...because I can’t afford to fix my car. And without a car, I can’t get to the low-paid job I had to take when I became physically incapable of working in the healthcare field—the arthritis and lupus flares will no longer allow me to spend long hours on my feet. Like far too may Americans these days, I don’t earn enough to weather a short term emergency.
I’m far from alone in this situation—in fact, about 40% of all American workers earn less than $30,000 per year—which even here in Kentucky, one of the cheapest states to live in—the average person can barely afford to live in a two bedroom apartment on that amount. At least my family has a secondary source of income that will pay for rent and utilities (but not food or other bills)—most families in my situation would soon end up homeless if they could not come up with the hundreds or even thousands of dollars a major car repair can cost.
People who argue against raising the minimum wage are often people who will never be in danger of losing their job because they can’t afford an $800 car repair, who will never spend a winter without heat because they can’t afford a few hundred dollars to fix their furnace, and who will never have to miss a needed doctor appointment because they can’t afford to take time off work.
Today, I watched an ad by Andy Barr—he’s blowing up Youtube with a lot of advertising directed at working age people. The ad said Amy McGrath was going to hurt the horse industry—which is kind of hilarious, because horse racing is a rich man’s hobby. Most of us working folks in Kentucky never see a dime because of the horse racing industry. He claimed for months that the Tax Scam was going to put thousands of dollars in people’s pockets, but I have yet to see a dime on my check.
Yesterday I got a mailer from him in which he brays about all the ways he has worked to “help” women in Kentucky—such as the deceptively named “Working Families Flexibility Act” which basically allows your employer to steal your overtime pay. Believe me, if a woman is working overtime, it’s because she wants and needs the MONEY, not because she wants to save up for time off.
A fellow like Andy Barr will never come down off his high horse in the Republicans’ alternate reality and see what the majority of Kentuckians lives are really all about. Nor will Republicans in the rest of the country either. Their pursuit of wealth and power has stripped them of all human decency.
And yet, so many of the people who are suffering just as much—or even more than me and my family are still voting for guys like Andy Barr and Donald Trump. And it’s not because of a lack of education in most instances—it really is because they are racist and misogynist and because they want to grind those folks they feel are beneath them under their heel. There is no convincing, no reasoning with people like that.
This is why we need to work nonstop to get our people to get out and VOTE. Because things aren’t going to get better unless we MAKE them get better—and the only way to do that is to elect Democrats who will work for all American people, instead of just the rich Republican parasites who feed off of us.
Thanks for the space to be frustrated and angry. /rant
Thursday, Oct 18, 2018 · 10:51:57 PM +00:00 · tonyahky
A few people asked us to set up a gofundme account for the car repair. I hate asking people to help us—right now, especially. We have already raised $100 toward the goal via a paypal donation, so we only need $750 at this point. The gofundme campaign is here—www.gofundme.com/… We truly appreciate any help we can get. If I can get the car fixed, then even if i can’t keep the job I have, I might be able to get a job somewhere else working the front desk at hotel. Unfortunately, I can’t do very physically demanding jobs anymore.
Thursday, Oct 18, 2018 · 10:59:25 PM +00:00 · tonyahky
My daughter has given me permission to put her paypal in the diary—hotaruhana2@gmail.com. I don’t use paypal myself, but she has one of those paypal debit cards she can use to help me pay for the car repair and towing.
Friday, Oct 19, 2018 · 12:22:08 AM +00:00 · tonyahky
So far, including the donations that have been sent via my daughter’s paypal, we have recieved $802! This community is truly amazing—we simply cannot thank the Daily Kos community enough! I will be able to not only get to and from work—even if I get fired, I’ll be able to find another job—it may take a few days for the car to get done, and I don’t know how long my boss will give me. I’ll still be able to volunteer here in KY-06 right up until the election!