My story is not one of privilege or of poverty. In fact, growing up I considered my
family to be middle class, though I now know (based upon your definition of the
middle class) that we were not.
I’m decidedly average. I have never expected the government to
provide for me, though I was certainly glad such programs as WIC existed when
my first daughter was born and two months lapsed between the times I graduated
college and found a job. Or that
Medicaid was available when I couldn’t privately insure her due to a “pre-existing”
condition she was born with that would have cost her an eye.
It is because of this daughter and my two other children that I am currently a part of the 47 percent you speak of -- those who don't make quite enough money to trigger federal tax payments, though they are employed and work hard.
You see, I took a lower paying job because I was afforded the opportunity to telecommute and thus be here to raise them. My husband, meanwhile, works two jobs so that we do not need government assistance, and have a little cushion should hard times strike. I guess our payroll taxes aren’t quite enough to make us matter in your eyes, yet we are exactly the type of nuclear family you want on your side.
What’s right with America is our ability to come together in times of need, despite our differences. I can only hope that this November Americans come together once again to “Believe in America” enough to elect a president who considers all of us worthy of his time. You have proven time and again, sir, that that man simply is not you.
Sincerely,
Danielle Hamill
Danielle Hamill grew
up in a military family, traveling the country until she settled in
Tallahassee, FL to attend Florida State University. These days, she works as the head writer for one of the leading sources of
Caribbean travel information on the web.
