Deliver pizzas, wife tells laid-off hubby

[dogday]

(CNN) -- Donna LeBlanc gave her husband, a former restaurant manager, the stark ultimatum: become a pizza delivery man or their family "wouldn't make it."

The Lafayette, Louisiana, family of six was struggling with $45,000 of mounting medical debt from Donna LeBlanc's unexpected case of pneumonia and tonsillitis a year earlier. The family savings account had dwindled to $100.

"It's embarrassing for my husband to take a job he is overqualified for, and I know he feels ashamed at times," says Donna LeBlanc, a 35-year-old mother with four children. "But this is what we have to do and we're going to make the best out of it."

She watched her husband, Rob LeBlanc, 35, load Domino's pizza boxes into their family car and deliver orders until near dawn for $10 an hour.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/personal/01/22/family.economic.survival/index.html?eref=ib_topstories

[wyldwolf]

1. I've done it (not delivered pizzas but took a job I was waaay overqualified for)

There is no shame in it if your primary objective is to care for your family.

[bulloney]

26. Sometimes you have to do it if you're out of work.

When I lost my job a few years ago, I went after anything to keep an income flow into the household. Problem was, employers are just as picky hiring people for being overqualified as they are underqualified. They're afraid the overqualified person will leave the first chance they get with a better paying and skilled job.

[acmavm]

52. You're right about not being hired because you're 'over' qualified. That's

happened to me more than once. Especially when I was laid off or whatever and REALLY needed something.

[Mabus]

64. No shit. I'm in the nether world right now

I applied for a job a few weeks ago. They took a look at my resume and told me I was overqualified for the position. I told them that I really needed a job and that's why I was applying for the TEMPORARY position they advertised. They weren't having any of it. So, after talking with them for a while longer, they sent me to another of their HR offices to apply for a job opening elsewhere in the company. There I was told I was underqualified because I haven't worked in an office environment for almost twenty years.

My "problem" is that I have a law degree. I have spent most of my career doing research for Intellectual Property attorneys. As a result I have been fortunate enough to work pro bono doing research for various grass roots groups ranging from environmental to Indian Religious freedom causes. I'm pretty versatile and I can obviously do almost legal research work put in front of me (including the job they had). I also have great references. But, because I've worked on my own, and therefore have no large firm experience, I'm underqualified. I guess they're afraid I don't have enough experience being told what to do or they're afraid that I'm only house-broken (since I've worked from home most of the time) but I'm not office-broken enough.

[acmavm]

75. I understand. I graduated with honors with a degree as a paralegal in

2005. What a friggin' joke. I worked my ass off for nothing (not to mention interned with the ACLU and did work on a couple HIGH profile cases) but in the legal field I'm not qualified because of the experience thing. And when I point out that I've filed many a motion for myself (and a couple others) and never been thrown out of court once (as a matter of fact the lawsuit I drew up was settled out of court), that goes nowhere. Now that last part about being able to do a lot of legal work for myself is something that I've quit mentioning. The prima donnas I've interviewed for don't like it when people have the smarts to do a lot of stuff for themselves. That takes money and power out of their court and that's not done in the American legal system. So I quit mentioning it. But I am good. I'm working as an Admin. Asst. too. At a manufacturing place. And my hours are dwindling as we speak.

DISCLAIMER: I would NEVER defend myself against criminal charges or anything extremely serious that could bankrupt myself or cause me to be looking at jail time.

[Maat]

87. I know of what you speak.

Fortunately, I've been able to retire due to an inheritance (enough to keep us going if I manage well).

[mariema]

69. Hiring overqualified workers

As someone who used to hire food service workers for a national chain restaurant, I can tell you I was very wary of hiring “overqualified” workers. I knew that they would leave, probably without notice, as soon as they found something in their field.

Contrary to the common misperception, we didn’t just hire any warm body that walked thru the door. We did try to find people who would give us a fair measure of return on the cost of hiring and training them and who would fit in with the other workers. I almost always found that hiring overqualified workers ended up as bad as hiring someone underqualified, except with the underqualified one there was a chance they could be trained. The overqualified sometimes looked at the job as being “beneath” them and acted like the job wasn’t important enough to give it their best effort. That kind of attitude is not welcome no matter much the job pays.

