almost like I'll have to just hand my baby over to someone else much sooner than I am ready to sustain the families needs and I cry about this many times a week. My husband is spending insane hours a day trying to make some money with a new side business he started when his contracts at Microsoft dried up.

I wish I could take care of my baby without putting my family in financial 'danger'.

Unemployed then underemployed

— 12:24 PM Feb 11, 2009

When the housing market crashed, my partner lost his job last March after working in land development for engineering firms for several years. He wasn't able to find another job in his area. He moved across country with me for my new job this summer and looked for four more months, applying to everything he could find, before he finally got hired to do patient billing by a local hospital through a temp agency. He's a college graduate making $9/hour (no benefits), and it's all going to school loans and paying off the credit card debt accumulated while he was unemployed. And he's one of the lucky ones who managed to find another job!

Thankful for savings but anxious about long term

— 12:24 PM Feb 11, 2009

I lost my job on Dec 8, 2008. I was previously the primarily wage earner in my family. With a Master's Degree and 15 year experience in IT Project Management and Sales Engineering I thought I was safe. My husband and I both came from paycheck to paycheck blue collar families so we did a good job of saving and living in our means so we have about 6 months worth of cash on hand to get us through this crisis but since I have had no solid leads in 2 months of looking, my anxiety level is increasing. My husband is a self employed handyman so with my job loss also went our retirement savings and healthcare. I did buy an individual family plan for us but the cost of that is depleting our savings even more. Last week I took my children to the dentist for their semi-annual check ups and paid out of pocket but my husband and I are postponing our routine exams. Thankfully we are all healthy at this point.

I fear we will be one of those families in 6 months that can't stay in their house and can't sell it. After 9 years here we should have equity but with housing prices falling and other foreclosures in the neighborhood, I doubt we could sell for what we owe and we are 9 years into a 15 year mortgage. We put $1000 towards principle every month so if we are upside down I can imagine what is happening to those with 30 year mortgages and less time in their homes.

I think I am frustrated because I did the things the "experts" recommend. Plenty of savings, 10% down on our home, no credit card debt but even with all that we are 6 months away from being homeless.

Family Members suffering with economic crisis

— 12:23 PM Feb 11, 2009

My sister-in-law was diagnosed in September 08 with a brain tumor. She had the tumor removed in November 08, and has been recovering since, but she still has a way to go. Her husband, the sole provider for their family of four, lost his job last week, and with it went their health insurance. My sister-in-law now faces months of MRIs and possible radiation treatment if the entire tumor wasn't successfully removed, and all without insurance. The COBRA cost for a family of 4 for them is about $1200 a month. How are they supposed to afford COBRA with no income? My husband and I are living paycheck to paycheck as it is and can offer no more assistance than a sympathetic ear and maybe a dinner invite here and there. We thank our lucky stars my job was not cut two weeks ago when my company underwent a round of layoffs because we would have been hurting plenty then. Seems like everyone I know has been forced to cut something and are skimping by as best they can. Some people are okay, while others are limping along. We need help, and we need it now.

Single mother trying to get a higher education

— 12:21 PM Feb 11, 2009

My sister who is currently trying to improve her situation through higher education, working part-time is about to lose her home. Paying for gas to get to school, three children, mortgage, heating costs, and working for minimum wage. THis is just a no win situation. She's trying to make a better life for her family, facing unreasonable odds.

Wow--it's come to this...

— 12:20 PM Feb 11, 2009

We were just able to refinance our house--thank goodness--and lower our payment somewhat. I went and applied for food stamps today. I can't believe it's come to that. I have a master's degree in social work. My husband just got his law degree and is searching for his first job. When the markets tanked this fall, we lost the savings cushion we had that helped us cover bills each month. And my IRA lost 50% of its value. Good thing I'm years from retirement, but really how long will it take to recover what I lost? So I'm applying for food stamps because although we are getting by so far, I'm counting days till pay day when I can go food shopping again. I've never done that in my life. But I've got 3 kids now and obviously there needs to be food on the table for them, even if it means submitting to bureaucratic indignities at the Department of Human Services! Really, I'm grateful for what we have and for our health, but we are struggling and our leaders need to step up and give a damn about the majority of Americans.

