We were happy, studying hard. Neither one of us had a job, because Mitt had enough of an investment from stock that we could sell off a little at a time. The stock came from Mitt’s father. When he took over American Motors, the stock was worth nothing. But he invested Mitt’s birthday money year to year — it wasn’t much, a few thousand, but he put it into American Motors because he believed in himself. Five years later, stock that had been $6 a share was $96 and Mitt cashed it so we could live and pay for education…
‘Another son came along 18 months later, although we waited four years to have the third, because Mitt was still in school and we had no income except the stock we were chipping away at. We were living on the edge, not entertaining. No, I did not work. Mitt thought it was important for me to stay home with the children, and I was delighted.
Ann Romney, Mitt and Ann Romney—Portrayed by Sister Romney as Struggling, Just-Getting-By, Stock-Selling Students at BYU
(via robot-heart-politics)
Oh my god, Ann! This sounds JUST LIKE my parents’ story! You know, the one where they were so poor that they had to work three low-wage jobs apiece, collect cans and newspapers out of trash bins, and raise my sister and I in the projects in order to fight their way out of poverty.
You know, the story, Ann! It’s the one where a business environment forged by hundreds of years of institutionalized racism made it impossible for my father to get a white collar job despite his education because who could trust a young black man back then? And remember how institutionalized the racism was that businesses would actually say that to his face? He ended up taking three jobs — at a deli counter, at a Burger King, and as a stock boy — oh yeah, he worked all those jobs at once. Didn’t he know that all he had to do is have his coal miner father believe in himself more? Lol!
That’s awesome that you got to stay home to raise your children. I mean *I* can relate to that seeing as I had to raise my little sister — if only my parents couldn’t afford child care! As a eight year old, staying up until midnight each night just so that I could wake my mother up in time so that we could pile in the car to pick him up from his night job was so much fun! Of course, she was sleepy because she had to work multiple jobs too!
Since my mom was the only one who could get an above-minimum wage job on account of her being an “Oriental”, she worked as a secretary, and as a printing worker, and as a waitress in a Chinese restaurant six days a week.
Remember how the minimum wage was just $2.90/hr…. (Sorry, Ann. I meant “half a share of Mitt’s stock per hour”.) Remember how the low minimum wage meant that you could barely cover your government assisted rent, no-frills groceries, expensive utilities, and your barely working used car (made by Romney’s American Motors! How ironic!) just to keep up let alone put anything into savings? I mean, who has time to entertain when you can’t even afford cable television or a home phone?
One thing that was different though, Ann, was that my parents weren’t happy where you and Mitt clearly were. I mean, they loved each other and they loved us kids, but boy, could they argue! They’d get into arguments about the silliest things like how to spend the extra $1 they’d have left over each week. Do they buy an extra loaf of bread so the kids wouldn’t be as hungry? Fresh milk instead of watering down the can of condensed milk? Gas for the car so that they’d make it to the third job on time. They should have learned to struggle like you did. It sounds like you and Mitt clearly did have all the best days!
When I see you on television talking about how you got by, in your basement apartment I can’t help but think of my parents. I mean, it’s like you’re fucking twinsies. You should all go ride your Olympic show horses together. I’m sure they’d identify with your struggle 100%. You’d have so much to talk about!
(via kenyatta)
^Reblogged for commentary. I reread this quote a few times and it’s still so foreign to me. Oh, he just invested his few thousand dollars of birthday money, deemed “not much.” Yearly, he probably invested more than all the money I have to my name. And that was just on his birthday. Is this what you consider struggle?
(via continuants)
“We were living on the edge.” Oh, go fuck yourself, Ann Romney. I’m reminded of the time, shortly after I got married, that a friend complained to my now ex-wife that she only had £450 to live on each month after she’d paid all of her bills, and my wife replied that we only had £75 to get us through each month, after everything had gone out…and the friend just simply refused to believe her. She boldly stated that nobody could possibly live on that little money so my wife must be lying. See, that’s what it’s like for these people, they hear the facts about people having to survive with so little money and they just refuse to believe them because the idea of having to survive on so little is just simply inconceivable. We got by on frozen sausages, instant mash and gravy…and even then, we didn’t have it so bad. People have to survive on so much less than that.
(via iandsharman)
“WASN’T MUCH, A FEW THOUSAND”
yeah go fuck yourself bro
(via iphysianthe)
Reblogged for wtf or the quote and spot on commentary.
Jesus. What? If this is your attempt to see likable and relatable, you didn’t do either of those things.
(via midwesting)
(via midwesting)
Source: exmormon.org
Older than most Tumblrites but younger than their mothers.