[acmavm]

76. What you said about the attitude of some 'overqualifed' workers IS true.

I'm sitting here laughing my ass off thinking of something I haven't thought of in a LOOONNNNNGGGG time.

Yeah, they can be pretty arrogant and snippy. Damn! Having been on the receiving end of some of that attitude, I can tell you it sure does create problems in the workplace.

Hell, I'm just glad I'm working right now.

[4_TN_TITANS]

89. True that...

Every time I've been desparate to take anything, I've been hit with that overqualified line. Sometimes a college degree can be a hinderance.

[Le Taz Hot]

2. Been there.

With 2 college degrees and massive amounts of experience, I had to take a job as an Administrative Assistant when my husband's business went south. It's what I could find fast. Nothing wrong with A.A.'s, it's just that that's what I did BEFORE I spent many $$ and years getting a college education. I ended up working for some lunatic boss for a year-and-a-half. I have a tendency toward depression anyway but this one sent me spiraling down so far I thought I'd never climb out of it. But you do what you have to do.

[dipsydoodle]

3. Needs must when the devil drives

I was watching a program here in the UK last night about the USA in the 1930's. I'm sure that back then if such jobs had existed there would've been queue around the block for interviews. Wouldn't bother me none to get a job shelf filling at the local supermarket - but hopefully not Asda/Walmarts.

Apart from that there's an old saying - pride comes before a fall.

[ejpoeta]

4. it's called do whatcha gotta do to survive. even if it means taking a

job you are overqualified for. period.

[HockeyMom]

5. You do have you have to do

until something better comes along. You can deliver pizzas and still keep looking for a better job. My husband is Tech Support (25 years) and was laid off. He drove a limo for six months, but never stopped looking for an IT job while he was driving rich people all around. I will say that a lot of employers did not want to hire him because they all knew that he was overqualified for this work and would quit as soon as something better came along.

He did get another IT job at his previous salary, but we had to move to another state to do this.

[Maine-ah]

12. this is reminding me of the early 90's

my father had no job, my mom was working as a secretary. Walmart moved into town. I was a senior in HS. Both my father and I applied there. I got a hired, my father did not. It was a couple of years before my father was able to find a job. Not even McDonalds would hire him. Over qualified.

[pipi_k]

39. Same here...

There were a few jobs in the past where I wasn't hired because I was (told straight out) overqualified.

And this was waaaay before the current economic crisis...

[distantearlywarning]

6. Um...well, yeah...

Why is this news? Lots of us have had to take jobs we were overqualified for to make ends meet. It's called life.

[Deja Q]

7. Most people are told they are overqualified. I wonder what he said to sidestep the designation.

[rfranklin]

17. He claimed to be a high ranking Bush administration member...

and they hired him on a probationary status.

[Catshrink]

27. When I was in that boat I left my masters off my resume.

The BA from an ivy league school was "bad" enough.

I ended up taking a job teaching enrichment classes for kids. I found that I loved it and am now a teacher. Losing that job years ago ended up being a blessing in disguise.

When my students say, "You went to XXXXX? Why are you teaching and not doing something else?" I respond, "I did do something else and I hated it. Now I'm doing what I want to do and I'm happy. That's more important than buckets of money." The kids seem to think that teaching is a last resort for many teachers, not a profession of choice.

[KillCapitalism]

8. Delivering pizzas is not really that bad.

When my grandfather was a boy, he had to stand out on street corners & try to solicit people passing by for a shoeshine just to make a nickel back in the depression.

It seems we are heading back to that.

[closeupready]

48. The gourmet fruit mail order biz, Harry & David, got their start in the Great Depression.

I think it was Harry who took the train in to New York (from Oregon) in order to sell his pears to traders on Wall Street. That's how they got their start.

[ogneopasno]

9. Why is this a news story?

[dipsydoodle]

10. Its not

its a general discussion subject.

[ogneopasno]

11. No, I was wondering why CNN picked it up and wrote about it.

[dipsydoodle]

13. I see what what you mean now

It's a feature of general interest in their "living section" as opposed to a news item.