Single (and unexpectedly pregnant) mother of two, writer, facing financial ruin

— 12:08 PM Feb 11, 2009

A Columbia graduate and writer/reporter for more than two decades (The
Washington Post, US News & World Report, etc.), I am recently
divorced, with two young children (7 and 5)--and an utterly unexpected
pregnancy. Since having children, I have made a living as a freelance
magazine writer and book author (see link below). But as providence
would have it, the downturn began just as the divorce proceedings did,
and it became extremely difficult to make a living this way, with
advertisers dropping out of magazines and publishers putting moratoria
on book acquisitions because of the banking crisis. To make matters
worse, my ex-husband's business as a technology and media consultant
has suffered, making child support payments extremely low, essentially
enough only to cover groceries.

I am scraping by on a week-to-week basis. Since my main goal is to pay
my mortgage, other bills go unpaid: gas, electric, certainly credit
cards. My credit score, which had been damaged badly by my ex-husband
(he had defaulted payments on our previous mortgages and car payments,
both of whose titles had been in my name), is below bottom-floor now.
I actually qualify for food stamps now. The only thing keeping me from
going through with the application process is the encouragement of my
literary agent, who believes she can sell my book proposal. We'll see.
In the meantime, I'll have to apply for government-assisted health
insurance for the baby, who is due in early May.

The convergence of my divorce and the economic fiasco has meant my
virtual financial ruin--after 20 years of supporting myself and, for
the past seven and change, my family. I never, in my wildest dreams,
expected this. But here I am.

We lost Our Health Care and Our Home

— 11:51 AM Feb 11, 2009

My husband lost his job and was unable to get another until 3 1/2 months later. And then it wasn't in mangement. We lost our insurance and I was diagnosed with Cancer. I was offered surgery but not chemotherapy. I was told the cost would be too prohibitive. We lost our home and we only had 8 years until it would completely have been paid for.

Have we been forsaken?

— 11:19 AM Feb 11, 2009

I know first-hand what it's like to be left flapping in the breeze and no help coming. Almost three years ago my husband and I lost our home of 13 years in a mortgage-fraud scam. We were attempting to re-finance so we could make repairs, instead our home was literally stolen from us. My husband's signature was forged and documents duplicated to make it look as if we had sold it. The FBI is supposedly investigating and we won a judgement in our favor in civil-court, but have never recovered one penny. In the meantime the people who committed this fraud against us are still 'out there' conducting 'business as usual'.
At the time this happened, our daughter and infant granddaughter were living with us. Because we had a time frame to leave our home, we were unable to find housing big enough for all of us, so our daughter was forced to go on public assistance. She is now working and going to colege, to get out of that rut, but she has no health insurance and there have also been times when our grandchild has been un-insured as well. (As a matter of fact, out of our 3 children, 2 children-in-law and 2 grand-children, only 3 have health insurance. That's 3 out of seven!)
There is something wrong with a system that allows people to steal the homes of others and put them on the street and into public assistance, but does nothing to stop these criminals, who are left to keep committing this crime on others.
An economic stimulus is definately needed, but we need to be sure that the ones who really need it, who really deserve it, are getting it.

Not too bad...yet

— 11:12 AM Feb 11, 2009

Just over a year ago, my husband and I decided to move so that I could take a significant promotion. It meant that he was going to have to give up his decent job, but we figured if he could find anything close to what he was making, we'd be OK.

He's been looking for over a year, and he rarely gets any calls back on his resume. He took a job that was many steps down in both pay and responsibility from the one he had before we moved. And that was easy to get because he's working for the company that I work for. He's a college graduate and has 10 years work experience, but there's just not enough work out there.

We're hanging on by a thread. If I lose my job, unemployment won't come close to covering our bills -- we barely make it as it is. At this rate, we'll never have children because we'll never be able to support them.

Recession hurts everyone.

