Zero visibility. Snow Storm - Looking out the window of my flight heading back to Nashville - only seeing white. I've spent 2.5 months, in 7 cities, 4 states meeting hundreds of people during "open enrollment" helping them sign up for benefits offered through their employers. I heard amazing stories from incredibly hard-working, low-paid people. Stories of losing children and husbands to bullets from the guns of friends and gangs. Stories of losing mothers, fathers, aunts, friends to cancer. Stories of working two minimum wage jobs to barely meet the bills. Stories from single moms making $9 an hour with daycare bills of $800 a month, and medical deductibles of $3000.
With all the Shouting about not increasing the minimum wage, and how "those people" feel they are entitled, I wish the shouters could be in my shoes and have met these incredible people. The last location I worked at was a nursing home for the mentally ill and alzheimer's/dementia patients. I met with the nurses, nurses' aids, cooks, therapists, security, maintenance and all helpers. In order to meet with all the employees, I had to cover three shifts. To say I am sleep deprived is an understatement. I could not have done it without the help of three amazing people who worked there - Thanks to Keith, Rita and Kenneth. And now, time to zzzzzzzzzz.
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White Christmas, White Space
1 day ago
Hope rejuvenating sleep holds you soon! Like many eye opening encounters with people not like them, hard-nosed, unsympathetic idealoques would do well to rub elbows with people trying to tack together ends that aren't close enough to meet. Close encounters of an unexpected kind.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Steve. Yes. I wish Bill Gates would host a fancy dinner every year and invite the rich elite to come hob nob and then for entertainment have the working poor tell their stories via poems, songs, dance and video. Then ask for a special contribution/tithe of at least 10% of profits to "Mercy fund for the so-called entitled." That money, instead of raising taxes on the rich could be donated to the "Entitlement Fund."
ReplyDeleteAm I too idealistic ?
No, not too idealistic (a dream of perfection). We should all have such dreams to strive for!
DeleteGates should charge for the fancy dinner with all proceeds going to the working poor, and in addition, have the diners listen to stories and contribute to the Mercy Fund.
But Gates is NOT a giving man. Not like philanthropists of the past who gave away 100% of their income.
Kathy, how can you say Gates is not a giving man, when he has his foundation that gives millions of dollars to various causes? I'm curious.
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