Donna Stebbins testifies to Senate subcommittee

by David Safier

NOTE: Donna Stebbins is scheduled to be interviewed on MSNBC live Friday morning, 8am Tucson time (10am here in D.C.).

Donna Stebbins, from Phoenix, testified this morning to the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions subcommittee chaired by Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) (speaking), with Michael Enzi (R-Wyoming), ranking member, sitting next to him.

Donna is on the right side of the photo (the best I could do from the audience seating).

Under discussion was legislation concerning the long term unemployed. I walked in after Senator Harkin had finished speaking and heard Enzi making his opening statements. To paraphrase a famous Groucho Marx song from Horse Feathers, Enzi's refrain was, "Whatever it (the bill helping the unemployed) is, I'm against it." It won't help the unemployed, it will only make money for the trial lawyers, he said. It's more regulatory burden on small business owners. If you really want some job creation, Start the Keystone Pipeline!

And my favorite line from Enzi: It's terrible how Job Creation has become politicized!

Donna was the third to testify. Here, as best as I could get from her five minute testimony, is her story.

Donna is 58 years old, and this is the first time in her life she's been unemployed. She has found no one who is interested in hiring someone her age.

She has worked since she was a youngster, earning her clothing and spending money. She married, has a family, bought a home. Both she and her husband worked.

"I did everything right," she said, "to live the American Dream."

Donna and her husband borrowed on their home to fix the place up back when it looked like the smart thing to do. It was supposed to raise the value of the home and help secure their economic future. It didn't work out that way. The bottom fell out of the housing market, and her house was worth less than what she owed on it.

In 2010, Donna was laid off. She applied for over 200 jobs and only got a handful of interviews — group interviews. All the questions went to the younger applicants, except for a few queries asking why someone her age would be applying for a job right now.

Her husband was laid off from the construction job he'd held for 20 years. Fortunately, his skills landed him another job, but his salary dropped to what he had made 10 years earlier. His new company offers insurance, but they can't afford it. They buy the medication he needs to keep working, but they have nothing left for the rest of their health needs.

They were threatened with foreclosure but managed to refinance their home with the bank, on the bank's terms, so they still have their home.

The two of them have been living on his salary and dipping into their 401K. When their daughter got married recently, she had to pay for her own wedding. "That," according to Donna, "was the hardest thing for me."

"We didn't do anything wrong," Donna concluded. "We played by the rules. Why did this happen to me and to other people like me?" She's angry, she said, and plans to tell her story whenever and wherever she can.

As I mentioned at the beginning, Donna will be telling her story live on MSNBC Friday, 8am Tucson time.