I will not cloud this post with statistics but provide you with an opinion of an individual who has lived and worked hard simply to survive. Survival… eating, sleeping comfortably, living… basic needs. Creature comforts, I admit, are not necessity, however it sure makes a happier family. Electricity to provide heat in the winter and air conditioning in the summer. Lights. Washing clothes. All part of modern society, and taken for granted until you can’t pay your bill. Yes, all these things people lived without, in the old days. But you can have your kids taken away from you by the government for not having electricity in your home. You can have them “rehomed” like a pet if they feel you are not caring for them properly. You can have your own flesh and blood wrenched from your grasp at the word of someone who “feels” they are being mistreated. I feel fortunate this has not happened to me, however I do know of a family torn in two because certain, frivolous issues arose that were beyond the mother’s control. The loss of a job.
Recent events in my life, changes… have ever reminded me of the total investment required for my children. Two little warriors, one a cancer survivor, the other a brash and opinionated three year old. Today’s society requires much of a mother. It expects feats far beyond those of Wonderwoman, Hawkgirl or Black Cat. A literal superhero based in the domestic. Political correctness and societal taboos aside, assumptions about one’s life and how it should be “led”, imposed views and third party brainwashing of children, creates turmoil and confusion in such a life. Following your dreams, taking care of children and dealing with life’s negativities… a daily struggle to keep a head held high and back straight. This, on top of the above mentioned costs, sure antes up the total expense to having kids.
Video Courtesy of Rich Ornelas
Cost. Cost of living, dreaming, surviving… it all costs money. Remember, that paper and shiny coins? What is the real value? Possession is 9 10ths of the law… you buy something, exchange this currency for a product or service, pay for renting a roof or leasing a vehicle. These are yours only if you continue to pay. Stop paying for one reason or another, it gets yoinked out from under you. The problem with the welfare system is that there are too many people taking advantage of it and not enough helping those who need it. When my son was going through treatment for his Retinoblastoma, I had to cut my hours to part time numbers. This caused a problem with being able to pay for those things we needed. Food, namely. So we applied for food stamps. Denied. Between my part time salary and the salary of the boys’ father, we made too much. We were fortunate to have a loving grandmother who is willing to help out when needed.
So, the non-tangible cost of having children, besides loving and cherishing them, is working hard to keep them supplied with the tangible. Sending them to daycare, putting in 8 hours at work, and spending another hour to two hours driving to pick up kids and getting home. Where is the time to spend loving and cherishing the kids? I know this is the norm in Fauxmerica’s society. I am not alone. I am not saying I am. I am just an individual with experience in real life America. What was the United States founded on? Freedom. From oppression. From a controlling entity. To gain the freedom to say what you want, act how you feel, and live happily. How can we live happily when we work too hard, trying to find a second job to supplement the first, to pay for those things that keep gaining in inflated prices? Oppressed America is, obsessed by money and statistics, not wanting to see how life really is. Besides the government aspect, corporate America has been gaining momentum in losing loyal employees by not providing enough of a compensation to support it’s non management employees.
The recent events that have inspired this rant are thus:
I have worked for the same company for 12 years. With the occasional hiccup in questioned loyalty to it’s employees, I have remained at said company. I will not name the company or the names of those involved, out of respect. The position I was in until this past Thursday was a management position running a department in the store. Non union and one of the only positions in the store where I have to pay for my benefits. $130 a week. I made a decent salary, working anywhere from 32 to 45 hours a week depending on how busy the week was. Was barely making it as it was being a single mom.
I performed the same duties day after day, year after year for six years. Half of my tenure at the company. I put my all into this position, working six and even seven days a week some weeks. Staying later than others to ensure the job was done right. Despite the dedication, performance issues for my team had become a problem for the past year. Angers were flaring and unwanted corporate attention grew. With the help of store management, we were able to pull the team together into a semi cohesive unit that functioned it’s duties to an acceptable level. And consistent. I have to give major kudos to those kids of mine, working their asses off to improve their performance. For that I thank you.
I will go back to when I transferred from the corporate office to the retail sector of the company. I was approached by the individual who ran that specific sector of the company. She told me that she needed someone to run a department in a store closer to my home. Commuting an hour to and from work was wearing on me and my vehicle, so I readily agreed to apply. I have kids, and the daycare doesn’t open until 6, so it was understood I would not be getting there until an hour and a half after the shift technically started. The rest of the team started the shift, I would assist in the duties of the job, and finish the shift. By myself most of the time. Again, the dedication.
Six years we functioned like this. I won’t go into more detail than necessary for these specific circumstances, however there is more to the story. Successfully at times, and others struggling with production and performance. All I can say is I worked hard, hard enough for management to see how hard I was working and keep me in the job for six years.
