Jeff

As a construction electrician, Jeff, 39, hasn’t had steady work in three years because of the scant amount of building and remodeling going on right now in his area. In September 2002, Jeff had to travel to Kentucky for six months for a contract job, away from his wife and two young children, because that’s where he was able to find work. The exorbitant cost of health care will eat into his retirement money and put an enormous strain on his family.

My Story
Because my work is contingent on the construction industry, opportunities have been sporadic at best. There’s a new plant being built up in Warren, Ohio—about three hours from my home. I went up there to put my name on a list of potential contractors—there are 600 other people on the list. This is typical of everywhere I go.

At the same time, my wife’s position got cut to part time. I’m home with our four-year-old son during the day and take care of my 7-year-old daughter after school. A low-wage job wouldn’t cover the cost of child care.

Right now, our most daunting expense is the $700 a month that we have to pay to cover the cost of our health insurance. I’ve had to dip into my retirement money to make the payments, but it’s a necessity with two small kids.

It’s been tough on the entire family. There are things that need to be done around the house that we can’t afford to do. We’ve had to cut all of our expenses. Everything has been put on hold.

I love my work and really don’t want to change careers, but it might come to that. Even if I could afford it, what would I get retrained in? Computer jobs? Those are all leaving the country.

I don’t understand how President Bush is saying that everything is OK, and that it’s OK that jobs are going to other countries. Our president needs to be thinking about the people here, before he focuses on a foreign agenda.