This sucks - my dad was fired
For once I'm not whining about myself on here! I just got some sad news from my mom, but she's too upset to talk about it, and my boyfriend is too busy, and I have more to say than can fit in a tweet, so here I turn, to LJ.
I usually don't write many details about my parents on here, because I want to respect their privacy and stuff. But, if I don't get some thoughts out now, I think it will distract me all night. I just want to reflect on the nature of work, I guess. Labor is one of the [many] issues I have to study (more of) in relation to urban planning. But I also want to speak candidly (probably too candidly), and be honest, because hiding things doesn't help.
My dad lost his job. I don't know why; my mom didn't give me details in her texts, she's too upset. This is bad not only because of the economy, not only because the unemployment rate in California is astronomical, but also because my dad has NO skills, putting him at even more of a disadvantage.
He's always been at a disadvantage when it comes to work. He owned some motorcycle luggage manufacturing company until I was 8 or 10 or so, when he quit suddenly. Ever since, he's worked for various telemarketing companies - he once tried to start his own, regarding healthy food or something, and he used to commute to LA for many years for some others. But he's usually worked at home, which gave him the freedom to get up at 5 AM and start drinking beer, thus making him completely ineffective at convincing people to give his company money. I feel bad for him - besides alcoholism, he has also been disabled for 3+ decades. One of his legs is shorter than the other, a result of riding his bicycle into a fire hydrant. Not that manufacturing really exists in the US anymore, but this disability--coupled with pride, and insistence on white middle class respectability--has kept him out of more menial/manual labor jobs.
What is the U.S. unemployment rate now, 9%? And California's is 12%? My dad dropped out of UCSB so he could party; he has no marketable skills. My mom is still recovering from cancer, and also never graduated from college. Besides the lack of skills, they are both 60 years old - who on earth is going to hire them? My dad was paid on [infrequent] commissions, so my parents' sole steady income was my mom's $900/month disability checks. That is not enough to live on, especially for two people who try to be something they are not.
It's easy for me to sit back and judge and say what they should have done, and I know I'm not them and have no right to criticize their decisions. But really, why did they stay in Santa Barbara for so long? The cost of living is exorbitantly high. They have also managed to keep renting a gigantic house, despite not needing the space. It's a ridiculously amazing deal (I don't think the rent has been raised since the mid-90s, so way pre-housing market bubble), especially for Santa Barbara/especially for California - but if they moved somewhere else, another city, another state, they could get a better deal, especially if they were willing to downsize and realize they don't need a yard they can't maintain, a pool they don't swim in, and 4 extra bedrooms.
I don't really know what else to say, other than I feel really bad for them. Even though they stole my identity and wracked up $4,500 on a credit card in my name. I wonder what is going to happen? One of the reasons I have worked so hard in school (and focused my efforts on social justice and poverty reduction) is because I've seen the hard times they've gone through. I had always planned to pay them back somehow for the sacrifices they made for me (like, living in SB when I was a kid), but that certainly can't begin anytime soon. Sigh.
I usually don't write many details about my parents on here, because I want to respect their privacy and stuff. But, if I don't get some thoughts out now, I think it will distract me all night. I just want to reflect on the nature of work, I guess. Labor is one of the [many] issues I have to study (more of) in relation to urban planning. But I also want to speak candidly (probably too candidly), and be honest, because hiding things doesn't help.
My dad lost his job. I don't know why; my mom didn't give me details in her texts, she's too upset. This is bad not only because of the economy, not only because the unemployment rate in California is astronomical, but also because my dad has NO skills, putting him at even more of a disadvantage.
He's always been at a disadvantage when it comes to work. He owned some motorcycle luggage manufacturing company until I was 8 or 10 or so, when he quit suddenly. Ever since, he's worked for various telemarketing companies - he once tried to start his own, regarding healthy food or something, and he used to commute to LA for many years for some others. But he's usually worked at home, which gave him the freedom to get up at 5 AM and start drinking beer, thus making him completely ineffective at convincing people to give his company money. I feel bad for him - besides alcoholism, he has also been disabled for 3+ decades. One of his legs is shorter than the other, a result of riding his bicycle into a fire hydrant. Not that manufacturing really exists in the US anymore, but this disability--coupled with pride, and insistence on white middle class respectability--has kept him out of more menial/manual labor jobs.
What is the U.S. unemployment rate now, 9%? And California's is 12%? My dad dropped out of UCSB so he could party; he has no marketable skills. My mom is still recovering from cancer, and also never graduated from college. Besides the lack of skills, they are both 60 years old - who on earth is going to hire them? My dad was paid on [infrequent] commissions, so my parents' sole steady income was my mom's $900/month disability checks. That is not enough to live on, especially for two people who try to be something they are not.
It's easy for me to sit back and judge and say what they should have done, and I know I'm not them and have no right to criticize their decisions. But really, why did they stay in Santa Barbara for so long? The cost of living is exorbitantly high. They have also managed to keep renting a gigantic house, despite not needing the space. It's a ridiculously amazing deal (I don't think the rent has been raised since the mid-90s, so way pre-housing market bubble), especially for Santa Barbara/especially for California - but if they moved somewhere else, another city, another state, they could get a better deal, especially if they were willing to downsize and realize they don't need a yard they can't maintain, a pool they don't swim in, and 4 extra bedrooms.
I don't really know what else to say, other than I feel really bad for them. Even though they stole my identity and wracked up $4,500 on a credit card in my name. I wonder what is going to happen? One of the reasons I have worked so hard in school (and focused my efforts on social justice and poverty reduction) is because I've seen the hard times they've gone through. I had always planned to pay them back somehow for the sacrifices they made for me (like, living in SB when I was a kid), but that certainly can't begin anytime soon. Sigh.