Something is about to happen that is worse than losing the House or having to see Bush's fugly face on T.V. Something is about to happen that will hurt millions of Americans, and could potentially kill some of them.
I'm talking about the lapse in unemployment benefits that will occur unless the lame duck congress votes to reauthorize.
Sources deem it unlikely.
Until a few months ago, I was one of the millions of long-term unemployed in this country. I lost my teaching job at the end of 2008 and spent a year and a half on and off unemployment. I took odd jobs where I could, but the only way I could pay rent and buy food was because of my unemployment insurance.
In June, that all stopped, and my life was turned upside down. By now, the story is all too familiar, so I won't bore you with the details. Suffice it to say that I burned through my savings just to stay in my apartment, got behind on my bills, ate funky stuff from the back of my pantry, and ultimately had to borrow grocery money from friends. It was humiliating, stressful, and, quite frankly, the scariest time of my life. You see, I have a baby and a wife to support. But you know, I was luckier than a lot of people who were thrown off unemployment. Some people weren't so lucky; they lost their jobs, their housing, their means of transportation, all because Republicans played politics with their lives, and their about to do it again.
Just in time for the holidays. Before Christmas, the fuckers.
And just in time for winter. Some people won't be able to pay their heating bill and may likely have their utilities shut off. They won't be able to pay the bills to heat their homes, or buy food or fuel their cars.
It's going to be a long, cold winter for some people, and you'll hear the right wing blowhards talking about their fellow citizens as whiners who refuse to look for work because they're lazy and enjoy living off the government. While people shiver in their homes or worse, are evicted from their homes, Republicans will say they deserve it.
Yes, I have a job now, and I can buy food and pay my rent. But I am afraid for those who haven't yet found work and desperately need their unemployment checks to make it through the winter. I'm setting aside some money to help them. Even if it's only a week's worth of groceries or a partial payment toward a utility bill, this summer's experience is too close for me not to do everything I can to help them weather the storm.