— 11:01 AM Feb 11, 2009

My husband and I were born and raised in Seattle, WA and had hoped that that is were our kids would be too. Unfortunately my husband's job took that away from us. He had been employed by an architect firm for almost 10 years and I by an art school for about 6 years. We had our first son in 2004 and due to an extremely hard pregnancy I had to leave my job. At the same time my husband was given the choice to either lose his job or go on a work-share program. I was about 6 months pregnant. We chose the work-share program so that we could keep our health insurance but earning half of our regular pay check was extremely hard. We were lucky enough to have some money invested and had to make the decision to take some out in order to pay our bills and keep our house. Within the next year he was put back as a full-time employee but things didn't get better. For the next three years we did not see a bonus and the raises my husband received were so minimal that they did not cover the raise in our health insurance. In 2006 our health care was raised by $250 per month. How do you pay this when things are already tight? In 2006 we decided to have our second and last child so that I could look at going back to work after her birth. While I was pregnant with her I continued the free-lance work I had been doing since the birth of my son but it just wasn't enough. When I was about 3 months pregnant with her my husband's employer yet again gave us the choice of unemployment or work-share while we were also paying $1001 a month for health care coverage for the family. Needless to say we became scared. At this point he/we knew he needed to find a new job. Although the job he found was in Washington DC. We did everything we could to stay in Seattle were both our families lived but in the end we knew if we stayed that by the time my daughter was born that he would probably not have a job. Thus when she was 7 days old we flew out found a house and when she was 6 weeks old our family of four moved as far as we could have from everything we knew. It was one of the scariest things I have ever done and I miss our families so much and wish my daughter knew her grandparents and cousins but we finally have some security. I hope when the kids are older they will understand why we left and why we made the choices we did but I also hope they never have to make this choice. That they never have to debate paying for health care or their mortgage or how to buy new shoes for growing feet. Both my husband and I are college graduates. We were always told if you went to college you would get the better job, earn more money and make a future for your family. I wonder every day now if we can really do this. We are lucky enough now to feel stable but I worry that it could go away any day and I hate the decision that we had to leave our families to give our kids what they need. I will continue to fight for affordable health care, for equal pay and for my children's future.

We Need a Better Safety Net

— 11:00 AM Feb 11, 2009

So far my family has been spared feeling the full effects of this financial crisis, and I count my blessings. My husband has a stable job that is unlikely to be cut any time soon.

However, we have lost our feeling of security. We never had an emergency savings account. We have some investments but their value has plummeted. We always thought, if he lost his job, we could always sell the house -- we had made somemoney on it, but that has also dropped to nothing, and we may be underwater soon. That leaves -- credit cards, should we get in a bind. ANd I'm hearing that as soon as people lose their jobs, the first thing the credit card companies are doing, is cutting back on your credit limit.

So -- despeite the fact that my husband's job is pretty secure, we are cutting back like crazy -- because I fear for the future. I know that when we stop spending, other people loise their jobs. But what can I do about it? My children and family are my responsibility.

What would help me resume my former levels of spending? Just knowing that should the worst happen, that there'd be a better safety net for people like us -- more access to food stamps, to longer unemployment insurance, to help paying our mortgage, and to health care should he lose his job.

After the Pink Slip

— 10:31 AM Feb 11, 2009

I live at ground zero for the foreclosure mess. As the houses accumulated on the market, construction halted. My electrician boyfriend was laid off over eighteen months ago. He has managed to work two weeks for a doughnut shop, a couple weeks at a convenience store, and other than that nada. Everytime a position opens he heads over and fills out an application, he spends hours on craigslist looking for work, more on monster. And every week the businesses lay off more people. He is fifty and no one is hiring. He is a single father of SIX children, went through all his savings and when he lost his home, he had nowhere to go. They are all living with me in my two bedroom home/business. Even DCF is giving him a hard time. They keep telling him to go get some other paper filled out. For six months now. I only make ten bucks an hour. Certainly not enough to support them. Depression and despair have taken over. How does one overcome this rut? Without a job, he feels worthless. We are afraid I will lose my home as my savings are almost gone now as well. All we ask is for work that pays a living wage. Then we will gladly pay our taxes. tax cuts and stimulus checks are useless. Trickle down doesn't work, as the rich never trickled it down, instead investing it in stocks that in order to make a profit laid off employees to have overseas labor make a cheaper product.

