Real People of America: Meet Chris
“I’m 50, and I waited until later in life to have kids. Instead of seeing the economy and employers get better over time, it’s gotten worse. When my son was born, my wife had to have an emergency c-section and there was no time around it I could really take off. I ended up having to quit the job. My son had an earache, it got better within 24 hours, but I almost lost my job for that, for showing up late. Five days off a year — or even once a quarter — that you could just have off if you needed it would make a big difference. Instead, it’s the company and the company’s money and you and your family are at the bottom. People do things like put kids in unsafe situations because they don’t have day care. Minimum wage is so subpar it’s not even funny. It used to be you could work 40 hours a week and not rely on government assistance, you know? Now if you have a kid you have to work a full time job alone just to afford child care, or you work two jobs and your partner works two jobs and you still need food stamps. No one should work 40 hours a week and be that poor.” — Chris
