We care about the damage he can inflict on our country and especially the ways in which he can (and does), harm people of colour in the US.
We are so far down though, that there is not much he can do to push us any further down. The reason Trump can’t hurt us is because we are already so hurt and so poor.
On average, women 65 years and older rely on a median income of around $16,000 a year -- roughly $11,000 less than men of the same age, according to a Congressional analysis of Census data. And many elderly women rely exclusively on Social Security benefits.money.cnn.com/...
Ever since the United States started measuring poverty, women have been more likely to be poor than men.www.legalmomentum.org/...
As you can see from the links, many women are in this same position. What would help us is if Democrats controlled our states, if we had Democratic governors and legislatures who accepted Expanded Medicaid and worked to increase aid to the poor.
I have it better than some. TN has some good, low cost clinics for the working poor, and they do have some laws that, while they don’t give aid to the poor, they at least afford some protection.
I’m also lucky to have some very wealthy friends and clients; so that when I was diagnosed with cancer and BofA jumped at the chance to foreclose on my house, my friends stepped in and paid attorneys a butt load of money to save my house.
Which was a huge relief at the time, I really couldn’t think about anything but cancer. It’s 5 years later now and I have time to think of other things, like how BofA still gave me a shitty deal. They didn’t lower the interest rate or forgive any of the principal the way some banks did.
Nope, they extended my loan so that it’s now a 40 year loan. I’ll be 94 when I’m done making payments! After my surgery this winter, that had me out of work for almost 4 months, every muscle in my body screams at me nightly “How can we keep working like this till 74, let alone 94?”
Still, I feel lucky. Fineena, a Daily Kos member who lives in NC has not been so lucky. She wrote about her situation here. She is not lucky enough to have friends who are millionaires as I do, so her home was foreclosed on and she became a renter. With dogs!
Renting is a precarious thing to begin with, but when you have pets, it gets downright scary. There just isn’t much stability in renting. I think of my 40 year mortgage as a long rental agreement. I may not own my house but at least they can't kick me out as long as I pay.
Fineena also has health problems that she explains here. Different kinds of health problems than mine. My health issues affect my body in a different way, sure I get really sore, but I can still do a lot of stuff (like lift a couch), I just pay for it later.
Finenna has heart problems and COPD, which means a lot of physical stuff is off limits for her and even breathing is hard. Let me say that again — even breathing is hard for Fineena! I remember once in a diary she mentioned how expensive her inhaler was. I suggested she use www.goodrx.com, a great way to get coupons to lower drug prices.
The inhalers I had were $20 at the most. Fineena was quoting outrageous prices, I thought maybe she was confused. I mentioned this to my doctor on a visit and my doc said the drug company had changed the delivery system in some small way that extended the patent. She didn’t even get free samples anymore.
So Fineena is up against a rigged system and it has her very depressed. They say that money can’t buy happiness, but I’m not so sure about that. It may not buy happiness but I believe it could prevent some major grief and daily unhappiness.
Fineena is depressed and I totally get that. Even with anti-depressants I am so down my doc has talked about shock therapy. I’m so depressed about my lack of money that some days I can’t even get out of bed, which means I don’t go to work and have less money which leads to — around and around and around.
Fineena has one thing I don’t though, and that is skilz. She has mad crochet skills. Check out these pictures of her incredible work — Willie Ru Designs. If you go to her store you’ll see it’s empty, she’s been too depressed and worried to knit, but click on “items sold” and you'll get an idea of her talent.
Currently there is no system in place to help Fineena, so I’m hoping Daily Kos users will step up and help. Some already have. eef is bring a truck next weekend to help her move. He could use some help, some muscle, if anyone is in the area.
Fineena needs money, I’m not sure where she is with the matching funds, but I know that she needs $1,500. It is expensive to move, even if it’s right across the street. She has to have the fence repaired at the new house to make it safe for the dogs. You know, all the stuff that goes with moving.
I’m hoping we can be the “system” for her, provide her with a bit of a safety net. Please donate what you can. Let’s help her through this dark patch.
Maybe you can even pre-order one of her scarves; give her some time to get settled and maybe our support will help her up from the hole she’s in, so she can see a bit of light and crochet by that glow.
PayPal account is palskaren@aol.com