I live in Michelle Bachmann's district. So I see a lot of bumper stickers that read, "I want my change back" and others that are absolutely horrible. In fact, I just got back from the bank and the post office and saw another one on the drive home.
That bumper sticker struck me especially this morning since my errands particularly brought to focus how grateful I am for and to our president.
You see, my trip to the post office was to mail off my taxes. My federal income taxes have gone down. It was not a butt saving amount of reduction. But it was the first reduction in my memory. In 2009 we (like 90% of America) made less than $250,000 for the household. So a few hundred dollars is a noticeable amount. It makes a difference.
My next errand was to the bank to do a task far less pleasant than doing taxes. A task I never imagined I would have to do. I've got to save my house.
My wife is divorcing me after 19 years of marriage. A painful, awful thing. I don't have to iterate it for you all. Many people have gone through this. Telling the kids. Telling the extended family. Sitting in a lawyer's office. Things a person never expected to have to do.
On top of all those relationships being affected, I am losing half of my income. She is not raking me over the coals, she is not trying to take my kids away from me, she is not kicking me out of the house. She is a noble and decent person. She just wants to live life as a solo act.
"You can have the house," she says. "You love it. You cleared the land, you designed and built the house. The kids need to keep as much the same as possible."
There is no equity buy out. We are underwater. She is just going to sign over responsibility for debt to me. But along with my wife goes half the family income. I can't swing the mortgage on my own. I likely have to sell.
So I go to the bank. A small, local bank. I explain my situation to a V.P. She is caring and compassionate and tells me she personally wants me to be able to stay in the house. And it is in the bank's interest that I stay in the house and repay the loan.
"As painful as this must be for you, your timing is good. Your president and mine, Barack Obama, has initiated a program to help keep people who have sustained a sudden loss of income to stay in their homes." Her phrasing was like that. Your president and mine, Barack Obama.
She explained the details of the HAMP mortgage restructure program. She explained that very few people have actually taken advantage of it even though it is a no-brainer. "Why not?" I ask. She tells it is a lot of paperwork and most of the big banks don't want to bother with it just so they can take a hit on lowered interest payments. They would rather just let people lose their homes. She speaks of the bailouts given to these big banks and how they are just hoarding the money. She speaks of how those big banks ought to be punished for their hurtful hypocrisy.
Then she walks me through the process,and describes how it is actually a lot less paperwork than it was a short time ago because President Obama simplified it in response to the fact that so few people were taking advantage of the program because of the paperwork.
Realizing that I very well can make a go of it in our house as a single parent made me say a prayer of thanks to God for our president and his policies. On my way home driving behind a monster truck with an anti Obama sticker, I also said a prayer for his safety and a second term.
As I write this I see how self-contained this diary is. Your president and mine has undertaken so much else that is right and good that does not affect me personally. But this day, for saving my personal butt I say, Thank you, God, for president Obama.