This Is A Message To All On DU That Are Below The Age Of 55......

[LittleGirl]

87. Your story is so familiar to mine

I too have siblings that don't understand that the Republicans want to end these programs. My father died when I was 15 and those SS checks kept us in school with food on the table, while my Mother worked in the factory and worried about her future. She was overly possessive but she did the best she could do. When Reagan cut the Pell Grants, I suddenly turned ineligible for assistance to finish college even though Mother worked in the factory on low wages. I had one student loan for 1500 dollars and it took me 20 some years before I worked for an employer that would pay me enough to finish and work full time in the process and suvive. Paul Ryan's history is very similar to ours and to gut those programs would be removing the life support that kept his own family out of the poor house or homeless shelter.

Indeed, we need to get the word out, we paid into these programs all our lives. They are not entitlements! We paid into these programs and nobody got out of paying it. You may have had income below the poverty level and received a refund of your INCOME TAX paid, but that money you paid to FiCA and Medicaid for 33 yrs is still there with interest. Because, we the people knew that the government made a promise to keep the money safe so that there was SOMETHING left even if Capitalism stole it in the years since. We were promised those funds to help us survive in old age and damn it, if they propose to take it away for me, I'm 52, then I want ALL of the money back RIGHT NOW.

I'll use it to get my finances in order and take care of myself and my family. But they better cough up the money right now when they roll the dice and say they will end these programs NOW.

Vote Obama/Biden 2012