Jobs

— 10:11 AM Feb 11, 2009

I am now retired and while I do not have a lot of money I do manage to get by on my social security. I have two young grandsons who are really struggling. The oldest one is trying to work full time, go to college and pay for a tiny tiny apartment. He graduated from a program to be a chef but In order to keep his job of five years he now works the lunch shift and goes home to come back on the dinner shift as the restaurant is in a shopping mall that is full of boarded up stores. His has slowly lost hours until he can barely pay his rent. No one else is hiring any where. My youngest grandson can not afford college, he worked as a cashier at two different stores that closed and the last place he worked just cut back on staff again. He is 22 years old and already scared. This state used to have great jobs making blankets, shirts and shoes for good wages and benefits, these jobs went over seas, and now with the shopping malls standing empty even theses jobs are gone.

Single Mom

— 10:10 AM Feb 11, 2009

We all need help and it NOW that we need it, we all understand that the new President can not do it all from one day to another, BUT SOMETHING HAS TO BE DONE AND NOW.
We should all pull in, if salaries are being cut, works are being cut, Credit companies lowering the Credit Limit and so on, why not receive all of us with out he hassel of forms and so, from landlords for rent, Energy companies, Cable companies, Insurance Companies, Loan Companies/Banks.
Everybody has to pull in and help now in days in order to hang in and let the President work get done.

— 10:08 AM Feb 11, 2009

Help

— 09:57 AM Feb 11, 2009

I am in no better shape financially than any of the comments I am reading from others on this website. I am, however, doing a lot better mentally. I know that things are going to get better for me and my child because I am going to make them better. I am not begging others to help me and bail me out. My advice is that if you are going to wait for the government or anyone else to make your life better you will always be disappointed. My main concern is the debt you putting on the backs of my child and grandchildren. Now that is really unfair!

HELP US

— 09:17 AM Feb 11, 2009

Fortunatly my husband and I still have our jobs, for the time being. But every week is closer and closer to that pink slip. We struggle daily to make ends meet and there never seems to have any light of day. I work for a university system and the budget cuts have been huge and all the expenses keep going up. For example, I pay $40 per month to park at the place that I work. $40 dollars?!? The price of insurance has double along with parking. Our university president gets paid over 300,000 per year alone and he has a house that is given to him and all his expenses are paid for. He gave himself a 6% raise last year, meaning he got 30,000 more to his income (more than what I make in an entire year.). He stated in his address to the University system that he wants to increase parking and other expenses to make up the budget cuts....well excuse me, but I don't make the type of money that he makes and he wants to give more than half of it back to the university system...I mean what the **** is he thinking. My husband has a decent job but they are threatening to lay off the crews because of budget cuts, if this were to happen, we would loose everything (our house, cars, food, ultities) because he is the bread winner of the house. Our daughter would have to go with food and diapers because we wouldn't have the money to buy them.

The bail outs that were given to this huge corportations are extrememly crazy amounts. What about the everyday Joe that makes 7.00 an hour and can't get another job because of the economy. What about Sally who is close to retirement that gets laid off because of her "work ethic" (more likely she would be more of an expenses to the business she works in). For examples that the car industries, the average worker on the factory line makes 23.00 per hour and they complain about not making enough money, well how about giving them a smack in the face and make what other American people make like my mom who as been working in the School system for nearly 20 years and she makes about 10.00 per hour.

We need to need this and end it now.

Unemployment, health insurance, debt forgiveness

— 09:13 AM Feb 11, 2009

I am an unemployed first time mom and my husband just got laid off for the remainder of the winter and, possibly, spring. My daughter has wonderful health insurance through the state and my husband's boss pays for his (only). I have no health insurance but am on a waiting list for our state for coverage. But the last time they let someone off the waiting list was the fall of 2006! And do you know who my congressman's office told me pays for that health care? The tobacco companies! We make just enough not to qualify for any assistance programs. My daughter is still exclusively breastfed so it would be nice to have health insurance in case something should happen since she depends on me so much. I have a college degree and am quite capable. It would be great if there was a program to assist mothers find legitimate and worthwhile work from home jobs. And it would be nice if the government could extend some form of debt forgiveness to the people of this country. I was extremely naive about finances since I was the "poor kid" at a privileged private school growing up. They didn't have any form of education about money and I obviously didn't learn anywhere else. I saw a credit card application on the bulletin board in my COLLEGE CLASSROOM! and thought, "oh wow, now I can get that --insert desired object here-- I've had my eyes on." The rest is history and I regret taking that application every day. We could easily live on my husband's heavy equipment operator salary if it weren't for my debt and our car payments. Maybe we could have even bought a house by now. I know the debt is my fault, but now that I'm older, wiser, and just plain know better now, I wish I could go back in time and correct the error of my ways. I think it only fair for the people of this country to be helped out a little since the coporations have been bailed out time and time again.

