Scott

Scott, 33, is a single father struggling to support his eight-year-old son. Scott was born and raised in Helena, Mont., a town where jobs are mainly low paying and offer no benefits. Scott’s hopes of going back to school to earn his teaching degree have been stalled due to the slow pace of his industry, carpentry, over the last few years.

My Story
Getting carpentry work in Helena these days is a real challenge. It used to be that as the only industry outside the service sector in town, carpentry provided steady pay and good benefits. Now, as a single father, I'm struggling to make ends meet.

I’ve considered changing careers. I have a bachelor’s degree in social science and was planning on going to graduate school to get my teaching degree. Unfortunately, things are too tight to think about getting back in school and retraining. I’m forced to take what comes of the short supply of work.

Otherwise, there is nowhere to turn in Helena for good work. I see zero job creation outside of convenient store jobs, and I can’t raise a family on that wage. A number of my friends, many of whom are raising children, are underemployed as well. Where are the good jobs?

Things are headed in the wrong direction in this country. The president needs to be more focused on working people, not catering to big business. Bush needs to forget about helping his fat-cat friends cut overtime. He needs to get some good jobs created here in America. Otherwise, Bush is the one who should get laid off.