[dogday]

14. Family economic survival series that CNN is doing...

Telling different stories of the struggle of the American family in this economy...

[dipsydoodle]

23. We would all do well

to watch some of that documentary stuff from the thirties to learn some lessons but hopefully it won't turn out that bad. For the time being its those who got jobs now, such as pizza delivery because that helps secure the job before the onslaught , who'll start to be the winners or at least those who'll manage best.

At least hopefully this time around there won't the concidence that occured in the thirties with regard to dustbowl weather. Chopping the back off a Model A 4 door Sedan to turn it into a pickup was one thing then : you just can't do that with modern cars.

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

30. Don't forget they waited till after Obama became the President.

CNN would never air a story like this while bush was in office.

[Maru Kitteh]

65. CNN had countless stories about struggling Americans in the Bush economy before the inauguration

They have their flaws, all media does, but to say they never aired stories like this before the swearing in is just plain false and dumb.

[Fading Captain]

because it's a sign on the times

It's a good choice for news. It's a reflection of what's going on.

[ColbertWatcher]

85. It looks like an ad for Domino's Pizza. n/t

[depakid]

15. Newsflash- pizza delivery isn't going to pay off $45,000 of debt

Gotta love that CNN.

NOT.

[Systematic Chaos]

18. One major car repair could wipe out two weeks' pay.

I did this for a while in the 90s and loved it. I actually lost weight working in a pizza place, running from my car into buildings and up steps (never took elevators) and back all day. It was great money back then when I was younger and my main expense after room and board was Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis games. :P

[Baby Snooks]

42. But it keeps the lights on and puts food on the table...

I learned about pizza delivery years ago from another agent in a real estate office - she lived in an exclusive neighborhood in an expensive house which was about all she had gotten out of a divorce and got a real estate license and "lived off the neighbors" who liked her and listed with her and referred buyers to her but in "lean times" she often had no cash flow and so she went to another area of town and delivered pizza using her son's truck instead of her Mercedes. "Cash is cash." Kept the lights on and put food on the table as she put it.

One of the other agents who knew about it asked her why she didn't just marry again. She said she'd already done that which is why she was selling real estate and delivering pizza. She had a wonderful sense of humor about it. As you have to have in order to survive.

[depakid]

44. What they need is a bankruptcy

because they're not going to manage that much debt, and it doesn't make sense to try on that salary.

I see your point though and agree. At times, I've taken a few jobs like that myself.

[Baby Snooks]

54. Bankruptcy ain't what it used to be...

Bankruptcy is no longer "I can't pay the debts" and walking away from them. And creditors have the right to demand payment based on income and assets and having only a $440 a month mortage isn't going to be very convincing to a bankruptcy trustee particularly if they have equity in the house that if it were sold would pay off part if not all of the debts. I'm not sure if it's happened or how many times it's happened if it has but the new bankruptcy law, which quite a few Democrats in Congress supported, can literally force the debtor to sell their house to pay their debts.

I'm not sure what the drivers make today but I know when the economy was good a full-time driver could make between $500 and $1,000 a week. That is not a bad income. And in this case, would pay the bills.

The real problem here is the problem most Americans are facing - the lack of health insurance at affordable rates and the inability to qualify for Medicaid or even public health care system health care. The law had to be changed to allow spouses to shelter assets in some cases. That should have woken up Congress. Apparently it didn't.

Medical emergencies have put more Americans into poverty than anything else. Something only some form of universal/subsidized health care can solve. The easiest solution would be to expand Medicare/Medicaid but of course the insurance industry opposes it but the insurance industry is the main reason why the majority of Americans cannot afford health insurance. And in some states, car insurance.

Congress really needs to face reality. The majority of Americans do not earn $100,000 a year. Most are lucky if they earn $50,000. And most have little left after they pay the mortgate/rent, the light bill and go to the grocery store.

[graywarrior]

16. Soon people will stop ordering pizza because they're only making

$10 an hour or less.

[Ilsa]

20. Tips are probably going to slow down, too. Soon, he'll be delivering

newspapers at 4am, napping, then delivering pizza, then taking an office cleaning job. No sleep; just work 24 hours a day.