Cutbacks

— 09:06 AM Feb 11, 2009

We don't have it as bad as some people do, but we are still having a hard time. My husband's time and pay were cut at his job recently, and our health insurance costs have tripled. He is in an industry where firms are going belly up right and left in our city, so it's not as if he can just find another job. We live frugally as it is, so there's not much to cut back on in terms of our spending. We have a 2.5-year-old, and I am pregnant. My supervisor has been talking about possible cutbacks at my university, too. We are scared. We don't have a safety net or any family living nearby. We all need help, not just the banks.

— 09:03 AM Feb 11, 2009

I lost my position as the Annual Fund Manager at the Cape Cod Healthcare Foundation in May and have not been able to find another job. My husband's job is stressful as his company is facing Medicare cuts. We have a high mortgage as we bought our home just before the home values dropped. We've been unable to refinance since our home is now valued way below what we payed for it - even though we have put over $15,000 in improvements in it. We are still making our mortgage payments on time, but don't know how long we will be able to do so. We, and so many middle class citizens like us, are really hurting. We're 64 and 65 years old and were hoping to keep working for a while. Scary times.

My husband lost his job.

— 08:53 AM Feb 11, 2009

My husband who has done nothing but work his butt off working barely minimum wage jobs to take care of our family. He worked his way up from a temp. service position to a full time, permenate position at a company that was given $20 million dollars! They put him threw extensive training and put him to work! After years of minamum wage, he was so happy. He not only loved the job, but he made some great friends too! Now after not even 90 days, unemployment line is all he has. I have never seen my husband so depressed in the whole 16 years we have been together. We argue alot now too. I try to be a positive influence in his life by telling him that God closes doors to open better ones for you. To be honest w/ you, I wonder myself. Are things gonna get better for us? When? Are we going to be put out on the street after the unemployment runs out? Is there any way out? We are scared to death. And to top it off, while we are drawing unemployment benifits, we can't even get any help from social services! What now?

Loan forgiveness?

— 08:50 AM Feb 11, 2009

I am a single parent working in higher education. Where it is perceived by my creditors that I make a good salary, the expense of the economy has made that salary come very short of making ends meet every month. Rising cost of health care annually, child care, gas prices, home heating fuel - the list goes on and on. Creditors don't see that. They are busy changing the terms of the agreement and I can't keep up. That is problem 1.

The next is the cost proposition of getting a college education in middle class America. I was a good student looking to be employed in human service. After being out of college for more than 10 years, my student loan debt is still more than 100k with no end in sight and no reasonable way of paying that down with high rents in Boston and equally high child care expenses - it is these expenses that I spend two-thirds of my income before paying down monthly educational debt. Being that I am working in a private institution, so I can earn enough to try to pay my bills, I am not eligible for any kind of loan forgiveness program. I need help! The only way resources are available to me is if I quit my job - and then, even then those resources won't keep us from drowning in debt.

A college education has become necessary to work in the private sector and the value of a bachelor's degree has become equal to that of a high school diploma - this is an unfair standard to families who do not choose college or those that cannot afford it. My family could not afford college, but over and over, at every school, we were told it would work itself out. Having never had a college student in our family, we trusted the system. The debt load is so high, I don't believe I will ever climb out. I don't believe I will ever be able to purchase a home on my own and my credit rating is very quickly sinking as I spend every month trying to decide which bills to pay to keep us afloat. Why is education a priviledge in this country as opposed to the right it is in many others?

I need our government to evaluate middle class families struggling with College debt to have an outlet for loan forgiveness. The salaries middle class families earn are deemed too high to get financial assistance, but they are "high" because they are trying to pay to live in this economy not because they have extra money to pay for an education.

As a single parent, I am concerned that I am making poor choices - I need Congress to take a good hard look at those that have gotten an education in the last 15 years, not just those about to get one.

