I'm the sole provider of a family of four. My husband has been ill and can't work. I have a mentally and physically challenged adult son and another in school. I've always taken care of him by myself -- not using the system. I try not to be that kind of person. It's not easy. Everyone depends on me.
Seven years ago, we moved to Florida from New York where we owned our own computer consulting firm with clients like Pepsi and Pillsbury. This area is a retirement community; the economy is bad. There's not a lot of opportunity for a high end computer consultant.
I worked as a quality control manager for Liberty Medical. Problems at the job started surfacing last June. It came out of the blue. Everyone was told they would get a 20% pay cut to keep our jobs. Two months later, we were all laid off. It was cheaper to pay someone in the Philippines.
It's very stressful. We don't have healthcare. Florida chose not to expand Medicaid. My last unemployment check came two weeks ago.
I have been on four job interviews. Before these meetings, people were excited. I took the Florida TABE -- the Test of Adult Basic Education. It's like the SATs for adults and I scored 98 out of 100. Then, they see I'm an older person. You can feel their disappointment.
If I could say anything to the government, I would tell them we need to bring the jobs back to this country. Meanwhile, I'll try to find something.
