I have my own design, mobile media and web design business (brunchatnoon.com) that I started when I lost my job 2 ½ years ago at the beginning of this economic fiasco. I did fairly well on my own, managed to save up and buy my own home. Now I am pregnant with my first child (I'm due in September) and am finding my business drying up fast! Since I am self-employed I am not eligible for unemployment (how ridiculous is that?! How does that rule inspire the creation of small businesses?!) My only remaining client is cutting back and will probably not have any more work for me after a couple more months. Needless to say, I am freaking out!! I have already watched some of my friends who were doing very well at one time lose their houses and jobs and I don't want it to happen to me!
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I have read that the stimulus bill has extended unemployment benefits for the hundreds of thousands that are losing their jobs every week, but I have been left out in the cold. And I am afraid that I will be left out in the cold literally with a child to boot. I have a (very!) little bit left in my IRA after what has happened in the market, enough to last a few months if I raid it, but after that if I can't find any more clients I will lose my house, and it doesn't look like the housing bill being proposed has any mechanism for people with zero income to stay in their houses (that 31% of income thing seems to me to assume that you have enough of an income to induce the bank to make a deal, otherwise why would they participate? After all 31% of zero is zero!) so president obama, please tell me what to do? When will you help people like me who will fall through the cracks if something isn't done? The white house's phone number is (202) 456-1414, if you think that we need to provide our self-employed citizens with the same unemployment benefit lifeline as everyone else then please call the President and let him know how you feel. Thank you