[graywarrior]

21. Last stop is competing with the hoards of es-workers who are pan-handling

in the business districts where there are only about 100 people going to work.

[Ilsa]

35. And then the last 100 will have to start working from home for fear

(justified or not) of being mugged on their way to work.

[graywarrior]

80. So the entire county becomes Escape from New York.

[Harry Monroe]

88. But isn't that "Uniquely American"?

“You work three jobs?…Uniquely American, isn’t it?? I mean, that is fantastic that you’re doing that!!” George W. Bush speaking to a mother of 3 from Omaha, NE, 2005

[Dr.Phool]

56. Already happened.

My carry-out shop went under earlier this year. First the gasoline spike took any extra income our customers had for a pizza on the week-end. Then customers telling you that they may not be buying for a while because they just got laid off.

During the summer, 5 neighborhood restaurants went out of business in our area. We were number 6. More have followed.

[graywarrior]

79. Jesus, that's scary

[Chulanowa]

81. Interesting notion...

First the gas hike wrings all the money away, then the economy dives and jobs drop. Engineered, perhaps? Get the last squeeze out of the pocketbook of the lowly proles before sending htem packing?

[lib2DaBone]

19. No.. this is not right.. you can't justify it.....

NAFTA gave us the SHAFTA. Our CONgress persons sold us out to the highest corporate bidder. The American worker has been blued, screwed and tattooed by corrupt politicians from both parties.

We may all have to deliver Pizza.. but we don't have to accept it and like it. One of these days..soon.. you are going to hear from a bunch of pissed off, angry workers in this country.. tired of being ripped off.

Back in the 30's, they had the family farm to return to in hard times. Thanks to Monsanto and Archer-Daniels, we no longer have family farms. The only place left is the street.. with pitchforks and torches.

[demodonkey]

22. Fucking Medical Debt. AGAIN. How long are we, as a country, going to put up with this shit?

I'm sick and tired of being asked to support spaghetti dinners and bake sales to get care for sick people; even more tired of hearing these stories of families wrecked and lives destroyed in large ways and small.

Single payer healthcare for all. We can't afford NOT to do this.

[sammythecat]

32. It's insane, we practically bankrupt ourselves

to maintain the largest, most extravagantly powerful and expensive military defense the world has ever known in order to over-protect us from threats that might, or might not, occur. yet when it comes to the inevitable, the certain to happen, threats of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, etc., we have absolutely nothing. It's every man for himself. Crazy behavior in my opinion.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

41. I agree, now at least we can make a start with healthcare

no one, I mean no one should have have to pay upfront for healthcare. It should be free at the point of use for all with the very rich paying more. I wish we had the British system here.

[area51]

43. Damn right.

"$45,000 of mounting medical debt"

That is so fucked up. It's long past time for us to transition to single-payer healthcare and make healthcare a basic human right in the U.S.

Every day, 273 people die due to lack of healthcare in the U.S. :mad:

[marions ghost]

47. Yes, how long are we going to put up with this shit? Exactly

This is the problem...Americans are so passive and operate out of a downtrodden mentality.

bake sales to pay for sick people...right, says it all....
:grr:

[seabeyond]

24. so pneumonia and tonsillitis gave them a 45k bill. that there is a huge ass clue in about our

problems today that this could bring us a 45k bill. just ridiculous, outrageous, enough to be pissed about.

[FatDave]

84. I had to pay out of pocket for 2 children being born.

We didn't find out our shitty insurance covered neither pregnancy or delivery until too late the first time, and the second time, well, sometimes babies just happen. Anyway, it was about $10,000 for each, what with prenatal care and all. That was 7 years ago and we still haven't caught up. We tried hard not to abuse credit, but we ended up putting the hospital bills on credit cards, which meant for the next 6 years every spare penny we had went to credit card companies, but of course a dent never got put in the balances. Then I lost my job. I'm a programmer you see. Do I need to say any more? Now my credit's completely fucked. Can't even afford bankruptcy.

