Why I'm not donating to DU this time.

[Pab Sungenis]

It's not because of the people who belittle those of us who are disappointed with Obama's performance.

It's not because of the people who seem to be rooting for the President to fail, either.

It's just because I literally can't.

My electricity was shut off on the 10th, my 41st birthday. It took every penny we had in the bank and in our pockets just to get power back on, and then only for two weeks while we try to raise the rest of the money we need.

My husband Bryan started a new job this week, but won't see a penny for more than three weeks. We're nursing every last drop of gasoline we have left to get him to and from work. We don't have money for food and are rationing what we have in the pantry to get us through to that first paycheck.

So that's why I'm not donating to DU this time around. I wish I could. Don't take it as a vote of no confidence in the site.

[Toucano]

1. Hang in there.

You're gonna' make it.

[gateley]

2. I'm so sorry you're going through that - I hope Bryan likes his new job and that thing

look up for you real soon. :hug:

[NC_Nurse]

3. I'm so sorry to hear of the tough time you're having! A lot of us are having

to cut back. I bet that's a lot of why donations are slow...

[Donnachaidh]

4. {{{{Pab}}}}}

Hang in there kiddo. Many of us have been in the same situation.

[sandnsea]

5. Big Huge Hug

:grouphug:

Please use whatever services are available in your town. I hope someone PMs you to give you some help. Wish I could.

[stopbush]

44. Agreed. There's nothing wrong with visiting a local food pantry or

queuing up for a free meal at a church or community center.

A lot of us feel too proud to ask for such help. Maybe it's a way for us to hold onto our belief that we're not THAT far down the road of desperation. On the other hand, you feel OK about posting your challenges to DU, so you are asking for help.

Look, I work at a homeless shelter in CA. People think of the homeless as being some guy looking through a public trash can and muttering to himself. Would you be surprised to learn that statistics show that there are only about 112,000 homeless people in the entire USA who fit that description? Would you be surprised to know that the vast majority of homeless people in this country are homeless for less than 30 days? Well, it's true, and it's because people in need realize that they ARE in need and they do need to take advantage of the safety net our society provides. There's nothing wrong with it.

I urge you, visit that food pantry or that community center a have that free meal. While you're there, ask a counselor about other services that are available, things like free gas coupons and free bus passes.

Accepting such help now doesn't mean you've become a burden and it doesn't mean you're going to spend the rest of your life on the doll. You need a little bit of help right now, and you shouldn't be ashamed to accept it when and if you need it.

Our homeless shelter is rife with stories of people who somehow ended up in dire straits, who came to the shelter for help and whose lives have recovered to the point where they're back working at a real career, not just a temp job.

Give yourself a break and avail yourself of the help that is freely and happily offered.

[xchrom]

6. Recommend

[notadmblnd]

7. I'm not in a position to donate either.

However, in the last two weeks I've have four different calls in regards to jobs. One was in my field (IT) but the pay was horribly low, One was house cleaning which I took. One was a scam and this last one is a gas station. I go to the second interview Monday. If offered I will take that job and keep the house cleaning job. No, they're not high paying full time jobs, but I'm going to take them and hope to get 40 hours between the two.

I just wanted to let you know this, to not give up hope. I live in Michigan and have been out of work for more than two years. I've been juggling bills for the last year and a half now and I feel like I've finally broken through a wall. In the meantime, consider baby sitting (I do that too) and now would be a great time to have a garage sale to get you through to husband's first payday. Maybe friends and family members will donate some things to help it out.

Stay strong.

[XOKCowboy]

8. Same here..

Health care got me. Dipping into my ravaged savings till I can get back to work. Worst part is having to move back to Oklahoma for my health care. At least it's "free".

[rucky]

9. Have you posted on ModestNeeds.org?

It may help get you through til that paycheck comes in.

[Frisbee]

16. I'd never even heard of "ModestNeeds.org",

but being curious, had to check it out. Looks like a wonderful organization, and more people need to know about it, especially with the economy we're all trying to survive in today.

[druidity33]

10. i know how you feel...

i'm having similar issues. I can't donate either, haven't missed a bill payment yet (been late, real late even, but haven't missed one)... but i won't be able to keep all the balls in the air very long. A couple of them will come crashing down soon. Which one first? Car insurance or credit card?


:(

Hopefully things will turn around for us...

[Ichingcarpenter]

11. I've been there and am still crawling out that economic hole

I BLAME BUSH....

Thankfully someone gave me a star.

[vademocrat]

12. My budget is to the penny as well - glad things are looking up for you

I'm not a prolific poster (been here since 2004 and STILL haven't broken 1000 posts!) but until this last year always kept my star - simply because this site is important to me.

The amount of information available on this site is amazing - I always check DU first when I hear the tea bagger types at work muttering about something.

So thank you Skinner for keeping this site going - even for those of us who aren't able to donate. As many others have said, DU helped me keep my sanity through some very dark times and is helping me keep my political equilibrium in these still somewhat murky times.

[williesgirl]

13. I agree. I'm about to lose my house so my lack of donation isn't reflective of my value of DU. I'd

be lost without you guys! Hang in there, Skinner. Give us a little more time please before making huge decisions. rec'd

[williesgirl]

34. Thanks SO MUCH to the donor who gave me a star! Wow.

[crazyjoe]

14. I wonder what the unemployment rate is on DU compared to the rest of the country?

[lavenderdiva]

15. I'm sorry you're in this position Pab-

but I'm so glad you posted this topic. Like you, I am unable to donate this cycle either. Mr. ld was laid off in January of this year, and to date has had only 1 interview, no job yet. We are trying to make ends meet, with me working 2 jobs, but there's no extras. I think there's a lot of people like us this donation cycle. Its not that we won't donate, its that we can't.

