The Governor of My State Claims I’m Not Working Because I’m Lazy
Shannon H – Palmetto, Florida
Today I set my son up for his first day of on-line learning. I made a special effort to make sure he’d have a clean desk with no distractions, because his autism sometimes makes it hard for him to focus. At 10 AM, we got him all logged in for his first class of the day: Physical Education. It seemed like maybe this technology was going to work after all as the kids did some stretches together.
Then the distance learning program crashed. And it stayed down all day.
He really loves school, because it gives him much needed structure. I don’t think they’ll be able to go back this year, because the Governor of Florida refuses to actually issue a shelter-in-place order. Instead, each county has to develop and set their own standards, and the inconsistencies mean we’re all going to be stuck dealing with the fall out for much longer.
Nothing about Florida’s response seems well planned. Everyone’s seen the pictures of crowded beaches. Apparently those pictures embarrassed Governor DeSantis, because now there are armed guards blocking the highway exits to the beach—but tons of people are still going into work at non-essential workplaces!
My job shut down a week ago, because I’m a waitress at a diner. I’ve been trying to apply for unemployment and food stamps to make sure I can take care of my family. I heard the federal government is sending people some one-time checks, but it’s not nearly enough to cover the bills for being out of work for 2 months. All of the programs I’ve been applying to just put up an endless series of hoops to jump through.
Today I found out that to get food stamps I have to schedule a phone interview (even though I can’t seem to get anyone on the phone when I call), send them a copy of my social security card (even though I don’t have a copier at my house and the libraries are closed), and get a signed letter from my employer saying I’m no longer receiving wages (even though I’m supposed to practice social distancing). The whole system should be simplified and streamlined to reflect the scale crisis! Instead, Governor DeSantis keeps giving interviews about how access to unemployment is going to make people too lazy to return to work—it’s insulting to imply people don’t want to work when a pandemic is making it impossible for them to work!
As a working person right now, everything feels so uncertain. I don’t know if I’ll have a job when this is all over. I don’t know how I’m going to pay my bills. None of the politicians in DC seem to have a clue or even care what it’s like out here for working class people.