A week and a half ago, I was asked to step down from my position. With the raise in production numbers, it was obvious that was not the avenue to rid themselves of me. Dropping a dollar and half in pay, losing full time status, which means I will be given the left over hours. I am being moved from a corporate management position to a union general position, so despite my 12 years with the company, I am a new hire. Bottom of the totem pole, last to bid for shift, one with the least seniority. I do have to say that store management and other entities fought hard to ensure my position was kept, and I thank you for that. However, company policy ultimately won out. They do not make special schedules for individuals, and even though I had been working this schedule for six years, with the knowledge of the individual who approached me and convinced store management at the time to hire me to fulfill this position. This same individual who a week and half ago, decided my life was no longer convenient for the company. I felt railroaded, I am not gonna lie. Corporate Fauxmerica can strip you of your title, your pay and your hours within days, however still feel obligated to make you pay those corporate benefits until union benefits “kick in”. So here I am, stuck virtually without a paycheck for the next six weeks, having to pay for inflated gas prices to travel to and from work everyday at decreased hours, decreased pay… life a shambles, unable to feed my children properly, keep electricity on, losing my apartment… after 12 years with the same company. Now THAT’S loyalty.
To add to this, I do have a college degree. $30,000 in student loans. $400 per month. I made the decision to go, online, at inflated credit hour prices, so I could work full time, take my son to his chemotherapy appointments, and attend college full time. I say sometimes this was the worst mistake I have ever made. I don’t have a job reflecting this college degree, and it sure does not help getting a job. I am unable to even find a second part time job. THAT’S Fauxmerica.
I am not the only individual who is suffering at this major corporation. Employees who have been working there for 20+ years have been demoted, transferred and cut from full time to part time in favor of newer, lesser paid employees. I do not fault the newer employees, who are also college degree holding, experience riddled individuals who need jobs too. But settle for minimum wage as they cannot survive due to loss of job or simply acquiring a second one. Again, this is the norm. I understand. But how can corporate Fauxmerica even comprehend what these people are going through, sitting in their crystal corporate palaces, getting somewhere fast on the shoulders of their underpaid, overworked employees? I reiterate… I do not have statistics. All I have is my experience, and the witness of others in my retail family that this company is taking advantage of and overlooking countless times.
The whole point of this rant is this: America is not America anymore in respect to the principals it was founded on. How can we be free if we are oppressed in the mental? By society and taboo, our own government neglecting it’s citizens, hard muthafuckin working citizens, in favor of promoting and supporting corporate Fauxmerica? And corporate Fauxmerica cutting hours, pay and benefits…
Song for the hard muthafuckin workers of America!
One of the aspects that started this downward spiral is the benefits. Medical: sick care, well care, ect. Prior to 2010 or so corporate benefits were copay based. So with the around $100,000 my own little warrior gathered in cancer treatment bills, we paid a miniscule amount. Twenty bucks here, twenty there. Otherwise, I am sure that on top of life’s expenses and student loans, I would have thousands more in medical bills I would have to cover on my decreased salary.
Today’s plans are deductible based. Which is a widespread problem across the country. Most people I know can’t afford a $300 upfront payment for emergency surgery, or a $2000 deductible, though accumulative, when the first visit they go to is a $2,600 follow up appointment for the oncologist. THAT, again, is FAUXMERICA.
I apologize, if you haven’t already guessed what this term is, let me splain it to yoo. Corporate Fauxmerica. To me, in my eyes, government and corporation coincide. They play off each other, help each other survive, deny citizens and employees, all one and the same, from surviving comfortably in this societal maelstrom of madness. Big business has created a government all its own in our society. Statistics and numbers and profit… that is what it is all about in Corporate Fauxmerica. You work hard, supersede your company’s goals for the most part, and eek by. Then comes the point in the decision making process on the part of the corporation to cut costs. This made by taking hours and pay from long termers at the company and giving it to lesser paid newer individuals. Scandalous. Just like the government, obsessed with numbers and statistics and how much money they can bring in by taxing the people. And using it toward unrelated issues. Like WAR. And senate raises. Whores. Drugs. And designer clothing.
Corporate Fauxmerica. An entity all its own, a fake version of the original, citizen minded country it was created for. Impersonating an entity that cares for its people. A loving parental persona, not sweeping everything out from under the feet of it’s children. Selfish, prideful, obsessed with making everything look good on paper… when in reality, the picture is all that matters. A drab colored, dejected picture of a country who once fought for it’s populous, not against it, not taking advantage of it, but fighting along side it.
So to you, my fellow Americans, I say we make an attempt to fix what is broken. I am one individual who is sick of living this way. Rejected by my government and railroaded by the company I have been loyal to for 12 years. If you feel the same way I do, share my post. Share the message… fight back against Corporate Fauxmerica. Help support those who matter, smaller business, family owned business. Shop local, support local, create a business! Find a way to keep business away from corporate monstrosities, stop the monopoly on our lives! I don’t know if this will make a difference, but I sure wanna try.
Cheers!!
*video propaganda shared on this site is for your information. enjoy and watch.
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