Today my mom got an email that shocked us to the core. As it turns out, the Survivor Pension was approved by the Ministry my dad worked for, effective from October 1rst 2021. The thing is that the amount of said pension was also sent in that email, 75% of the salary he was receiving at that time, 179.000,00 VES, and that amount is in the old currency, updated would be 0.18 VES; then they send another document just like that one but with one more column with the homologated amount which is 7.000.000, 00 VES, the old currency meaning that it's 7,00 VES. Thirty-five years of service my dad gave them, and that's what it's worth, 7, 00 VES.
A little background story
My dad used to tell us story's about him and grandpa growing up, and his beginnings as a working man weren't left out of the several story's we know. Larry, my dad (that's his nickname) began working in a bank and transferred several times due to inconsistencies with the bosses, the type of bosses that demand but don't give.
Larry was the rebellious type and clashed most of the time with that sort of people so he transferred a lot, so one day my grandpa sat him down and scolded him saying that he had to take the matter seriously because one day, he would have a family of his own and he would have to be the sole provider, which meant that he had to stop fooling around and settle to ensure a future for him and his future family.
What did he mean by that? One time I asked him that question, Dad I mean, grandpa died when I was five. Dad explained that he meant that with a stable job comes security, you build yourself a career and the years you spend working accumulate a percentage from which you can live on when you retire, and also, during your time in the workforce you get certain benefits like health care and other stuff, so it's good, when you retire you'll still benefit from that work you did, that was when I was little.
Then it came the time when he was without a job due to some government changes; the airports were being managed by military forces I believe because of an economic crisis that was taking place at that time. I don't know much about it but I do know that the inflation was horrible (nothing compared to the present) and there were major changes all over the country. He was without a job for two years, and we survived thanks to the car he had at that time which he used as a Pirate Taxi, and I say pirate because it was forbidden at the time to be a taxi man without a license to do so, and they were too expensive.
The Fall Begins
By 1998 he was reinstated in his job and the major political changes in the country began to appear with the election of Chavez. During his first period, he homologated all the workers that were damaged by the adjustments that took place with his predecessor and I thought Yippy! That's good, this guy is awesome!
Then, he created Missions for people of age and in states of poverty so they could have access to schooling, basic, high school, and university, and my mom got on board with the last one and end up with a Law degree. I thought, Cool! This is amazing because my mom in her forties got her college degree and first of her class!
Later on, on my dad's job began a series of lawsuits due to the deficiency of the ministry to homologate the salaries when there was a national change on the minimum wages, and I started to think that something was wrong, in fact, by the time of my dad's death there was one lawsuit going on.
So that's why I say the speech kept on changing over time because we knew that thanks to the wrong policies made by unscrupulous people, that security my grandpa told my dad was fading away. We knew people that by 1999 lived out of their pensions after years of hard work and sacrifice, but now that isn't the case anymore, my dad spent 35 years on the road, coming and going and sacrificing himself only to leave this world without the comfort that his sacrifice in the workforce was worthwhile.
That's not the life I want for myself or anybody as the matter of fact. I know firsthand what it means to devote yourself to a job, to a cause, and come out with nothing. People often talk about Vocation or the Calling, or commitment or whatever, but: To what point should we sacrifice, and is that sacrifice worth it? Hours or days away from our families and friends because of a retirement plan that right now isn't worth crap. NO, I say no, not for me, not ever.
The life I want for myself is far from riches and luxury, and closer to peace of mind which includes working for a living but with the certainty that I'll get a just reward eventually, the peace of mind that comes from knowing that my work means something for me and my family and that I'm sacrificing for a future. That's why I'm doing this, that's why I'm trying to put my eggs in several baskets to ensure that tomorrow when my time comes, the email that arrives would be more helpful and not an absolute joke.
Final thoughts
Things like the one that happened today, are what drives me to keep looking and working for a better future, and explains furthermore why read.cash is so important to me and why BCH is changing my life. I refuse to keep working for a social security that is completely worthless and I feel encouraged to keep going forward with my plans of growing in this community.
Thanks to my faithful sponsors especially to @charmingcherry08 for renewing her sponsorship. Please, make sure to check out their awesome content!
See you next time!
✨✨Blessings✨✨
Monday, October 4th, 2021.
I was going to comment here. But your article actually persuaded me to write an expanded comment in a new post. I hope I did your cause and your story justice.