Sunday, October 7, 1984

I cooked a dinner for Ruth to eat sometime this week, before I left today at 1PM.

At home I put the door latch on the back storm door and have blisters on the palms of my hands from putting on the front and back door latches, because, naturally, I couldn't get them on right the first time. I caulked the Plexiglas panels on the inside of the storm doors, put weatherstripping around the storm doors and around the front and back doors. I caulked three bedroom storm windows and caulked around the windows. I ran out of weatherstripping, before I finished the back door, and I ran out of caulking before I finished the outdoor faux trim. I accidentally broke a medium sized storm window, accidentally demolished the largest storm window in the whole house over my head, then picked up the broken glass from both. I have cuts on my face, hands and legs. I dismantled the pool filter and drained the water from the sand filter. I put the new dog door panels, that I had previously bought, in the dog door. I finished cleaning the sink and took out the garbage. I finished drying towels that were in the dryer, since I had forgotten to turn it on yesterday.

Not a bad day's work for the four and one-half hours not worked or driving to and from jobs.

Without a working TV at Ruth's, I listened to the Presidential debate on the radio.

President Reagon said that he would never cut certain benefits, but Presidential Candidates reminded the public that Reagon had cut all of the vulnerable people once before, when the President said he would never cut benefits. Reagon stated that 10,000,000 people are living in subsidized housing, which is more people than have ever been in subsidized housing before. It makes sense to me, because more people need subsidized housing than ever before, except during the Great Depression, and there wasn't any subsidized housing then. But who's going to buy all the vacant houses those people came from? Mondale said that the deficit will take some work, and Reagon said that the deficit will disappear. Reagon stated that crime has come down in the last two years. That makes sense to me too, since crime came down in the Great Depression. Reagon want adoption instead of abortion, even in cases of incest or rape. Mondale stated that the net farm income is down fifty percent in the last three years. Mondale informed the public that President Reagon only paid twelve and eighty-one hundredth percent in taxes. Mondale said that if he is elected, he won't increase taxes for people with incomes of $25,000.00 a year or less. In 1979 the then President Carter said that the then ex-Governor of California, Reagon, would cut Medicare benefits if Reagon was elected: Reagon has cut Medicare. Reagon bragged that eight-hundred and fifty thousand people were over-qualified to receive food stamps, but added that two million, three hundred thousand more people qualified for food stamps. That means to me that there are a lot of new people who were over-qualified when Reagon took office, that are now qualified during Reagon's tenure, because of an income drop. There are now thirty-five million people below the poverty level, which is fifteen percent of the total population, and eight million more than four years ago. Reagon said that there isn't any connection between the deficit and interest rates, that interest rates are based on inflation. I don't buy that! Ex-President Carter in 1979 only had a $29,000,000,000.00 deficit, in comparison to President
Reagon's astronomical deficit, stated Mondale. Mondale also said that Vice President Bush pays less taxes a year than an average janitor. Four-hundred thousand disabled were terminated of benefits. President Reagon waived a rebuttal to Senator Mondale, when Mondale asked President Reagon what he's going to do about the enormous deficit. I felt President Reagon had no answer.

I remember my ex-tenant, Cecil, and how his benefits were cut completely, then adjusted lower and I am wondering how many disabled had their benefits terminated or adjusted lower or both, if four-hundred thousand had benefits terminated completely.

I still wouldn't let Cecil near my head with a pair of scissors!