Secrets of the City

“As for me, I’m walking around with a bull’s-eye on my back because I have no health care. Can’t afford it. Don’t qualify for medical assistance. I’m broke.”

Based on her article, she didn’t apply for MinnesotaCare. Hopefully she does. Based on what she says in the article, she is likely eligible, though not for sure.

The part that PISSED ME OFF, as you can probably tell from my comments on the original article, is that she expected sympathy from the welfare case worker. Screw that. That worker deals daily with the truly poor. Not someone who is making their mortgage payments. Not someone who has money coming in and marketable skills, but is choosing not to take jobs.

I have some sympathy. I do know it sucks and I wouldn’t want to be in her place. But she took the buy out, she wasn’t laid off. She chose to be unemployed (which makes me wonder why she is getting unemployment.)

And, what did she expect? Did she lobby for increased benefits for the poor and unemployed when she had a job? Did she tell the gov and the state that she was willing to pay more taxes? Did she push for universal health coverage? Probably not. The reason middle class people get screwed is because they never think they will get in these situations so they fight tax increases. Then they go into the welfare office and pull the, “but I paid my taxes” bullshit.

I’ve been checking my investments regularly and while they obviously performed poorly last year, they didn’t get wiped out completely. In fact, my retirement acct went up for the first quarter of 2009. My mutual funds earned 12 cents in December 2008. Ha ha ha. Twelve whole cents… but that’s better than going down.

I keep hearing people say that they basically have NOTHING now. Are people wildly exaggerating how bad investments got hit in 2008 or did they put everything in Denny Hecker’s companies? I’m confused.

I do think that when times were good a lot of people had the idea that they needed to be more aggressive with their investments, so maybe that’s part of it. I’ve always been conservative with money.

Of course, if those aggressive investments pay off huge dividends, people pat themselves on the back for their courage and smarts and complain about capital gains taxes. If they take it in the shorts on their investments, it’s somebody else’s fault they’re broke and the government ought to help out. Human nature, I guess.

@kurtis: I think people who didn’t manage (or didn’t know how to manage)their 401(k) portfolios were hit pretty hard; especially investors who weren’t diversified and/or had their entire 401(k) invested in company stock.

As for having “nothing,” it’s all relative but it truly feels like a formidable hurdle to jump when one realizes a 30% drop in value will require a 50% future return just to be back to where one was before the economy went into the crapper.

Wow, she was a journalist for all those years and all this was a surprise to her? And now she thinks she has to enlighten the rest of us? Millions of us have spent years patching together resumes that spin journalism/manufacturing/farming/etc. skills to fit new jobs and interviewing with bosses younger than our kids and selling our homes and living without insurance and putting on a good front while we struggle. Now that it’s happening to her it’s a story?
No wonder she can’t get a job. First she has to get a clue — and a view of the world beyond her mirror.
Go to Simpson or the other shelters and see the poor holding lottery tickets that will determine whether they get to sleep on mats on the floor or outside on the streets. Talk to the moms who feed their kids Cheerios for dinner when the food stamps run low and nothing when they run out.
Good grief.

Noodle, it sounds like people then take the unrealistic notion that peak value is the baseline, not the median value, which is an easy way to be disappointed if your portfolio is heavy on stocks in a volatile market.

As for putting all your eggs in one basket, I’d think post-Enron people would shuffle a few things around.

All due sympathy, of course, but I stand by the position that if people get rich off their investments they congratulate themselves on being savvy investors and when they lose money they wail about the injustice of it all.

You know what? There are lots of people with Masters Degrees with years of experience that are terrible at their jobs. While comfortable and good at schmoozing with the people they knew but once their skills were held up against the open job market they do not compare to people that are willing to work for way less.

People put themselves into positions they can maintain they only if things keep steadily improving. When there is a set back they immediately fail.

I wonder what she bought with her second mortgage. A new kitchen? SUV?

“You know what? There are lots of people with Masters Degrees with years of experience that are terrible at their jobs.”

Hey, there’s no reason to start taking personal shots at me.

Y’all have fair points about perspective. (Dougie_D didn’t have to be a dick about it, but that’s to be expected.) Delma also makes a fair point about how middle class people have found themselves in this unexpected position and how it’s different from someone who has been poor for a while.

I love criticism based on bizarre speculation. You’ve got no idea what she used her second mortgage for, Dougie_D.

