I mean I feel for others, but chances are they haven't been in my shoes, and there are some who are in even worse shape than I am in. I was supposed to have an interview with the New York Times' Michael Luo, but he had already written his story about people being forced to move in with relatives and "double up" as a way to avert homelessness. He still wants me to contact him; I will probably do it after my call center job presumably ends this week so I can go back to substituting. Both pay not even 1/3 of what I made as a teacher being paid for nine months work. And Oregon taxes the shit out of you with its income tax. In my current job at a call center, which I thoroughly detest but am doing it only to try and tide me over for the next few weeks when I can get paid in FEBRUARY working as a substitute aide (I can't afford to get a regular or substitute teaching license in Oregon right now), I make less than $100 a week take-home pay than I did drawing UI in Nevada.
I did have some help with purchasing a pair of eyeglasses and an exam so I can try and get my Oregon driver's license, but the expenses keep rolling in. Even without paying rent here at my brother's, I still have expenses, and they seem bigger because there is so little in the way of money coming in. It's a downward spiral, and I truly see no way out of it.
This is what I wrote that despicable piece of shit who terminated me in Nevada and destroyed my career while she is out gallivanting around making well over 100k a year in salary, plus 1/3 more in benefits, which outlines how bad off I am:
Oh, sure, I should "move on," after you STOLE my career, a career for which I had prepared for 15 long years, paid my way through undergraduate and graduate school while working full-time in different lines of work, including teaching-related work. But since you have never worked anywhere else but WCSD, probably got your initial job and promotions to AP and principal because of some kind of family or friend connections, you wouldn't have a clue what it is like to be in my shoes. Well, I will TELL you what it is like, just as I described to a reporter from the New York Times who had interviewed me a couple of weeks ago. I filed for unemployment insurance the day of my kangaroo hearing and was able to get it, contrary to ***'s LIES about my eligibility. Before that, I was on food stamps and energy assistance. I also lost my car when it had to be junked, so I was without a car for eight months, which made it virtually impossible to find any kind of work in Reno. Thanks to family, I was able to get another car, some 22 years old, but with low mileage and in great condition. However, to date I have not been able to get any kind of work, especially now with the economy tanking all over the United States, including and especially Nevada. I am 55 years old and have lost EVERYTHING. I am deemed too old to work, and I am too young to collect Social Security, which the district robbed me of during my four years there and must have THAT monthly benefit reduced because of collecting PERS. Now that I could no longer pay the rent, I have been forced to move in with family back in Oregon. My "home" is a couch in the living room of my brother's mobile home; otherwise, I would be homeless. I had to stop paying utilities on the apartment, so those were shut off. I have now run out of all unemployment insurance, so I have no income whatsoever. I have no savings at all and my credit is ruined. I have no access to health insurance. I have no dental insurance, which I desperately need. I owe the IRS over a thousand dollars in back taxes since I couldn't afford to have federal taxes withheld on UI. I also put my student loans on forbearance; I had student loans from the time I student taught back in 1999--this was the only time I didn't pay for my education out of my own pocket. I am being forced to pawn off some possessions in order to have money coming in, but uncertain as to whether I will ever be able to get money to get the items out. Last winter, while you were out gallivanting around Hawaii getting your one-of-a-kind tattoo, scuba diving, belly-bumping with the giant manta rays while they were feeding, and boasting about how good life is, I was forced to pawn off my mother's 1 1/2-carat diamond solitaire ring in order to pay for my auto insurance and registration. Fortunately, I was able to get it out of the pawn shop. However, I am being forced to pawn other items now. In addition, I have signed for "retraining" programs for people over 55, since I am essentially blackballed from the teaching profession because of what YOU did, and of course you and the district must keep up your deceptions so you would LIE to a prospective school district if it ever gave me a chance to even make the cut for an interview. The way school district job applications in Oregon, California, Washington, and many other states are written, I have to REVEAL what YOU and the district did to me under threat of losing any license I would be able to get in these states. So I am automatically screened out as a "bad" teacher, lumped in with the child molesters and DUIs, even though my work performance had NOTHING to do with why you threw me out on my ass. I don't even get a chance to explain anything.
On top of that, I lost my beloved dog, Tony, which made things even worse for me emotionally. The ring, by the way, is back in a pawnshop, so I could lose that at any point. Meanwhile, this piece of incompetent shit principal is pulling down over 100k in salary plus 1/3 more of that in bennies. All done at my expense, while I am facing absolute destitution and cannot even afford a fucking place to live. On top of that, I should any day be subpoenaed to be deposed on that bogus lawsuit. The plaintiff's lawyers have already deposed three of my former co-workers, including my co-defendant, so my day is coming, or so everybody thinks. I have no intention of being psychologically raped again so people can get rich or have cushy jobs at my expense.
I started my working career at the company where I am working in a call center. I was making three-something an hour back in 1980 and could AFFORD an apartment and live independently. Now I am making $9.60 an hour and can't even DREAM of ever living on my own again. I can hardly stand this job, and being almost 56 it is just about impossible to work multiple jobs, unlike 10 or 15 years ago, when I could do it. Of course, this job is temporary work, just as the shit sub job is temporary work, and I can't afford to apply for a teaching license in Oregon for regular teaching or substituting and make more money unless I can get the Job Council to help out.
It's dire, and I don't see my situation improving at all, if ever. And now that no-good son of a bitch Obama wants to take away Social Security for people like me who are just a few years away from collecting.
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