I took friday off to go visit my brother in Austin, my boss knew that I was doing so, we had a wonderful weekend. He is a student, so I paid the $160 for good seats down low and for all the dinners. My wife and one year old daughter were shopping and spending the days in the hotel pool. I thought nothing of sliding my debit card through each gas pump on the way to and from, 600 miles each way. After getting in late yesterday afternoon, we went and picked up our dog, paid for his stay and took our family home, getting to bed early, so I could be at work the next day.
Arriving a half hour early as usual, I was unpacking my stuff when I noticed my supervising attorney was their. Unusual, so I went down to his office and asked how Friday went. He told me that he and the owner of the company that was paying my salary had dinner Thursday night, and the owner of the company had decided that he could no longer pay my salary. I offered to work for less, that wasn't an option, the company was going to declare bankruptcy and they wouldn't be allowed to have a contract attorney on board. They decided this Thursday night, both of them knowing I was about to spend roughly a thousand dollars or a third of my paycheck on a trip.
I have now spent a half hour looking through the employment sections in our papers and see that the economy is definitely not on the side of the middle class. I can be an assistant manager at a hotel (maybe), I can be a waiter, or a clerk at any number of gas stations. What I can't be is the head of a family making $75,000.00 a year. I have a law degree from one of the finest law schools in the country, but am licensed to practice in a state 1,000 miles away and have grown tired of trying to make a living essentially "over valuing" my advice, which is how I regard the legal industry.
This country has done nothing for eight years to address the problem of "underemployment" something that I have commented on this site about frequently, and ironically, now I find myself, in that very conundrum. I have a 13 month old daughter and we don't live beyond our means, so we have a little fallback, more than many, I should be greatful. But as I look over the internet and newspapers, I can't control my anger at Enron, and Bear Stearns, and Lehman Brothers and all those assholes that Bush did everything to make sure they got richer. He was my President too, well no, he wasn't and never was and we knew that. But I know it more than ever today. I am not even sure this is worth a diary, but am turning to the community that has so often given me strength and hope, and one that has played a significant role in making things better--in the future, for people like me. Thank you all, go Obama/Biden '08.