Dear President Obama,
Well, I found out yesterday that I only have eight (8) weeks left of my unemployment benefits (Due to the declining economy, I lost my full-time job back in March of 2009.). I’ve been working part-time at minimum wage for quite some time, but when my unemployment runs out, I’m not sure what I’ll do (and what my family will do). I can’t seem to find anything full-time here in the area, and my recent trip down to Raleigh and Durham, North Carolina hasn’t produced anything of substance — yet.
I’ve been working hard to network and I even traveled South a few weeks ago to find sustainable work, but the work just isn’t there or employers will only consider “local” candidates. And even though I’m working part-time, it just won’t be enough when the unemployment runs out. Like many other young families, we have a mortgage, car payment, and mouths to feed. I’ve also visited local temp agencies but have been told I’m way “over-qualified” for any positions they may have available, and employers won’t hire someone like me (with professional experience) because they don’t want to waste time training me in fear I’ll eventually leave for a better opportunity, anyway. VERY disheartening!
I wish I could understand your push for an unwanted universal health care system you’ve set forth, and I wish I can understand your new, sudden focus on immigration (Kudos to Arizona for doing what the government has failed to do — enforce the law!), but I can’t. YES, health care and immigration are issues which need addressed and MUCH can be improved in these areas (along with the procedures used to extract our natural resources, of course), but right now, MY FOCUS and the focus of the American family is our livelihood. While politics as usual continues in Washington (on a national level), we’re in dire straights here (in small-town America). Dire!
Perhaps you don’t KNOW what to do in regards to jobs and the economy… Okay, I get that, but then it’s YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to get the help we so desperately need. Please, do SOMETHING! Extending benefits is NOT a long-term solution for my family or the tax payers who have to pay for it. Perhaps you need to surround yourself with better experienced staff to help you with these important matters? There’s no shame in saying “Okay, this isn’t working. We need to try something new.” There IS shame in allowing more and more Americans to lose their jobs (while the already unemployed slip further and deeper in the unemployment and depression abyss) with your administration seemingly DOING NOTHING ABOUT IT. Regardless of what you say you’re doing, President Obama, the people don’t believe you’re genuinely concerned. We want to see ACTION and RESULTS!
Mr. President, in eight (8) weeks, my family’s life will change drastically. I will likely be forced to take up a second part-time job in either retail or fast food to help pay the bills, and even then, we’ll still be barely making it. There’s a good chance we might lose our home, as well. WE NEED YOU to step up to the plate on this NOW. AMERICA NEEDS YOU to step up to the plate. Adding a few hundred stimulus jobs (i.e. contracted road construction jobs) IS NOT a successful job planning strategy at work! These jobs will disappear when the contracts are complete. We need full-time, professional paying jobs for the long-term.
MAY GOD HELP US ALL.
A desperate mother of two in small-town western Pennsylvania,
Dawn Rager
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