Congratulations on Mr. Pab's new job! I hope it will make things a bit easier for you two in the near future- Hugs to you.

[Frisbee]

17. I'm so sorry to hear of your situation...

It is heart-breaking to read about what good people are having to deal with lately. It's hard enough when it's in the news or in your community, but DU is like family. I hope you can hang on until Bryan's checks start coming in. To anyone who thinks Reagan was a good president, this is what he has left us with, and should be what he is remembered for.

[progressoid]

18. We've been in that situation as well.

Starting to slowly come out of it, but it's a long tough haul. Hang in there Pab.

[DailyGrind51]

19. I wish that I had the discretionary income, but I don't anymore!

I would like to donate to every worthy cause that needs the money, but am earning half of what I earned a decade ago with nearly double the expenses.

[DailyGrind51]

31. Much thanks to the donor who gave me his/her star!

[lunatica]

20. My star is due to a wonderful anonymous DU donor

I've had to declare bankruptcy recently because I simply have more bills than income. My mother and I lived together and shared our incomes, but when she died in January her income stopped. I can't pay all the bills on my salary anymore. I went through a layoff last year but was lucky to get hired by the very people who caused the layoff. A lot of my former co-workers weren't so lucky.

[democrank]

21. Bless you

[orbitalman]

22. Dear Pab, My situation is very similar to yours....

I have been in foreclosure for over a year trying to work out staying in our home. We have had a company (Nat'l Credit Alliance) helping us with it but it looks BAD. We have been sent a forebearance proposal prior to a modification consideration due in a few days.

But THEY Want a $3500 down payment. We don't have that at all, so we don't know what will happen now. My wife is over at the library this very moment looking at the newspaper for a possible move to something much cheaper, if we can find it.

So that's my story at this time for not having donated to DU. I always said that if I had a million dollars to give, it would go to DU. That's how IMPORTANT I think this site is.

:scared:

[SlingBlade]

23. I tried, I really really did. But ....

I guess I'm too

HIGH

and

RETARDED

to understand how to do it.

Peace Out Dudes

[Enthusiast]

24. I hope things

turn around for you, and soon. :fistbump: :pals: :hi:

[ladywnch]

25. relax. I just donated for the first time in a while for the same reason.

I wasn't able to for a couple of years. You (and others like you) carried me I can carry you. We're all in this together.:hi:

[AllyCat]

26. Hugs PS. I hope thing sare better sooner rather than later.

[colsohlibgal]

27. I've Also Been There

Due to a horrible choice I made, I married someone who took me for everything I had and then some, credit card bills etc through the roof. I got taken a real "Unsolved Mysteries" thing. I clearly remember a day I had to go to work without even a penny to pay for the parking garage I had to park at - the nice teller guy really had no choice but to let me out as I promised to soon pay - which I did somehow.

It was a horrible time in my life, there in 1997. I remember aimlessly walking around and really seeing no way out. However, I kept putting one foot in front of the other and somehow gradually things improved - to some extent I'm still paying for that horrible mistake but I'm in a pretty good place now and believe me, back in 1997 I would have seen no way, no bridge, to be where I am now.

I also know I'm a smarter, wiser person now for having gone through it. Things that I used to take for granted, even small things/pleasures, I now appreciate so much. One of those things is basic human kindness and compassion. A lot of people lack it, but many more people have it.

[suffragette]

28. For you and Bryan

:hug:

And don't wait until that pantry is near empty or skip meals.

Go to a nearby food bank and get some help.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

29. me too. Don't take it as a vote of no confidence in the site.

:kick:

[libodem]

30. Me too

I just got fired from my temporary part time position, with no explanation. I'm pretty sure it has to do with my being disabled and unable to fulfill the physical part of my job. I had my papers from EEOC, sitting here but didn't want to cause waves, but now that I've been fucked over....look out.


If I end up with a settlement DU will get a piece o' my action!!!!!

[Beacool]

41. Good luck!!!!

:hug:

[grantcart]

32. keep fighting, never give up and good luck to you

[AllTooEasy]

33. Has Skinner been paying attention?

Everyone is suffering. Hell, the RNC only has 5 million left :) Charities, more valuable than partisian sites, are also feeling the pinch.

I've never given to this site and probrably never will. It's not that I don't like DU. It's just that I rather exhaust my dwindling charity budget to Cancer Elimination, winning Democratic elections, and the latest disaster somewhere in the world.

[Name removed]

35. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

36. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[IrishEyes]

37. I wish I could donate

I lost my job because of the economy and I don't have any money to spare. I'm starting a low paying internship so I'm watching every penny. I promise to donate as soon as I find a job. I wish everyone the best of luck during these tough times. Things will get better.

[Name removed]

38. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[kestrel91316]

39. GFY

[jennied]

40. Seriously, a voice of reason!

[BlueIris]

42. I feel that. Hope you can make it through. nt

[david13]

43. Ask for some help. Neighbors, friends, whatever it takes. I have

been there many times. In fact, really much of my life. But you know you are on the upswing now. People will help. Just ask or indicate. Tell some neighbors or friends about your situation. They will help.
dc

[DainBramaged]

45. Kick for those who can't afford to donate

:hug: :hi:

[DainBramaged]

46. Everything is gonna be alright rockabye

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R44225TjyGk&feature=related

[walldude]

47. I couldn't the last time around... don't feel bad, things are a mess...

you do what you need to do to survive. I tell you what though, it's nice being back to no ads and having the search feature again.