99% of people: 8/2 We Are the 99 Percent

We Are the 99 Percent

Where do the 1%/99% come from.

August 2, 2012 at 4:57 AM

We think from this article: http://www.vanityfair.com/society/features/2011/05/top-one-percent-201105

I am a 56-year-old woman. I worked for Lockheed Martin for 35 years. I was laid-off just 3.5 years...

August 2, 2012 at 4:56 AM

I am a 56-year-old woman. I worked for Lockheed Martin for 35 years. I was laid-off just 3.5 years short from being able to collect a full pension. For each year before I am 59.5 years old my pension drops 5%, so if I put in for my retirement benefits now and draw my pension I would loose 15.5% of my pension. I worked 35 years, at the same time I went to college, graduated, and earned my bachelor's degree. For what?! I now have to try and find a job at age 56.

I got part of a programming degree before the bottom fell out of...

August 2, 2012 at 4:54 AM

I got part of a programming degree before the bottom fell out of the tech industry and all of an AS in electrical design that cost me $60k in debt.

I got laid off 4 months ago. Because I refused to work 60+ hour weeks, I can't get my old managers to call me back. As a 5-year industry veteran with no industry references, I can't get hiring managers to call me back.

I've gone bankrupt to escape credit cards, but student loans are for life.

I have an ER bill I can't pay, an untreated skin condition I can't see anyone about, wisdom teeth coming in sideways I can't get corrected, and asthma I treat with coffee to save the inhaler for emergencies.

I live on unemployment in two spare bedrooms in my mother's double-wide.

I'm wiring books in the hopes of one day living on a skill I possess again.

And, if I'm very lucky I'll be able to get a job in the fall working on a janitor crew a friend manages.

I AM THE 99%

OccupyWallSt.org

I'm on an internship for school. I'm not getting...

July 29, 2012 at 11:19 PM

I'm on an internship for school. I'm not getting paid for it. I'm in a strange city. I don't know anyone here. I have applied at almost every fast-food restaurant, retail store, gas station, and whatever else I can think of, but have heard nothing back. My bank account is almost completely empty. I'm writing this on the laptop I can't sell because I need it for school, and while I write, I eat the last of my groceries. My car is almost out of gas. I don't even have enough money to pay rent on the first of the month. I don't have a lot of personal possessions that I can sell, and the ones that I can, I probably won't get much for. I don't have health insurance, and I dread getting sick or having an accident that leaves me in the hospital. If I give up now and go home, I won't graduate. I'm already several thousand dollars in student loan debt, I hope to at least have something to show for it. But how long can I last at my internship when I have to choose between putting gas in my car and doing laundry? My life is a ticking time-bomb, and the last few seconds are counting down before my eyes.

I am the 99 percent. And I am out of ideas.