And, yes, this is a story. Even though people do have it much, much worse off, Francis’s story is still relevant. It is, in fact, relevant because it is commonplace. So many others are going through this and I’m glad I got to read a firsthand account.

My complaint about the article comes here: “The poor are getting what they’ve always gotten — assistance with housing, food and health care.” Makes it sound almost cushy to be poor and so well taken care of.

@kurtis: Like my dad used to say “It ain’t a loss until you sell.” Of course, it’s not “profit,” either.

I look at it this way: As long as the basic principal (my contribution + employer-match) hasn’t lost value, I’m still ahead of the game because those monies would have been long gone anyway if it weren’t for the 401(k). Anything gained over and above the principal is just smoke ‘n mirrors until the day arrives to begin withdrawing from the account.

I agree with you, too, about the “savvy” investor attitude.

Of course I have no idea what her second mortgage was for. As for my speculation being bizarre I would have to say it’s far from bizarre. I think those are things that many people take out second mortgages for.

If you want my bizarre speculation I’ll go there:

1. Facial reconstruction to look more like a cat.
2. Investment in private space craft.
3. Tried to corner the beanie baby market about 15 years late.
4. Lots and lots of charmin wet wipes.
5. Damian Hirst Spin Art poster turned out to be a fake.
6. Cocaine habit the size of Scarface.
7. Can’t get enough Kix.

I am firmly in the middle class. I own my own home. I work a full time job. If I had to I could pay all my bills on a job that pays $12 without having to cut internet or satellite TV.

How unexpected should it be? We are in the middle of a depression! I’m guessing history was not what she received her Masters in.

Okay, Dougie, I laughed. I don’t agree, but I laughed.

I also think self-assuredness that you’ve got your own bases covered could still leave room for more compassion than self-righteousness.

Tricia,

The thing is that I have gone without. I have never had a new car or even owned one manufactured in the decade that I owned it. Current vehicle ‘95 Honda Civic. I take the bus to and from work even though it adds about 45 minutes a day to my RT to save money. I bought a house I could afford (525 finished SF) close to grocery and bus lines. I rarely eat out at sit down resturants. I have a garden to save on food costs.

I went through a job change 4 years ago. Went from making mid 50K’s to $16 an hour working as a temp. I have since worked my way back up but no one gave me anything. I didn’t get unemployment at all.

I would bet she isn’t driving a mid 90’s car or living in a 525 SF house.

Tricia- your complaint was one of the things that struck me too. Partially because she has NO IDEA what she is talking about. If she had absolutely no money coming in, no home, no car, no assets, she still wouldn’t get help with housing. For food, she would get 3 months of food stamps every three years (this just changed due to the jobless rate, but holds true most times.) And she would get health insurance, which she would need since she would be sleeping in a shitty shelter or on the streets.

But, ultimately her sense of entitlement is what gets me. Her unemployment is $459 after taxes. I’m pretty sure she means her weekly benefit is $459, which gives her $1836 a month. If she means by-weekly, which she may, it would be $918/month, but that would qualify her for food support, so I think she’s up there at the $1836 amount. We just posted a job where the beginning salary would be about $1200/month takehome. We had 80 applicants and it was posted for 2 days.

I have little sympathy. You don’t get benefits when you make more in unemployment than some people make working full time.

I think a lot of people who had some mid-level job expect to get another mid-level job rather than starting over. In tough economic times, that may simply be impossible. You may have to take a lower job and work your way up. If you are a good worker, you will get back to previous employment levels.

If you have some resources, you can be a little pickier, but you shouldn’t complain that your picky-ness is not the problem. That is my take-away. She appears to be looking for the perfect job, but she hasn’t found it. In that sense, she is not alone.

“Now that it’s happening to her it’s a story?”

I think it’s a story because while companies that mismanaged and drove themselves to destruction are getting bailed out the middle class isn’t getting much help. At least, that’s how it’s perceived.

Also it’s easy to speculate on how she spent her money and parse her article and hang your hat on one sentence that didn’t stick right in your craw, but the reality is she makes some valid points and it’s a shame that Congress brings in multibillionaires to plead for money while leaving out the average person.

“If you have some resources, you can be a little pickier, but you shouldn’t complain that your picky-ness is not the problem”

I don’t see a single statement in her essay that leads me to believe she has been turning down jobs.

