Voices
a bargain! But no. I’m freelancing for $15 an hour these days,
but I used to earn $100 an hour.
In fact, all the freelance hourly
rates have been driven down to
$15-30 an hour. To make ends
meet, I also work as an aide
($13.75 an hour) and run a small
local company. And my annual
earnings are under $20,000.
I’m lucky to be in Massachusetts, where my health care is
paid for, and fortunate to be of
sound health and mind. But on
days when I feel hopeless, I can
envision myself 20 years from
now, living in hardscrabble poverty. Female friends my age who
are in similar financial circumstances are terrified of the future. If we can’t get decent paying jobs today, there’s little hope
of getting a corporate job with
benefits in the future. And during the past few years as we’ve
struggled, we went through all
of our savings, 401(k)s and anything left in the bottoms of our
pocketbooks. So we can see ourselves as old, pathetic bent-over
women, living in bus shelters,
our ragged belongings in supermarket carts.
For the “Used-to-Haves,” every day is a struggle to hold onto
KATHLEEN
ANN
HUFFINGTON
02.16.14
hope. Everywhere we look is a reminder of what we used to have.
We “Used-to-Haves” all used
to work in the corporate world
for big, wealthy companies. We
were discarded in layoffs. I’ve
been told, as my employer du
jour let me go, what a positive
difference I made and the value of
my contributions. I agree. I know
I made my bosses look brilliant.
Fully aware that my contribu-
I’m freelancing for $15
an hour these days, but I
used to earn $100 an hour.”
tions built the company’s brand
image. Yet, I was expendable.
As a new “Used-to-Have,” I
denied my slide. “I’m not poor!”
I nervously chuckled to myself.
But as I slid more, the smartest
thing was finally acknowledging poverty and applying for the
benefits available. I’d never been
poor before. I didn’t know how
to be poor. But finally, I learned.
The magnitude of my shame
and embarrassment is unspeakable. It’s impossible to explain to
people who aren’t poor — “The
Haves.” When I’m beseechingly