Now that I think about it, I wish I just wouldn't have paid the initial medical bills. My credit would still be fucked, but at least I would have had a little extra money all those years that I had a good job.

[seabeyond]

86. i hear ya. the really odd. first child paying cash was less cash out than second

child that i had insurance on.

my paying cash gave me a discount at hospital so all said and dont, with insurance deductibles set up for TWO people (baby) i paid more cash with insurance

it is all absurd

[TwilightGardener]

25. Nothing wrong with moonlighting and delivering pizzas. My husband did it

two separate times, when we were short of money.

[Retired AF Dem]

28. Does Donna have a job?

Just wondering.

[dddem]

29. with all due respect,

Raising 4 children is a job. Plus, after my second child was born, my manager and I calculated that after child care expenses, gas, and clothing allowances, I was making 27 cents an hour.

[Retired AF Dem]

31. I grew up with five brothers and sisters

I have three kids of my own. I know what it takes. My wife has worked a job the entire time we have been married (33 years) We were lucky with me being in the AirForce and could work shiftwork one of us was always home with the kids.

[dddem]

36. I did the same thing

After I quit my banking job, I took a part time job at night working at an indoor playground. I made pizzas, repaired video games, and cleaned the place after closing. It was hard work, and the money sucked, but I was able to bring the kids to work with me until my husband got home, and it allowed me to be home during the day. After my husband lost his job, and unemployment ran out, he went to work at a bookstore for minimum wage and health insurance. I know it can be done, because I've done it, but it's not an easy choice, and not everyone is as lucky as we are to be able to swap shifts in order not to have to pay for childcare. I'm afraid that more and more people are going to be sharing the experience both you and I have had. But at least now, I'm more optomistic about how things will eventually turn out.
Peace.

[Retired AF Dem]

38. I feel for anyone that has worked a banking job

People on DU is always complaining on how Walmart treats their people. Walmart cant hold a candle on how banks treat their people.

[varelse]

46. "Donna LeBlanc earns a few hundred dollars

a week exterminating mosquitoes for a bug control company. Before her husband lost his job, she had talked of going back to school to pursue a biology degree at Louisiana State University."

[NNN0LHI]

33. Cars and repairs are so expensive I am not convinced 10 bucks and hour ...

... will cover the wear and tear on the family car.

Just a new set of tires can knock you back 500 bucks real easy. Then there is brakes, etc.

Don

[Fading Captain]

50. Yep ... Food delivery is a money-losing proposition

nm

[leftofthedial]

34. I'm there right now.

This country sucks unless you are rich or are part of the still-oblivious middle class that has somehow escaped financial destruction so far.

[book_worm]

37. Lots of people have to work jobs they are over qualified for just to make a living

it's nothing new. BTW, there are also people who have high paying important jobs who are unqualified for those positions and a pizza delivery person could probably do a better job. Think Bush.

[noamnety]

40. The classism in the article disturbs me.

I wish they'd focused more on the unreasonable medical debt, and less on the burning humiliation of having to do manual labor for 5 months when you are "above" that sort of thing.

[DainBramaged]

45. That's what I got out of it too.

The press is still fucked up.

[leftstreet]

51. Expect to see more and more of it

The Ruling Class strategically uses the M$M to keep us from talking about class.

[rucky]

49. 45K debt from pretty common ailments

this pisses me off to no end.

[skygazer]

53. I get a little sick of people who feel "ashamed" to work a particular job

There's nothing shameful about honest work - there's a lot shameful about sitting on your ass waiting for something "in your field" to fall into your lap.

[undeterred]

55. Maybe the wife should consider looking for work.

I remember when my dad was laid off, it was very hard for him. He never took a job that was "beneath" him and my mother, who retired at 26, never even considered going back to work. The arrangement frankly mystified me. No matter how tough things were, there were rules. My mother working when my dad was out of work would have devastated him in his identity as "provider".

[prolesunited]

58. And who will take care of the four children

while she's working? Sad fact is that her salary probably wouldn't even cover the cost of daycare.