Just reminds me of a little song by the Bouncing Souls called Low Life:

last week your pockets where fat
spending on this and buying that
the week is over and i’m not so flush
i’d save some money if it wasn’t a lush

you didn’t plan to fail
you just failed to plan
i’m livin’ tha lowlife again

Last week it was pints of guiness
now i’m drinking quarts of piss
end of the month you’ve got no money
kill my landlord ain’t it funny?

you didn’t plan to fail
you just failed to plan
i’m livin’ tha lowlife again

so this ain’t your finest hour
i found some cereal but the milk is sour
things look bad but this isn’t the end
someday i’ll live large again

I want to work. I need to work, but at a livable wage. Many employers who are hiring are taking advantage of the vast numbers of qualified unemployed people out there and offering far less than the jobs should pay, not enough to allow us to keep modest homes, even on a shoestring budget with no frills.

To me, that says she has been picky about what jobs she takes. Perhaps I am reading to much into it…

anon- but she didn’t spin the article to say big companines are being bailed out, but not her. she spinned to say poor people get everything, but not her.

And she chose to take a buy out, so, in my opinion, should not be getting unemployment. Unemployment is specifically for people who lose their job to no fault of their own. She should be pretty damn happy that she’s getting that.

“To me, that says she has been picky about what jobs she takes”

I can see that, but I didn’t read it that way. I guess one or both of us could be wrong. I suspect that as a writer she’s trying to address some bigger picture issues and in the process some things are left open to interpretation.

“she spinned to say poor people get everything, but not her.”

I didn’t read it as such. How I read it she says things are the same for the poor, but admittedly she could have said it better. Also I don’t see her essay as “spin”, but more a personal recounting of how her life has been unfolding in these trying times.

“Unemployment is specifically for people who lose their job to no fault of their own”

Not true, and I’m sure that’s what allows her to collect. UI is a form of insurance and there are all sorts of reasons a person can collect, even if they leave a job willingly. They’re pay was dropped a certain percentage, they were being asked to do something that might be legal yet they found it unethical, etc.

While someone may *be* lucky they are getting money, people shouldn’t have to *feel* lucky they get UI. UI is an insurance fund that is paid into. So, in effect, she earned her unemployment insurance.

It strikes me as curious that you seem to perceive the essay as an attack on the poor.

Not true, and I’m sure that’s what allows her to collect. UI is a form of insurance and there are all sorts of reasons a person can collect, even if they leave a job willingly. They’re pay was dropped a certain percentage, they were being asked to do something that might be legal yet they found it unethical, etc.

But, that severence she got in her voluntary buy-out should be counting against benefits she receives from UI.

Once, I had two weeks severence, and other times I’ve had unusedvacation hours that were bought out. Each time, that money was counted against benefits that I would have received from UI.

My biggest gripe is health insurance. I’m fortunate enough to be able to afford COBRA but when that runs out, I’m so fucked. Pre-existing conditions, hooray! And yeah, I’ve totally lobbied for this to be dealt with. Written to both state and federal reps.

Also, as a member of the cushy unemployed middle-class, I would have appreciated her piece more if she’d written it in FMyLife style.

Also, there are two levels of UI insurance beyond your original fund. At least that’s my understanding from the UIMN site.

And the 65% COBRA subsidy.

I agree whole heartily with her article. The poor have a “safety net” that allows them to function and the rich have both economic power and political power. The middle class is taking it in the rear end. I have said this many times. The middle class is the backbone of this country, without us you have third world economy. The middle class is the group that ultimately drives economic growth. Do some of the spend to much, of course but many do not. If you think working for 16 dollars an hour with a degree is going to solve our economic mess your are mistaken. If you think that being poor as a profession makes you admirable fine, but that costs money and who do you think pays for it. KC, the middle class pays your salary. Please be a little more respectful. It is time for the middle class to fight back. I am sick of welfare for the rich and the poor. The middle class does not owe either one of these special interests groups anything. Both groups need to get a real job and try working for once, instead of sucking the middle class for a living. If the current state of affairs persists we will be calling the U.S. a third world country soon. The middle class is the corner stone of this country, without it you have Mexico. Good luck without us.

Oh, Swandog.

What the hell is welfare for the rich? Aside from tax cuts. Who cares if the rich don’t work? They’re rich.

Also, kudos for your oversimplification of the issue. I think the “working poor” must be an urban legend. Also, please provide a list of “real jobs”. I think I may have been previously paying my bills with monopoly money from my fake-ass jobs, which explains so much.

Also, do you even know KC or what she does for a living? You’re statement there is just condescending and presumptious. Nothing new there but I’m going to point it out anyway.

