I still have a job...

[Javaman]

(In another post, someone posted an article regarding a poll about how people say they aren't doing better under Obama's administration.)

I still have a job, that has to count for something, right?

However, I haven't gotten a raise since Obama has been in office, but then again, I haven't gotten a raise in about 4 years. Boo hoo for me, I got a job, right?

The costs of things continue to go up, but I still have a job right?

My girlfriend and I are having issues with meeting our bills, but hell I still have a job, right?

As we continue to spiral down, how will having a job matter when the basics of life become so expensive that even having a job no longer matters?

But at the end of the day, I'm still thankful to have my job. I have plenty of friends who have lost theirs.

But am I better off? Honestly, no. Frankly, from this average Americans view point, not much from my stand point has gotten better.

Quite a few people will make point after point as to the merits of Obama's leadership. And that is all fine and documented. But I'm talking from a point of view from down in the trenches.

My health care deductible went up and my monthly premium went up. I, also, now get less bang for the buck from my health plan.

The price of gas is still going up, yet my paycheck remains the same (technically, it's lower against the cost of living, but who talks about that?)

We have a huge garden. I'm thankful for that. But we haven't had a good rain in over 2 months and my water tanks are bone dry. So now I have to use city water, during a time when the city is doing water averaging. So my water bill will go up next year. I'm really glad nothing appears to have been achieved at Cancun. :sarcasm:

Sometimes I think about Sisyphus. And I wonder if he ever thought to himself, "what if I just stopped pushing this rock up hill?"

[Robyn66]

1. I hear that same argument all the time

I work in municipal gvt.

I havent had a raise in 3 going on 4 years.

I make 15.00/hour and only allowed to work 32 hours a week. I have a college degree, have worked here for going on 7 years and I am getting all the training I can including GIS just to try and get some job security, because all the time people in our town are screaming about the town employees and their cushy high paying jobs. Every year I am at a risk of being eliminated and my family is at risk. But I am grateful to have a job right now. Back in the 90's I worked for Sylvania and brought home 600.00/week now I bring home 400.00. My husband makes crap money too and is salaray so he works about 50 hours a week. But he is lucky he has a job too. We count penny's to pay everything. We are SUPPOSED to be the middle class, but we are the working poor. We have a daughter who is heading to college in two years and who knows where that money is coming from. We live paycheck to paycheck. No savings, credit card debt and beleive me we are not living in luxury. But we have jobs.

[JuniperLea]

2. Sisyphus

I've been using that analogy for a while now. But in my mind, Sisyphus is pushing that boulder up a sand hill. This isn't your father's Sisyphus. Unless you're 80+ years old, it's probably more akin to your grandfather's Sisyphus.

I grew up listening to my grandmother and her 14 brothers and sisters tell about growing up during the Great Depression and how they had to make due with very little. A big thrill for the girls would be when it came their turn to pick out the flower sack at the dry goods store. They made their underwear, bras and all, out of flour sacks. But you wouldn't know it was a hard life to hear them talk. They laughed until the tears rolled down their faces. They were all so close; I only have a handful of great aunts and uncles left, and I treasure them.

I just had three pair of dress work shoes repaired, and I felt so grateful for those stories.

It's hard times, no question, and there's no magic bullet, magic pill, or magic president that is going to make it all go away anytime soon. I remember when the housing and stock markets crashed and the IR folk in my office were talking about how it will take years for the stock market (casino) to fully recover and a decade or more for the housing market to catch up. I remember hearing that echoed in the media. Well, here we are, and I'm feeling like I'm the only one who remembers.

It's time to pull together, like Depression folk.

[Uben]

3. I had a friend who got Sisyphus.....

... I think they gave him penicillon.

[JuniperLea]

4. Heh...

Sounds painful, doesn't it? I understand many great men throughout history had it. Ouch.

[angstlessk]

5. Move to Detroit and purchase a home for 5,000..

That is what we did...we were about to lose our home in VA and sold it for rock bottom price..but that was still more money than homes in Detroit...my home here is equal to..or ..because of the cold better than my house in VA...if someone can sell their home and get cash out..moving to Detroit is not a bad idea...

[Robbien]

6. Stepping into a grocery store is frightening these days

There are standard items I picked up thoughtlessly five years ago. Now that everything is almost twice the cost, each time we go we are deciding which ones will no longer be in our household.

I often feel that rock is pushing us back down the hill faster than we can push it up.