Nothing is Greater to the American People then a Paycheck

[G2099]

UFO's on the White House lawn - "Am I still gonna get paid?"

3000 soldiers died in Iraq - "Am I still gonna get paid?"

A depression greater then the Great Depression of the 30's on the horizon? - "Where's MY paycheck?"

No more Bill Of Rights - "I'm still getting my paycheck."

Global Warming? - "I'll take a warm paycheck. Cool"

And the beat goes on as long as the paycheck rolls on.

[demnan]

1. Guilty here

Pay checks are extremely important. That's why we need to convince people that the Republicans will do anything to keep our paychecks low.

When did the Republicans do anything to increase the paycheck of a working person?

[pitohui]

2. and what's wrong w. that?

the first rule of survival is to survive, in usa you are not allowed to even put food in your mouth if you don't have the piece of paper that says you can "pay"

do you not see how silly and artificial that is, nonetheless, as we live in a capitalist society, the only alternative to having a regular check come in is to stick a gun in somebody's face and take THEIR pieces of paper and plastic to pay for food, housing, clothing, etc

every healthy functional person's first priority should be to earn a decent living to be able to care for self and family so they are not a nuisance in a disaster

[ret5hd]

5. "so they are not a nuisance in a disaster"...

i have FINALLY put my finger on what strikes me wrong about you. People are a NUISANCE to you. You are irritated that OTHERS make their presence known in YOUR arena! Prisoners, attorneys, activists, juveniles, gardeners, conservationists, etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc. We are all an intrusion into your sphere of gravity!

Thank you for helping me to finally pin it down.



:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Union Thug]

3. I hear what you are saying...but

the problem is that we have no social support mechanism that allows us the freedom not to place the paycheck on an altar. For many of us, we lack the freedom to explore opportunities, chase passions, or otherwise grow as human beings because we are too busy trying to make ends meet. We get locked into a structure early on and the thought of that greatest of icons, the paycheck, not coming in is one of the most terrifying ideas we can confront.

Unfortunately, many people are put into a gambler's game with their lives, the chips of which are all wrapped around that paycheck. Here's an example. There is a person I know that will not go to the doctor because he says that if they find anything wrong and he needs long term medical care, he'll be out of work and his family will suffer more than if he just plows forward and one day drops dead. That way, he reasons, the life insurance money he has through his job will go to his wife, pay off the house and leave them more secure, although without a husband/father. The alternative is to risk going in for long term treatment, losing his job and dying... Leaving his family not only without a father, but probably without a house, too, as they try to absorb the massive debt incurred through his hospital stay..

Right or wrong, this is the kind of thinking that our society gives rise to.

[Virginia Dare]

6. Excellent post...

many people are caught in a trap that there is no hope of ever getting out of. Day to day, week to week, paycheck to paycheck. Material value takes priority over everything else. In other words, that guy you cited, the only worth he sees in himself is his ability to bring home a paycheck and provide for his family. He values that above his own health and well-being. Very sad.

[Deja Q]

10. Seconded and agreed.

[Sydnie]

12. I can relate!!

A week ago Wednesday I was at work, in a grocery store about an hour from my house. My job requires that I visit various stores in my territory and I was at that store that day. I began to feel some chest pain and tried to ignore it. I worked for two more hours with this pain. I thought ... "maybe it's just indigestion" ... so I bought a bottle of rolaids, took two and continued to work for another 40 minutes or so. Since I was in a grocery store they happened to have a blood pressure monitoring machine in the pharmacy area. I went over and took my blood pressure. It read 188/111. I thought, this machine must be really out of whack. I waited there, sitting and resting for a few minutes and took it again. It read almost exactly the same. By this time, I thought, perhaps I should go to the hospital, something I *NEVER* do. Only problem was, I was an hour from the hospital near my house, where my teenage kids would be later that day.

I called my room mate and told her that I needed to go to the hospital and asked her to meet me there. Since I couldn't leave my car that far away without causing hardship in getting it back close to home, I drove myself all that way with the chest pain still there. (I know, not the smartest thing I could have done, but I wasn't disoriented at all and was in full control of my mental capacities. If I thought I couldn't have done it, I would have waited for someone to come and retrieve me instead.) If I had left my car there, I wouldn't have been paid for the mileage or the travel time back to my home area. I tried to finish my work before leaving, hoping that the pain would go away on it's own. As it was, I knew an ambulance would break the bank so I didn't opt for that. I know I am lucky that it wasn't more serious than it was after waiting for hours to get help. How silly the choices seem ... a paycheck or life.

