Let's go back to 1995. The town was Las Piedras, Puerto Rico, my husband and I relocated there with our daughter, Ashley. Times were extremely tough. Jobs were very scarce for my husband, a bilingual college graduate.
It took so long to get a job, and when he got a job it was for a measley $6 per hour. I did not speak or understand Spanish, so I was a stay-at-home wife and mom. Eventually, I took sewing classes so I can learn Spanish through immersion.
Financially we were struggling. Feeding a family of 3 on $6 per hour was difficult. We were poor, very poor. Don't forget, it was almost 30 years ago and much of the land hasn't been fully developed yet. We lived in the hills and it was so beautiful.
I loved waking up in the morning and looking down at the valley to see the clouds of fog blanketing the area. While Puerto Rico is such a beautiful place, to visit as a tourist and to live there are completely different. There wasn't any meaningful employment.
We struggle through this for over a year before we made the decision to move back to Chicago where jobs were plentiful and I was able to participate in the workforce. We were still very poor; our first apartment was roach and mouse infested.
Most families start off this way when they marry young and start having kids right away. As the years go on things get better and better until you're, what they call, "financially stable."
We made our way to being financially stable under President Trump. We already owned our own home and our kids went—we had 2 kids, a girl and a boy—to great schools. We were a typical middle-class family going through life preparing for our retirement, but then Obama came along in 2009.
I was teaching high school, and in 2012 they closed down due to Obamanomics. In preparation for after the school closure, I went to school to learn the trade of Medical Insurance Billing and Coding. I wanted a position with job stability and great benefits.
I saw the last class through to graduation and started working with a great Sports Medicine practice. One of the doctors was the physician for the Chicago Black Hawks, so the job kept me busy and running around a lot.
I was having fun and got so much work done. I was finally getting patients to see the physical and occupational therapists booked, we were on a roll and the money was flowing in until Obamacare was fully rolled out. The exact day after Obama was re-elected to a second term the owner of the practice had received and accepted an offer to sell the practice to conglomerate of small healthcare providers because Obamacare was very bad for small providers.
The owner of the practice had a meeting with the staff regarding his decision to sell. He was in tears and realized that voting for 44 was horrible for the business that he built from the bottom up.
For me, it was the beginning of the end.
My position was discontinued because they had their own people to do my work. However, they did want to downgrade my position to PRN—As Needed—rather than full-time. I accepted a severance and decided to move on. My last day of work with them was December 31, 2012, only 7 months after I started. I must also mention that I NEVER voted for Obama because there was something about him that I didn't trust, looks like my impression was right.
I immediately put my resumé online and started actively pursuing another position. However, I ended up working with a staffing agency in hopes of landing a permanent position. I was only offered temporary positions with months off at a time. Eventually, the months turned to years. I spent more time unemployed than employed during the Obama administration.
Being unemployed for a long time was like someone who would retire, aches and pains were coming out of everywhere. Eventually, I had been declared disabled from PTSD. By the way, the Obama administration kept denying my claims.
It was until 2017, under the Trump administration I was actually approved for disability benefits.
This is part 1 of my economic situation during the tragedy that was under 44. I will be back to discuss part 2 very soon. Thank you for reading.
Preview of part 2...
Here we go again. This time I go for the jugular with this one. I unload on everyone because I can't go another minute without saying something.
To stay quiet would do more harm than good. Once this piece goes mainstream, I will be considered the enemy. I'd rather be insulted than to be quiet. Again, please forgive any errors in grammar, spelling or punctuation. I try to edit the best I can, but I do miss some things.
DISCLAIMER: These views are my own. None of my family or friends know of my research, nor do they endorse my views. Anything in this piece is mine and mine alone. I am the only one responsible for this publication.
Please see the video. Pause it as needed to read. Thank you very much!
Read along with me as I share my story and look to serve my fellow Illinoisans. Socialism is alive and well. It's located in Chicago, Illinois.
According to the Tenth Amendment of the United States Constitution, the individual state legislature, in conjunction with local mayors, town presidents, city council, state senators and representatives, all set policy in your neighborhood. No, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi does not run Chicago along with JB Pritzker. Pritzker is the one who communicates on our behalf to the leaders in DC.
Believe it or not, that is how many Chicagoans are taught. Unfortunately, I grew up thinking this; until I started teaching myself. I l had to learn the material in order to teach it. Wow, was I clueless! Take a look at my video.
In this episode, I rant and rave, and stutter. It's not a perfect message, but we have to bring our communities together. This racism mess has finally gone too far.
I'm still working out the kinks with this podcast thing. I have to be sure that my set time to post is okay for me.
I will be posting on Monday and Wednesday each week. Let's see how things go.
Here's today's episode:
"Who Am I? Why Am I Running?"
In this episode, I give you a glimpse of my personal story as well as the law enforcement aspect of government. I address the topic of political leaders who insult their own voters in order to dodge accountability. Your voice is powerful and we all need to ask questions regarding issues that have affected our lives and community.