America Deserves A Raise

Every afternoon, five days a week, month after month, Margaret watches her husband go off to work and wonders whether she’ll ever see him alive again.

He’s not a fire fighter. He’s not a policeman. He’s not a soldier—at least, not the kind that wears a uniform. But his job is nevertheless a dangerous one.

Roger has an advanced degree in inorganic chemistry, but due to outsourcing in his specialized area of expertise (paper chemistry), he is unable to find work in his field. For many months, even years, he tried everything he could think of to get a job as a chemist. But finally, unwilling to go on welfare, yet determined to support his family, he took what he could get. It’s not glamorous. It won’t win him fame and glory. It doesn’t even pay very well. But it’s honest work.

Roger delivers pizza for a living, and he’s an unsung American hero.

Here’s why: Roger works in a part of town where many people have very little; where drug use and violent crime are far too common. He has been robbed at gunpoint at least a dozen times. On the night of New Year’s, 2009, he was beaten so badly that he had to take off work for almost three weeks.

But times are hard. Roger can’t find any other job. So he picks himself up, dusts himself off, and reports for work, five days a week, month after month, laying his life on the line to support his family, and refusing to be an unnecessary burden on others by applying for public aid.

Roger’s wife and daughter love him so much. They need him so much. If he were to win this contest, he could start his own business, a business that wouldn’t require him to risk his life just to make an honest wage. He could buy his own safety and his family’s peace of mind.

Roger holds his family’s hearts in his hands. We hold his life in ours. Please vote for this admirable man and help to keep him safe from harm.