Yet another story: Husband out a job, family struggles

— 08:34 AM Feb 11, 2009

I am a stay-at-home mom. My husband is a self-employed artist who had a part-time job at a frame shop to keep the bills paid. He worked there for 10 years, was excellent at what he did, and was laid off last October. We are definitely struggling. I worry about finding a job when my youngest goes to kindergarten next year. I also worry about being able to afford health care for my family in the future.

Unemployment

— 08:23 AM Feb 11, 2009

I have three close friends, single women, who are unemployed. One is without health insurance because she can't afford it. Another friend has been unemployed since July. All three of these women have applied for numerous jobs and only one has gotten an interview.
There have already been cuts where I work and as a single parent, I worry about losing my job as well.

Losing ability to travel and thus (work)

— 08:22 AM Feb 11, 2009

First I pay my bills on time and have 30 yrs of history to prove it. My creditors have lowered my credit limit to my current balance! This gives me no room for cash flow to travel and do my job. These very companies are the ones that have received the massive payouts. Where are the checks and balances!!!! Where is the monitoring and criminal action committees!!!!

recession? around here it's a depression

— 08:22 AM Feb 11, 2009

Last year, things started rapidly going down hill in Florida. My husband's paycheck was slashed due to slow times at his work. I felt very fortunate to find a job that I could work at home on my own time table. My work at home job pulled us through what was almost a disastrous December- we were late with our house payment for the first time ever (in 9 years of home ownership) and afraid we would have to go without electricity.

The new year year came, and with it bad news. Due to drastic drops in profits, my job was being cut. To ice the cake, I developed a hernia that required immediate surgery, but not so immediate that if I could not pay my portion of the bill ($750 for copays and deductibles) then they would not do anything until my bowel started dying off.

We pay nearly $7k a year to just have insurance but still end up footing so much of the bill. We are not rich by any means. We've never owned a new couch, never purchased a tv, we've never bought a new car, and I'm embarrassed to say it's been several years since we've been able to affords to go to the dentist. My husband and I both need extensive and important dental work but simply can not afford it. These are all things we could do if we didn't pay such outrageous costs towards our health care.

This week,w e got new neighbors. They can not afford to turn their power on.. We have lent them our hurricane generator, they can afford a few scant gallons of gas and turn on the generator long enough to cook dinner and warm up the house before bed.

We'd like to move our family, pick up and go to a state with a lower cost of living but with teh house marking so horrible, there is simply no way we can. For now, the 6 of us are stuck in this weird limbo- barely scraping by, needing helping but making just too much to actually get help. If we didnt have such high health care costs, we could easily live simply but comfortable without the harassing phone calls from the hospital bills or creditors that we are late paying because this month? Business was still off for my husband and my paycheck had dried up.

We have lived through lean times before but even in those tough days, there was hope for a better tomorrow. Right now? there seems to be no hope of climbing out of this hole.

Lost Jobs in Michigan

— 08:18 AM Feb 11, 2009

The number of lost jobs due to the economy and automotive industry is increasing every day. We need help!!!

Affordable Health Care

— 08:08 AM Feb 11, 2009

PLEASE, as a family depending on our small businesses, we cannot afford the cost of current healthcare options. For the last 5 years we have had to depend on catastrophic policy only and we along with millions of others need government to address how efficient yet comprehensive health care options and insurance can be accessible to all Americans.

Affordable Health Care

— 08:08 AM Feb 11, 2009

PLEASE, as a family depending on our small businesses, we cannot afford the cost of current healthcare options. For the last 5 years we have had to depend on catastrophic policy only and we along with millions of others need government to address how efficient yet comprehensive health care options and insurance can be accessible to all Americans.

Why no help for the unemployed self-employed?

— 08:07 AM Feb 11, 2009

Realtors are hurting through no fault of our own. We are not eligible for unemployment insurance due to the "self-employed" moniker, but with no money coming in we are virtually UNemployed.

I'm a single mom and maxing out my savings. Am delaying medical attention until I can find a less expensive insurance plan with lower co-pay. I've been self-pay on insurance for years and I'm just about broke.

HELP for the unemployed self-employed single parents, PLEASE!

— 08:04 AM Feb 11, 2009