My dad left Tennessee on the day of his high school graduation in 1953 and drove to Michigan with his brother and friends to find a job on a General Motors factory floor to make a better life for himself and send money back to the grandparents who raised him. When was draft was in full force by the mid-50's, he told Uncle Sam to move his name to the front of the list so he could get his time over with. So, for two years he and his grandparents did without his paycheck (and that of his brother, also in the military) to do their solemn duty to America.
He worked hard, always told the truth, attended church faithfully (and made me go too). He did without SO MUCH to make sure I had everything a selfish brat like me wanted and that I was able to go to school. He was one of those salary workers that GM stabbed in the back when they took away the lifetime medical coverage they were promised in exchange for early retirement. He is in his 70's now, on one of those goverment programs called Medicare and enjoying his retired life and the fairly new role of grandpa (or "ambie" as my three-year old still calls him. I have no idea where that came from). So, I want to ask Chuck Todd what my parents should sacrifice. Well, Chuck, what? They don't deserve what they have?
I had a great life in Michigan. Sure, I wasn't happy about living in the Detroit area, but I had a cozy, secure job, a nice big and quiet apartment, a car and all the toys. But when my significant other who was transferred to San Francisco for her job announced that we would have an unanticipated arrival in nine months time, I had to make a tough choice. We decided that the best thing for our child would be to raise him in the Bay Area, I quit my job, sold almost everything I owned, argued with my parents for weeks, an moved out here. With a lot of hard work and the hep of no one but each other's, I found a job and we now have a cozy life in the city we love as our new home. We work, raise our son and save for the same dreams my parents realized. I know that we are more fortunate than many other people, but we could use some of the help President Obama proposes. Are we being selfish, Chuck? What should we sacrifice?
I work for a municipality in the East Bay that's been hit very hard by the recession. The City Manager who has been doing everything he can to hold it together had to bite the bullet and let some people go. As the next fiscal year looms and the CM desperately works to avoid any further layoffs, my union got together and decided that we should all sacrifice 13 days of furlough starting July 1 so that no one else has to lose their jobs. The other non-safety unions followed suit. It will hurt the wallet a little, but we are all in this together and looking out for each other.
Hey Chuck, what else should we sacrifice? What will YOU sacrifice?
Update [2009-3-25 12:53:26 by RandySF]:
I forgot to mention that my S.O. agreed last week to work the crummy graveyard shift one night so a coworker would be able to get in a 5-day paycheck. "Where's the sacrifice"?