So today, for the third (or is it fourth?) time I had to explain why I am not going to collect unemployment being that my job is over and I am unemployed now.This decision is a decision made by myself and supported by my husband and to be perfectly honest- the only reason I feel this topic merits a blog post is that just about everyone that knows me personally, knows I am a bleeding heart liberal. I am a pro-choice, pro-gay marriage, keep your religion out of my government, legalize pot, take care of those that need help and tax those that can afford it, invest in our infrastructure and education, Jon Stewart watching liberal that will cross reference everything I hear/read with at least two fact checking sites and I even have a peace sign tattoo.
SO....that being said- I've had my fair share of generalizations hurled at me when I started in politics. I've been called a socialist more times than I can remember (which isn't totally false, after all I do agree with Bernie Saunders on just about everything, and I admire Switzerland's Democratic Socialist government- the funny part is how people think communism and socialism is interchangeable....and yet those people call me "lib"-tard? Do yourself a favor and actually pick up a book regarding either-ism and give Wikipedia a break, champ) and so I want to shed some light on the fact that most people think liberals or the 47% as Mittens referred to us are suckling at the government teet and don't want to do anything but collect from the government,
NOW to be perfectly frank- my family does depend on the government for our survival. Not because we are on welfare or food stamps, but because my husband is in the military and gets paid with your taxpayer dollars! When he deploys- he doesn't pay taxes (thank you, W) and he (used to) deploy a lot. Considering the fucking peanuts he works for while going to some shit hole country and diffusing IED's like some freaking super hero- I'd say the government is getting the better end of the bargain. And while many of you were bitching about Sandra Fluke's request that private insurance (that is not paid for by Joe Taxpayer) cover her birth control- I want you to know that myself and thousands of others that use Tricare (military insurance) are taking our daily dose of contraception that I didn't even have to pay a co-pay for thanks to the country's tax dollars.
BUT- with my job as a Campaign Manager this past year and Kiel being home for over a year straight- Kiel and I actually got bumped up by two tax brackets and had our taxable income more than tripled. And you know what- we didn't bitch at all at this fact. OH MY GOD! We have to pay a little bit more in taxes?! However will we survive?! Maybe because we have more fucking income? Kiel got a truck, we bought two more guns (yes, I am a liberal gun owner. Most liberals don't want to keep guns from good people, we just want the current laws enforced better to keep guns out of the hands of bad people), we were able to book three trips to the east coast and pay off some debt. Yea, Uncle Sam was really fucking us with the taxes.
AND NOW, the job has ended. I am "between jobs" at the moment and our monthly income has been literally sliced in half. Why shouldn't I collect unemployment? I have three reasons:
1) I knew my job as a Campaign Manager (while opening up many doors for me) wasn't a permanent gig. My job was to win an election. The election is over. No more job. This wasn't a big surprise for me. And so that is why during my time as a campaign manager, Kiel and I made sure to take advantage- pay off bills, save up for big purchases- PLAN PLAN PLAN so if I decided not to return back to the workplace for a while, we would able to manage.
2) I hate standing in lines, especially with a 2 year old. I don't want to stand in line with a 2 year old if I don't have to do so.
3) While the money would be nice- we don't need it. Sure, military pay isn't what is should be for those that fight for our country, with budgeting and planning and a shit ton of coupons, groupons, living social deals and sites like inboxdollars.com and mypoints.com- we get by. I feel that social welfare systems are WONDERFUL and that those that NEED it should take advantage- but we don't need it. Would I like it? Yes. But if I collected unemployment, even though my family could survive without it, I would feel as though I were taking advantage of the system and therefore in some small way- adding to the problems social welfare systems face in our country. SO many people use these programs for survival- but find a few assholes that manipulate the system and all of a sudden we are a generation of moochers looking for a handout. Now there is this awful stigma that whomever uses a social program to help themselves or their families survive is lazy- and that is just awful! Seriously people! There is no shame in using a social program to help yourself or your family through a difficult time. That is what it is there for! My mother used social programs when I was younger. She used pell grants to get her nursing degree. Now she owns multiple homes and her daughters aren't living in poverty (I graduated college and my sister is currently in college back east). Those social programs were an investment in my family and I think they paid off well (another reason I don't mind paying taxes- I want to pay it forward for the next young family that needs to be given a break).
So bitch and moan about people living off of the government, blah blah blah. But as for me, I'm glad that we live in a country where we are supposed to look after each other and help each other through tough times. With the end of a very tiring election cycle- I am not going through a tough time, in fact- I'm kind of like the idea of having a few months to devote to my family (which is why at every interview I let people know I won't be able to start until next month). Losing the income kind of sucks- but this is far from a tough time and I just wouldn't feel right asking my countrymen to foot the bill for my break from the workplace.
PLUS- not working has given me SO much more time to do crafts I find on pinterest! I will post some pictures of my pinterest projects soon!