[Maru Kitteh]

70. Um......... just a guess...... their father?

[cherokeeprogressive]

78. I worked graveyard, she worked days.

I was an E-2 in the Navy and it was 1982. Sometimes I wouldn't even turn the car off when I got home in the morning. We'd meet in the driveway and the "handoff" would take place, if my daughter was already awake. When she got home in the afternoon, I'd go to bed. We got by. I'd say we were even kinda happy. Maybe it was just because we were young. Yeah, I know it was only one child, but the same would have applied had it been four, or ten.

We had ZERO daycare expense.

Oh, and by the way, she worked at Wendy's. No complaints. Ever wonder why Wendy's hamburger patties are square? Because they refuse to cut corners. She laughed so hard when she told me that, I thought she'd pass out.

Zero. Daycare. Expense. Not only possible, but not that hard really. Ya just gotta wanna.

[varelse]

60. She is working part-time as an exterminator

Donna LeBlanc earns a few hundred dollars a week exterminating mosquitoes for a bug control company. Before her husband lost his job, she had talked of going back to school to pursue a biology degree at Louisiana State University."

[Shakespeare]

77. The wife is working, too. n/t

[lumberjack_jeff]

57. "Wait tables, husband tells laid-off wifey"

Does no one have any trouble with the tone of the article?

[RagAss]

62. "Bite my Ass" hubby tells wife !

[Touchdown]

67. I do. Seems bossy of her. I thought marriage was a partnership.

On second thought. I don't really think I want gay marriage. Too much baggage.:evilgrin:

[lumberjack_jeff]

73. It implies ownership of one by the other.

How the economy is forcing people to take positions for which they are overqualified is a great topic. But the article doesn't say that. It says that the wife has to send her husband to a job for which he is overqualified.

It isn't an article about employment, it's an article about deflation, and how her assets have become less valuable.

[kickysnana]

59. This is news? n/t

[supernova]

61. Anything to get by.

I'm going to have to do the same thing myself. I can't find work in my field. .....

I will have to take a job doing something just to get myself going again. I do feel fortunate that I don't have a lot of bills that need tending to every month. But in april I will have car and house insurance due. Ouch.

The best thing is that they are together. I am alone and it scares me. :-(

[Maru Kitteh]

63. Damn skippy. All honest work is good work in times like these.

Keeping your home and keeping your children fed is much more important than pride.

[Peacetrain]

66. Been there and done that... phone books a number of years back

[cliffordu]

68. He's going to get paid to be a mod at DU????

Is it lucrative???

[1776Forever]

71. My suggestion is to move - We did and finally my husband has a full time good paying job!

I don't like the weather - but hey - the roof is over our head and not falling in. I know it is rough with kids, which ours are all grown, but sometimes it just is the only thing to do.

Best of luck to this family!

[SOS]

72. Bankruptcy is their only solution

Mr. LeBlanc would have to deliver pizza for eight hours a day, for three years straight, without spending a dime on anything else to pay off his wife's pneumonia bill.
This assumes his creditors are not charging any interest on the bill.
If it's a credit card, he will be delivering pizza for the rest of his life with 100% of his money going to the hospital.

It's over. Declare bankruptcy.

(And yes, the 2005 Bank Predator Bill makes it harder, but their income is so low and debt so high, they could do it.)

[old mark]

74. This is kind of funny. My wife and I both made way less than $10 an hour

working for private social service agencies, and were glad to get it. She later made barely $10 an hour working as a County Social Worker, and I made less than that for several years in State Civil Service.
And the wife makes "several hundred dollars a week" working part time?
She is very fortunate to find such a job.
Overwhelming medical expenses is the most common cause of bankruptcy. Our lawyer told us that when we filed about 15 years ago.
mark

[reggie the dog]

82. I got to this point and realized how lucky I am to live in a civilized country, France

"$45,000 of mounting medical debt from Donna LeBlanc's unexpected case of pneumonia and tonsillitis a year earlier. The family savings account had dwindled to $100."

They have a French name, Donna the White. Had she caught pneumonia and tonsillitis in France she would have paid ZERO for the hospitalization, and one euro for the medecine every time she renewed her prescription.

[closeupready]

83. And interestingly, people in France live far longer than Americans,

on a per capita basis. Hmmmm....