The poor without children do not have a safety net. What is their safety net? Food shelves and homeless shelters?

And the middle class does have a safety net, it is called Unemployment Insurance.

And this is rich, “KC, the middle class pays your salary. Please be a little more respectful.” Never heard that one before, like EVERYDAY I worked in the welfare office, “I pay your salary.” Guess what, I pay my own salary too. As do all my co-workers. And if you work at any of the places I shop, any of the services I use, or anything my tax dollars subsidize, I pay your salary, so have a little respect. Ha!

My point is that there is a reality here that is being overlooked. This woman put herself in this situation by her own will. She is still making more money than people with full time jobs. Yet she thinks she deserves more. There was a time for her to fight for those things, and that was before she quit her job.

Yeah, basically that.

The poor without children do not have a safety net.

 So if you have a kid and can not afford it, it is societies responsibility to pay for you and the child. Sounds like bailing out rich bankers. they make a mistake and we pay. Sounds like the best thing to do then is get pregnant and take the money.

And the middle class does have a safety net, it is called Unemployment Insurance.

 Insurance is something that was paid into prior to use vs welfare which is a give away provided by others who pay into the system.

Never heard that one before, like EVERYDAY I worked in the welfare office, “I pay your salary.” Guess what, I pay my own salary too.

One plus one is not three. If you pay a tax on your salary it is direct reduction from your salary, which was paid for by tax dollars. In the end it is a net tax dollar expenditure.

 My point is that there is a reality here that is being overlooked. This woman put herself in this situation by her own will. She is still making more money than people with full time jobs. Yet she thinks she deserves more.

No she is pointing out that the rich get a bailout and the poor get a bail out. Where is the middle class hand out? Your argument could be stated for every welfare recipient served, they put them selves in the position they are in.

Oh, Swandog. What the hell is welfare for the rich? Aside from tax cuts. Who cares if the rich don’t work? They’re rich.

Bank bailouts given to dead beat banks who  loaned money to deadbeat mortgage recipients. 

She did get a unemployment extention.

I’ll bet she has collected way more from unemployment than she ever paid in. Isn’t that a bail out?

That’s the way insurance often works Dougie D.

And most people on Welfare paid taxes at one time too. And they will pay again. Unemployment insurance is not taken out of MY check, I don’t know about yours. It is paid for by the employer, not the employee.

One plus one is not three. If you pay a tax on your salary it is direct reduction from your salary, which was paid for by tax dollars. In the end it is a net tax dollar expenditure.

Except I pay tax on my household income, not just my income from this job. Which means I pay my salary as much as you do since I pay taxes on both my and my husband’s income. 

I am trying to reconcile swandog’s views on the middle class and the state looking out for their welfare with swandog’s previous comments on MNSpeak on the role of the state.

So, Swandog, just to help me clarify what you’re saying, ideally, what would you like to see the state doing for people who are in the same position as this women and/or the unemployed middle class?

It’s interesting that this woman thinks that what’s happening now is somehow worse than every other recession/depression in the past. My parents were basically the working poor and were barely able to pay their bills under Reagan. Growing up, I never knew how broke we were, because it was just their nature to suck it up and make the best of it because they knew they had it good compared to many others (especially since my mom works for DHS). If times are so tough for her, I suggest she looks for ways to make it better (or livable) rather than whining about what everyone knows already.

I think she’s entitled to whine, it is very frustrating out there right now. She’s venting, we all need to do it. You just need to be selective about who you whine to and have some perspective about how you could be more fucked. Of course kids don’t know how poor their families are, there’s no point in whining to your kids. I didn’t RTFA but did she at least grant that she could worse off?

Here’s the thing, I’m kind of getting tired of people acting shocked, SHOCKED, that they are one of the millions of people that are one (or 5) paycheck away from being broke. This is the reality that many in the Baby Boomer generation has conveniently ignored. Can’t find a job that pays a livable wage? Get 2. Can’t find 2? Network your ass off, take a roommate, move in with your parents (or kids), pool resources, do what you have to to make it work. Yes, it’s hard right now, and I feel huge sympathy for people that are out of work. I’m employed and freaked out every day that I won’t be, even though I’m in a relatively stable industry. But I’m one of those people that don’t see much use in bemoaning a situation that could be 1000 times worse without highlighting ways in which you are trying to make it better.

And no, the author doesn’t make mention of how it could be worse, other than to envy the fact that the truly poor have a safety net that her tax dollars pay for, yet she cannot access.