Share Your Story: Have you ever lived on minimum wage?

I have a friend who lives on minumum wage cleaning rooms in a motel.  She was one of those women the Replublians adore who was married and was a "stay at home" mother.  As what happens very often her husband left her for a younger woman.   She now lives in a dump of an apartment around many undesirable people.She is one of those "Food Stamp" people the Republicans are talking about because the corporation she works for will not pay her enough to live without them.  She has had a stroke and of course, also is without health insurance. Now I call this "Corporate Welfare".   They make the big profits and the taxpayers help her buy groceries.  There is someting wrong with this system.We need to get rid of the CORPORATE WELFARE!!!! 

     when i was working an going through a devorce, had no baby sitter, or responsible person to get my kid's up an to an from school. couldn't find dependible people. ta ones u did find were trying to get rich of u. then i lost my job, had to depend on church's an help services to pay bill's. then u find work that bearly pay's what u use to make. u'r kids need medical, an dentail care u don't have none now. u'r clunker brakes down an u can't ahord ta part's to fix it u'r self.u finely get a have way desent job that pay's, but now u have strang hours to work, an even that is split shift. u try to find a dependable person to move in that can take, an get ta kid's to school an day care. u'r up at 2.00am bank at 10.00am gone at 1.30pm till after9.  pm. u don't hardly see u'r kids but u r finely abel to get by with u'r bill's that had lapsed.    how u ever made it was a miricle in it's self. there r meany thing's in life that r not fair. i have seen alot. it has changed me an my way of thinking. i have seen women, that get beatn like a drum an worse. but they still stay cause they don't want to leave that life. i got to know some that even go as far to say that if they dom't get a good beating ever 2 week's. that they can't have good sex. those r beyound help, i would say to my self. i did not believe that till i got to see it for my self.    u can't fix what is broken beyound repair. for those they want to change but have a hard time getting out of ta slump. or better yet, leave to hood to ta rat's. most droped out of school, others got p.g. or got hooked on drugs. it's hard for them to go back to school to even learn a trade of some kind. there r employers out there that take advange of these women. some will get special favors, for sex. some spair money in there pocket, never on paper. most restrant's, fast food, an low pay job's will only get minorities to work because they need ta money. an they will have a steady supply of sex from ta female workr's. look around u, it is every where, u can hide ta fact's. but till something is done out right nothing will change.       word's of wisdom  from  lonerider

It is impossible to live on minimum wage! A bear needs honey, housing, and an education, in order to survive the harsh realities of life! As you can see, I am rather skinny, filthy, but extremely adorable! My mom just lost her minimum wage job that she really enjoyed, and now, she is feeling a little depressed about her situation. She is staying hopeful, trying to keep up her sense of humor, but everywhere she looks, life is un"bear"able. Mom receives unemployment, food stamps, utility assistance, and related help, but what she really wants, is a good job, so she can leave the system for good! She is fearful, that she will get terminated from these programs, before she is ready to leave the system, however. There are going to be severe, and painful budget cuts, that impact the SNAP food stamp program, housing, and other related programs. Ouch! Please, share my story, with those whom it may concern. Thank you for listening to my story.

Most Medical Transcriptionists work for minimum wage or below. Forget the stories you see in ads saying "Take this training and make $40,000. a year. For me, I work part-time to supplement less than $700. in Social Security a month. Still, I am well under the poverty line for income, averaging less than 10,000. per year. My roommate makes the same Social Security amount that I do and between us we just barely manage to buy necessities and groceries often have to be shaved down to almost nothing the last week of each month. I make just enough not to be eligible for food stamps.. but not enough to live comfortably. This year we did without heat some days to save money.. not a good thing for two elderly women. It's tough... At least we no longer have children to have to pay child care for... I really feel for those young women out there struggling to make it on minimum wage. The economy may have tanked but food costs haven't stopped going up. The bare necessities are continuing to climb while we, the poor, suffer. Last month I had to choose between my prescription refills and food..... no one should have to do that....