Morality is not determined by the church you attend nor the faith you embrace. It is determined by the quality of your character and the positive impact you have on those you meet along your journey
Monday, February 09, 2015
What the hell MetLife?
Okay as a one time single father, who had to scrape to make ends meet, I am especially vulnerable to this kind of thing.
Hit me right in the feels. Hard!
Whatever happened to Snoopy? At least that made me laugh.
It hit me hard. When I was a kid of maybe 5, my folks were really struggling. Dad and I went to the little corner grocery store and I asked him for ice cream, which he bought me. When we got home, he caught hell from mom, as she was stretching every nickel to feed the family. Dad told her that he couldn't look at my little face and turn me down. I loved him for being my daddy and I fully understand mom's frustration. Things like that made me the liberal I proudly am today.
Hit me in the feels too. I came from a poor family: my Daddy was often without a job and then he got one that lasted a long time on the road crew for the County. It was steady money; his boss respected him. We knew we were so fortunate. Still, my mother took in ironing for people to still make ends meet. Tears.
My father quit smoking in 1953 because it came down to cigarettes, or formula for my just born brother. Not a choice. And this was when cigarettes were $.22 a pack.
And, enough though we went without, I bet most of the posters here would share the same truth. Our parents didn't rely on anyone or anything else to provide for us, yet we are the ones who are willing to provide services for those in need. Funny how that works.
Your parents didn't rely on anyone or anything? Hogwash. They didn't rely on federally subsidized mortgages? Because that's how the white suburbs were formed, by federally subsidized mortgages that were denied to blacks. They didn't use the G.I. Bill after World War II? They never took a dime out of social security or Medicare? Let's stop with the phony bootstrapping myth.
We went without in my family too. My parents stretched every dollar because they believed an education was the key to the next generation’s survival and happiness. Without hesitation I can say those of us who pinched to get through college during the 1960s and ‘70s in my family benefitted much more than those who didn’t. It has caused a riff and my siblings and relatives who didn’t prosper are extremely angry. They are hateful toward liberals as they perceive a”liberal agenda" and a black president stole from them. I admire Michael Moore as he is sensitive to people’s roots and the forces that shape our economic lives, especially the disassembling of the middle class. The truth hurts and for the life of me I truly believe hate/conspiracy radio by the likes of Limbaugh and Beck has created a toxic alternative to reality. The hate toward unions in particular blows my mind. Our great grandparents knew to organize. Nobody truly becomes prosperous on their own, and for this I am thankful for my parent’s support and encouragement.
That this dad living on the edge and sacrificing everything for his daughter (and I'm going to assume paying for her schooling) take some of that pittance he scrapes together and give it to MetLife instead of buying food or clothing or paying tuition?
Yeah, saving for retirement is great and having life insurance is smart *if* you can afford it.
But this man clearly cannot afford either at this time.
So...what is the point of this ad?
BTW I have my TSA through MetLife. They've done OK but there are fees involved. Small, but there. I do get free financial planning outside of my Met TSA. After I retire I'll be moving my entire Met TSA to my pension 2 account with the state but managed by VOYA. Why? Well, to consolidate for one. But also because Met hasn't managed to correct my phone number for two years despite my and my financial planner's request to do so. I also notice my savings account still has not been transferred to my investment account as I requested. These are minor indications of a more major problem. One I hope to resolve by consolidating my TSA into my Pension 2 account.
I too can relate to those, especially single fathers, who are touched by this ad. I really don't understand the point of the ad, but it brings back memories of when I was a single father trying to raise two small girls while trying to pay off a huge legal debt.
My legal bill back then was equivalent to about $40,000 in todays money, which was a little less than 25% I made in a year back then, and in addition my ex-wife wasn't paying her child support as required by the court.
Back in 1985, it was almost impossible for a father to gain custody of his children, especially if they were young girls (4 and 9) as in my case, and the father had to have very strong case, such as prostitution, drugs, or abandonment. My case was based on her secretive alcohol consumption and her unwillingness to seek treatment. In addition, I didn't have any good witnesses since she did most of her drinking in private. What I did have going for me, however, was the fact she had seen a marriage councilor during our marriage who had tested her showing she also had some mental problems, and was in fact self medicating herself with the alcohol.
In any case, as a single parent with little money to do the activities you would normally like to do with your children is very difficult and a heart breaker.
The one thing I learned and gained respect for back then was the extreme difficulty a single mother goes through trying to raise her family, especially if she has a dead beat ex-husband. Employers can also make it difficult when a single parent has to stay home with a sick child, or to take time off to take a child to a doctor or to talk to their teacher. I think my case was a little more difficult because I was a father and my employer wasn't used to having fathers asking for time off to attend to his children's needs. I was also transferred almost immediately after the case finalized to another state and had no friends or family to rely on. Single parents have my deepest respect. It also may seem as if your children don't appreciate your hard work and sacrifices that you have to make, but they finally will once they understand what all you had to go through to raise them.
The last thing I would like to comment on is about our judges. I lost a great deal of respect for our judges, and I had two during my case. But I'm not just speaking of the judges I dealt with back then, but of other judges as well that I have read about or heard from other people. I question the motive of why some lawyers decide to become judges. I know it's certainly not true for all judges, but it almost seemed to me as if some lawyers decide to become judges during their later years of practice for the steady income, or because of their need to finance their retirement. Judges seem to me to be the laziest people I know of, and stretch out their workload as far as possible so they don't have to work as much. Judges cost me about $10,000 because of their own actions which was not related to the case. In addition, it took my judge 5 months to finally file decision. During the five months we waited for his decision was mentally challenging and highly stressful.
Why did they want to go and make this ad?
ReplyDeleteRed eyes for the rest of the morning . . . .
