Carl

Carl, 49, is in danger of losing his overtime compensation. He is the head engineer for the New Orleans City Court and is continuously supplementing his training. Under Bush’s proposed changes to overtime, Carl will be punished for attaining the highest certification in his field. He will have to work 16-hour days to make up for the loss of overtime pay.

My Story
I often work a 56-hour workweek to support my family. Two years ago, my wife had a kidney transplant, and we would not have been able to afford the cost of her dialysis and medicine, which cost roughly $1000 per week, without my overtime pay. Even now, her medicine would be too costly without it. Now President Bush wants to take that away from me.

If I lose overtime pay, I will need to take a second full-time job. I know that I can find one, New Orleans needs it’s air conditioning, but the extra hours will drastically cut into the time that I spend with my family. In addition to being unable to spend time with my wife, I won’t have as much time for my two kids. My youngest is 15, and he needs me now more than ever. I need to be there for him to guide him.

I’m also worried about my daughter. She’s about to finish her sophomore year in college. If I lose my overtime, it’s going to be very difficult to keep her in school. I know that no matter what happens, I’ll see to it that she can finish. But I’m not sure how to do that if my overtime is cut or taken away.

I wish that I could take Bush through the poor neighborhoods of New Orleans. I would look into his face, stripped of the mask he shows the media, and he would look into the faces of my neighbors. Maybe then he would understand the harm he is doing to this country.

If everyone who is being affected by the economy makes their voices heard, I’m positive that we can solve this problem. We all have to vote to change things for the better.