‘We Are The 99 Percent’: Stories from America’s economically oppressed

‘We Are The 99 Percent’: Stories from America’s economically oppressed:

My father is 64. He was a public school teacher for 20 years before being let go. He was unemployed for 2 years off and on between night jobs and private school gigs. He is currently a security guard at a cigar factory. At 62 he had to borrow early from his retirement pension and may not have enough for 5 years from now. He makes $8/hr with a degree.

My mother is 60. She has worked in the insurance industry since she graduated high school. She lost her job in February and has applied for 700 jobs and has started losing hope at ever finding one at her age. The first line of unemployment ran out and she is uninsured. She has type 2 diabetes and hypertension. She recently was hospitalized because she bought food instead of medication.

Now they are having their home of 36 years foreclosed on. They are filing for bankruptcy next year. Their credit limit was lowered to $400 between two cards.

I am 23 years old and working toward my BA. I lost my Bright Futures scholarship (75% of my tuition paid) because I fell below half time status my third semester (I had to work full time instead to pay rent and eat). I am 20K in debt and am paying out of pocket for my current tuition while I start paying back loans with two part time jobs.

WE HAVE DONE EVERYTHING WE CAN. WE WORK HARD. WE ARE THE 99% AND WE WANT J U S T I C E!

“We Are The 99 Percent” is a website put together by the Occupy Wall Street coalition where people share the struggles they are enduring trying to survive in the current depression. Their stories (hundreds of them) and photographs are heartbreaking. You can visit the site here.