I spent a night in the hospital (my copay will be about $250 for that). I have been out of work since that night but am stressing now because I don't get any sick time or personal time. If I am not at work, I don't get paid at all. I had a full schedule of work last week and now will be out of the loop for a week and a half's earnings! Luckily, I wasn't completely broke when this happened and I can absorb the lost time (not easily but I can absorb it if I watch every penny for the next few months) but the copay puts me further in the whole.

I gave the credit for my "episode" to two things ... having a teenager that was to graduate from high school on Thursday who is "putting me through the wringer a great deal lately", and the administration in Washington. Yes, George W. Idiot is trying to stress me to death!

I went today for the second part of the stress test and will not return to work until next Monday, even before I get any of the results of the tests. I can't afford to spend another day out of work, but I don't want the last thing I do in this world to be that lame job that I do either. My work only benefits the food brokers and the chains, certainly not humanity! But, with two kids that depend on me, I can't afford NOT to do this job for the paycheck that it provides.

I am in the same boat as your friend and George Bailey ... I am worth more dead than alive monetarily, but I am the world to my kids. My life insurance isn't through my work, I pay for that myself. As long as I can pay the premiums, the kids won't starve if I drop dead.

It sucks to be where I am right now. It really sucks.

[Union Thug]

14. Your story really illustrates the core issue with our society...

We can no longer have faith that we are supported in times of need. No one, in the richest society in the world, should ever have to hesitate to seek medical care for financial reasons. EVER. In a truly great society, we would have equal access to the educational institutions that help us grow into productive and prosperous people, and then, as we participate in society, we should always feel that we are part of a greater community of people that will support eachother in times of need. No one should ever fear losing their job, house, standard of living because of health.

The fact is, while the conservatives talk a lot about compassion, they don't give a shit about anyone but themselves. So long as they can hoard the wealth, you, me and everyone else can go straight to hell. Despite the 80's meme, greed is certainly NOT good.

[Warpy]

4. You'd think the party wonks would catch a clue, wouldn't you?

The real wedge issue this time is PAY. The minimum wage. The floor that is supposed to keep us out of poverty but which has been allowed to stay the same rate so long that minimum wage workers are BELOW poverty, BELOW what it takes to keep body and soul together, BELOW even a starvation wage.

There is no way the GOP can answer it.

[Big Kahuna]

7. any sense of community has been eradicated in this country

You used to be able to rely on your friends and neighbors, and weather whatever may come.

On edit: Now if you step out of line, nobody has your back.

[lectrobyte]

8. I want to support my family the best I can. I wouldn't say nothing is

greater than that, though.

[Deja Q]

9. Sorry, guilty. I rather like living.

The ability to live keeps me in line.

Maybe that's why we're not a moneyless society. Too much freedom for people would exist... couldn't leave nasty situations, be refrained from whistleblowing, et cetera.

[MichiganVote]

11. Just let me know when you don't want yours, I'll take it off your hands

[Big Kahuna]

13. This is a very sad thread.

[Balbus]

15. Want to feed my son?

"Where's MY paycheck!"
Want to put shelter over my son's head? - "Where's MY paycheck!"
Want to put clothes on my son's back? - "Where's MY paycheck!"
Want to buy my son medicine and any medical care he needs? - "Where's MY paycheck!"

But as someone else already pointed out, if the guilt becomes to overwhelming for you, you can gladly sign your paycheck over to me - I'll swallow my pride and take it off your hands.

[Quantess]

16. What the heck do you propose we do all day, if not work for a paycheck?

Eat nuts and berries, and build our own shacks from fallen logs in the woods? :eyes:

[sweetheart]

17. They should print the constitution on the back

So that people would have to see it as they sign it away.

[Kerrytravelers]

18. I think the point should be that people are working so hard to make

ends meet that a large number of people in this country are too tired to keep up with the disaster that is the bush administration. People have to work two (sometimes more) jobs to keep their kids fed, clothed and housed. The idea of putting a child through college keeps many parents up at night. Mr. kt and I have no children. We both have college degrees and post graduate study (one of us) and we still struggle to put money aside for a savings and retirement. It's really hard out there.