OMG, when she hangs her head as he reads it...the rush of emotions...I think I've watched it five times now. Tears streaming.
ReplyDeleteWhy doesn't MetLife hire the father? That would solve the problem.
ReplyDeleteBeaglemom
And the way the 1% is sucking up all the profits and not paying any taxes, this story will be all too common going forward.
ReplyDeleteIt hit me hard. When I was a kid of maybe 5, my folks were really struggling. Dad and I went to the little corner grocery store and I asked him for ice cream, which he bought me. When we got home, he caught hell from mom, as she was stretching every nickel to feed the family. Dad told her that he couldn't look at my little face and turn me down. I loved him for being my daddy and I fully understand mom's frustration. Things like that made me the liberal I proudly am today.
ReplyDeleteHit me in the feels too. I came from a poor family: my Daddy was often without a job and then he got one that lasted a long time on the road crew for the County. It was steady money; his boss respected him. We knew we were so fortunate. Still, my mother took in ironing for people to still make ends meet. Tears.
ReplyDeleteDaisy, me too.
DeleteMy father quit smoking in 1953 because it came down to cigarettes, or formula for my just born brother. Not a choice.
ReplyDeleteAnd this was when cigarettes were $.22 a pack.
And, enough though we went without, I bet most of the posters here would share the same truth. Our parents didn't rely on anyone or anything else to provide for us, yet we are the ones who are willing to provide services for those in need. Funny how that works.
ReplyDeleteYour parents didn't rely on anyone or anything? Hogwash. They didn't rely on federally subsidized mortgages? Because that's how the white suburbs were formed, by federally subsidized mortgages that were denied to blacks. They didn't use the G.I. Bill after World War II? They never took a dime out of social security or Medicare? Let's stop with the phony bootstrapping myth.
DeleteWe went without in my family too. My parents stretched every dollar because they believed an education was the key to the next generation’s survival and happiness. Without hesitation I can say those of us who pinched to get through college during the 1960s and ‘70s in my family benefitted much more than those who didn’t. It has caused a riff and my siblings and relatives who didn’t prosper are extremely angry. They are hateful toward liberals as they perceive a”liberal agenda" and a black president stole from them. I admire Michael Moore as he is sensitive to people’s roots and the forces that shape our economic lives, especially the disassembling of the middle class. The truth hurts and for the life of me I truly believe hate/conspiracy radio by the likes of Limbaugh and Beck has created a toxic alternative to reality. The hate toward unions in particular blows my mind. Our great grandparents knew to organize. Nobody truly becomes prosperous on their own, and for this I am thankful for my parent’s support and encouragement.
ReplyDeleteExactly what does MetLife expect?
ReplyDeleteThat this dad living on the edge and sacrificing everything for his daughter (and I'm going to assume paying for her schooling) take some of that pittance he scrapes together and give it to MetLife instead of buying food or clothing or paying tuition?
Yeah, saving for retirement is great and having life insurance is smart *if* you can afford it.
But this man clearly cannot afford either at this time.
So...what is the point of this ad?
BTW I have my TSA through MetLife. They've done OK but there are fees involved. Small, but there. I do get free financial planning outside of my Met TSA. After I retire I'll be moving my entire Met TSA to my pension 2 account with the state but managed by VOYA. Why? Well, to consolidate for one. But also because Met hasn't managed to correct my phone number for two years despite my and my financial planner's request to do so. I also notice my savings account still has not been transferred to my investment account as I requested. These are minor indications of a more major problem. One I hope to resolve by consolidating my TSA into my Pension 2 account.
I too can relate to those, especially single fathers, who are touched by this ad. I really don't understand the point of the ad, but it brings back memories of when I was a single father trying to raise two small girls while trying to pay off a huge legal debt.
ReplyDeleteMy legal bill back then was equivalent to about $40,000 in todays money, which was a little less than 25% I made in a year back then, and in addition my ex-wife wasn't paying her child support as required by the court.
Back in 1985, it was almost impossible for a father to gain custody of his children, especially if they were young girls (4 and 9) as in my case, and the father had to have very strong case, such as prostitution, drugs, or abandonment. My case was based on her secretive alcohol consumption and her unwillingness to seek treatment. In addition, I didn't have any good witnesses since she did most of her drinking in private. What I did have going for me, however, was the fact she had seen a marriage councilor during our marriage who had tested her showing she also had some mental problems, and was in fact self medicating herself with the alcohol.
In any case, as a single parent with little money to do the activities you would normally like to do with your children is very difficult and a heart breaker.
The one thing I learned and gained respect for back then was the extreme difficulty a single mother goes through trying to raise her family, especially if she has a dead beat ex-husband. Employers can also make it difficult when a single parent has to stay home with a sick child, or to take time off to take a child to a doctor or to talk to their teacher. I think my case was a little more difficult because I was a father and my employer wasn't used to having fathers asking for time off to attend to his children's needs. I was also transferred almost immediately after the case finalized to another state and had no friends or family to rely on. Single parents have my deepest respect. It also may seem as if your children don't appreciate your hard work and sacrifices that you have to make, but they finally will once they understand what all you had to go through to raise them.
The last thing I would like to comment on is about our judges. I lost a great deal of respect for our judges, and I had two during my case. But I'm not just speaking of the judges I dealt with back then, but of other judges as well that I have read about or heard from other people. I question the motive of why some lawyers decide to become judges. I know it's certainly not true for all judges, but it almost seemed to me as if some lawyers decide to become judges during their later years of practice for the steady income, or because of their need to finance their retirement. Judges seem to me to be the laziest people I know of, and stretch out their workload as far as possible so they don't have to work as much. Judges cost me about $10,000 because of their own actions which was not related to the case. In addition, it took my judge 5 months to finally file decision. During the five months we waited for his decision was mentally challenging and highly stressful.