Friday, October 23, 2009

I'm sick but its not H1N1 (rant)

I'm sick because of what has happened to our country. I'm sick because the unemployment rate is over 9% right now in Ohio. I'm sick because my dad lost his job in APRIL and has yet to find other employment. I'm sick because I don't know who to believe about when all of this will end. Its awful that this is the world we live in, where people exhaust themselves looking for jobs and NO ONE is there to help them. My dad worked for the same company for nearly 30 years and they kicked him out the door like a smelly old dog. He saw his old boss last week and he didn't even ask how my dad was doing, while his $30,000 company car sat out in the parking lot making my dad nauseous. People from my moms work and my church have been "secretly" sending them Meijer gift cards every week so they can afford food. I know the government is trying to extend unemployment benefits for people like my father, but don't you think its hard for him to keep filing for those benefits week after week and to have to maybe face the thought that they could loose their home or cars because he can't find work?!

I agree that in cases like my dad, he's paid into unemployment his whole working career and has a right to its benefits. Its not his fault that is position was eliminated and there is really no one to blame. The company thought it would save them money in the long run, but they don't care what it does to people. I do feel there are people who abuse the system and believe it was put there for them so they don't have to work. And there are people maybe somewhere in between, I'm not trying to judge here, I'm just saying that it sucks.

I've said this before in here about my cousin who is a guidance counselor in a poor school district, how her students tell her they have no plans for college, they plan to get pregnant and wait for their check and food stamps every month so they don't have to work. They were raised to think this is okay and that's what is sad about our country. Millions of people work hard every single day to pay for them to pop out baby after baby. Millions of people worked hard at jobs for many years only to have them eliminated and now they spend those same amounts of hours trying to find jobs all the while risking loosing their homes and everything that they worked so hard for.

My dad has aged so much over these last few months and changed so much as well. He is bitter and angry, no longer the fun-loving goofy dad that I once had. I don't blame him for being angry, how can he not think his age has something to do with him not getting the 10-15 jobs he's interviewed for since the middle of this year. I don't think the president is really to blame for this mess, no matter who got elected this still would have happened. No Democrat or Republican can solve this problem, obviously no one has yet so lets not blame Obama at this point.

Honestly, I don't want anything for Christmas, I just want my dad to have a job. I want to not see my mom cry every time I am at their house, telling me that she thinks by this time next year they won't have a place to live. I want my dad to be fun again and happy and I want him to find work that is good and stable.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I'm sorry your dad still hasn't found a job. Maybe we should start a company, and then we can hire him and all the people we know who deserve so much better. :) I hope you have a good day.

Also, I'm sick, but I'm pretty sure it's just a cold. I'd almost be relieved if it were H1N1, you know? Because then it would be over with and I'd be immune!