The Economy and How it Affects Me and My Family

You already know it's not easy trying to make ends meet in this economy right now. Gas is going back up, cigarettes are just way too much, the cost of food is up, businesses are closing and the government is taking over companies one by one. What will happen next? My guess is that we'll have a certain time that we can flush our toilets! So I'm going to share with you how this economy is affecting my family and me.

First off, I am unemployed. My daughter is a child with Down Syndrome, so she requires a lot of attention and medical care. We live off of her SSI check, and we both live with my mother, who also helps with rent and bills, but that's just not enough. So I venture out to the Workforce to seek help in getting a job close to home for now. I've gone to several places that were listed on the Workforce website, but by the time I get there, the manager has already hired someone or doesn't want to hire me. I have tried just about EVERY business in the small town that I live in, and I've tried some in a town twenty minutes away. No luck. What next? What should I try now? I hardly have experience in anything, but how do you get experience if no one will hire the inexperienced? Yes, you guessed it, go to school you say! Which leads to my next point.

Yes, I want to go to school. I want to be a dental assistant right now, and have that as my job while going to school to be a veterinary assistant. I've applied for the federal student aid, got approved, got accepted into the school of my choice, and all I have to do is send in my high school transcript and attend a meeting. But, how will I get there? I have a car, but it doesn't travel long distances because of a blown head gasket. Yes, that's all I could afford with my mother's income tax. I can't move closer to the school because I simply can't make it on my own with just my daughter's SSI check and no babysitter. Yes which leads to another point I have to make.

Child care costs way too much these days. You know what I think? Yes, Medicaid should pay for half the costs of child care, if you have a job or are going to school, and if your child is disabled in some way, NOT WELFARE, or formerly known as TANF. My daughter is six years old, and she cannot attend school because her immune system is not strong enough to stand up to the many billions of bacteria that accumulate on her tonsils. She's been kicked out of school simply for being sick for a long period of time, which was only about one month. I bet you don't know the real reason she got kicked out. I'll tell you, it's because the "Head Start" program didn't get their funding while she wasn't going to school, because she was so sick that she couldn't breathe through the night. Um, excuse me, but shouldn't the "No Child Left Behind" law address this? I feel like the government did leave her behind because she can't attend school regularly enough for the state to get their funding. Sorry, but I thought the government wanted to help disabled children go to school. We'll see what happens this next school year won't we?

You might think none of this has anything to do with the economy, but it's all about the economy and the government controlling us as Americans out here. I thought Americans were free, (that IS what you heard too isn't it?) Please inform me if I misunderstood that in anyway while growing up.

My point is, I want to go to school. I want to go to work. I want my child in school like all the other children, and where is the government when I need them? Well I'll tell you where their heads are, or you can just imagine it on your own. The closest thing I've come to doing for myself is going to school, but I do need a car and a babysitter to make that happen. I've been staying at home for three years now taking care of my daughter, and while I love being with her and here for her, I also need to make something of myself to provide a better future for my daughter.

This is not the last story, this is my first. I've been researching all possible options for people in my situation or worse since the beginning of January as a New Year's Resolution. Now I just need the government to do it's job and help the people who deserve it the most. People who ARE trying to make a difference in their lives and their families' lives. I'll surely be back to keep tabs on how this economy is treating me and the rest of the country, and since I'm not the only one it's affecting, you'll be glad to know you aren't the only one in the same situation!