Creativity + Social Change
University of Connecticut
9 November 2011
We are lucky!
We have a healthy family.
I have a good union job and my wife works part-time.
We have benefits.
We are both educated.
We have shelter.
Layoffs?
Future?
Retirement?
We are the 99%. Thank you for all the Occupy Movements happening around the world! You are being heard.
Matt, I reallly appreciate you showing your suppoort toward the 99%. Even though you are very fortunate you seem concerned, like many others, of your future. I think that is why this movement has been so powerful. There are many people out there that do “have it all” but are concerned for the future. So many union jobs and jobs in general are having layoffs or aren’t hiring. It makes it unclear where the company stands and makes people worry. My dad works for Pratt and Whitney and they seem to be having layoffs every few months. My dad has worked there for many years and he works in critical department. We have been very fortunate but it can cause stress for our family when there are layoffs.
ReplyDeleteI too am very grateful for the things that I have now. I do have a full time job with benefits and I'm in school. However, I am very concerned about my future. I do not have a clear vision of where i will be in 5 years and that to me isvery scary. I pray that I will continue to be employed. I know that I will be paying off student loans for a while.
ReplyDeleteThis is an awesome post Matt! Everyone of us should do this in class. It helps us from all differnt backrounds connect and understand ea other and that we are not struggling alone. Like Charlene, I am stressed, but not when it comes to my future but my parents. I believe I will make it through no matter what in the long run but my parents are not getting any younger. My dad is about to hit 70 and although he tells me he's very healthy and ready to do anything, i just think he should take the time to relax and enjoy life. Maybe 70 is a scary number for me but knowing that he will have to work in order to support my mother and himself is very hard for me to understand when growing up they had plans to retire and enjoy spending time with their family.
ReplyDeleteI found out the hard way that having a successful business is no guarantee that your future is secure. When the banksters crashed the economy my business went with it. We had a multiple six figure income and the lifestyle that goes with it. Yes, we qualified as part of the 1% income-wise, but not in attitude. We would not have objected, indeed we advocated for, higher taxes on our income. We were well aware that without the additional tax revenue the situation was unsustainable. Thankfully my wife and I had put enough away for us to live on for two to three years. That will give me time to rebuild and move on. I will never again be dependent on a single source of income. For those of us with day jobs here's some advice, start a business from home. Continue your education, but not in school. Learn how to be self-sufficient and reliant. If you depend only upon a job your future is at risk. It can disappear overnight. If you own a business develop other streams of income. No business is completely secure. If you have three or four incomes and one dies at least you will not be destitute. When my income rebuilds to it's former level (and it will) my wife and I will always be a part of 'the 99%' and proud of it. It is grassroots, not astroturf like some others and that is what makes it authentic and true.
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