Hotel Honda: Your comments

Bruce Richall is an IT consultant from an affluent area of the United States. Having lost his job at a bank, he is now living in his car.

BBC News website readers have been sending in their comments and messages of support.

YOUR COMMENTS

I feel for you as I also lost my job 25 years ago. I picked myself up, got in my car and drove for 26 hours to San Francisco. I found an economy in that area that supported my profession and was more vibrant. I suggest you get some out of state papers and find someplace else to work. The economy where you are may not recover soon.
John Burg, Sammamish, WA, USA

One cannot read Bruce's story without wondering just how close any of us are to similar circumstances. I hope his situation improves soon, along with that of the other 150,000 newly-unemployed financial sector workers.
David DuBose, Lafayette, Louisiana, USA

My God! I experienced the same thing years ago. I was 28 and just out of the military - fully trained and skilled yet I could not even get a job at McDonalds. I lived out of my car and had kids make fun of me. I had a car cover I used at night so no-one would harass me while I slept. Years later I am just getting on my feet. It does something to you when you live out of your car and have nothing. I will forever be changed by it, I think in a good way. I know what you mean and understand how you feel - hang in there man. God bless you. It's funny, the same car (Honda CRX) that I slept in years ago, I rebuilt and now my son is driving it. You are going to make it man.
Robert, Wisconsin Rapids, WI, USA

While I feel empathy for Mr Richall and his plight, there are literally millions of us who have been enduring the same fears of job loss and homelessness for decades. It is sad that the wealthy and affluent can be easily affected by the same circumstances that drive others downward, but perhaps their turning a blind eye to the plight of others is a symptom of the cause? I lived in a car, a mission and a church in the middle of south central Los Angeles in the late 1970s with my mother and two siblings. Fear of homelessness never goes away for me. As I became of working age, I saw many companies pull out of the US and take fabrication overseas. While all of us in the working class saw those moves as highly unfair, wealthy super-companies claimed they were forced into making those decisions.
David, Chicago, Illinois USA

I am very sorry to hear what Bruce is going through. This rainy cloud will soon pass and the sunshine of a stronger economy with new job openings will begin to rise. Keep hanging in there Bruce, you will soon have a new job and be paying rent again.
Christian Daly, New York, USA

The irony is that Bruce lives in a so called developed country, pays his taxes and is now forced to live in his car. While the government of this "developed country" is spending hundreds of billions to bail out the companies that caused this catastrophe. My heart goes out to you Bruce, hang in there. Obama should turn it around, I hope to God he wins.
Jonathan, Sri Lanka

I feel very sad for Bruce. The problem is that when we have prestigious jobs and are earning good money, we tend to pamper ourselves with all the material things that money can buy. Just because we have money coming in every month, we don't hesitate to spend even before we are paid and we tend to live beyond our means. We tend to forget about tomorrow. Where is the virtue of "save for the rainy days?" Look at the people around you and choose who you would like to be in the future. It does help sometimes.
Soledad Carbonell Brannon, Gwent , Wales, UK

My problem is the same as Bruce`s problem. Now I am staying with a friend, but a few days ago I slept in my old 73 Volkswagen with my friend Laffaiette (a basset hound). The crisis is international.
Haraton Cezar Maravalhas, Curitiba-Parana, Brazil

I know exactly how Bruce is feeling. I had to move in with my parents because I could no longer afford to live on my own. Because they live in another state, I had to leave my job. The banking industry crashed and I have been looking for a job for over two months now. My parents have given me until January to get a job and move out or I get kicked out. So I am facing homelessness and, with the job market as it is, I may too be living in Hotel Toyota. I have always worked and never had a problem getting work when I needed it, but now I am not sure what I will be doing. I would clean toilets if they would take me. The fact that the government bailed the banks but did nothing for the people is horribly wrong.
Jennifer Dawson, Huntsville, AL, USA

I think it's appalling, and highlights how much of a pushover our country is. You look at this guy, Bruce, who has worked hard for as long as he has, and when he needs help the most, it's not there. In this country, you have people who have never raised a hand to work, or have been on long term unemployment, and the government hands them everything on a plate! I just hope things pick up for Bruce, it's a frighteningly uncertain situation to be in.
Jo McMullen, Surrey, UK

I've had a similar experience. I went almost a year without employment until I ended up in the hospital, with no insurance. Today things are not back to "normal" but I am working for myself now. It's not much but, until something better comes along, it's what I've got. Nicest part about it is that all the wages are under the table. I pay no taxes and will not pay taxes to a government that does this to its citizens. There are jobs out there that do not require all the paperwork, and no taxes involved. I live in South Florida where most of the population is either immigrants, or children of immigrants. Believe me, they manage to find jobs where they don't pay taxes, simply because they're not supposed to be working. So I simply did the same thing.
Matlee, Florida, USA

I feel for Bruce, losing his job and being forced to live out of his car is a horrible thing, especially in the so-called richest country in the world (I bet "spreading the wealth around" doesn't sound like such a bad idea to some). Still, I wonder how much of his present situation arose from his own actions. I do not mean to be cold, but with so many people living beyond their means in the US, this sort of rapid descent into poverty is likely not unique, sad as it is. Chin up, Bruce. You've got marketable skills, and I assume friends and family as well. Your situation is temporary.
Leslie, Tsu, Japan

It is appalling that there is no social safety net in the US as there is in most European countries. If you lose a job in the States, you lose more than your income. You lose your health insurance, your security. It can be a very slippery slope, as you see in this article, to destitution and homelessness. The US government should be ashamed of its indifference to the poor and newly poor. It would do my heart good if there would be demonstrations in front of US embassies around the world demanding that the US government show more concern for its people. Perhaps being shamed in the eyes of the rest of the world would prod our leadership into action.
Nan, Hafrsfjord, Norway and USA

Am I supposed to feel empathy for this vulture? Welcome to the real world, friend. In embracing the free market with both hands (and a full set of teeth) you as well as your friends, bosses, and the entire socio-political system of the USA, have, over the past 30 years, sown the wind. Now that the time has come to reap the whirlwind, you act attacked and betrayed.
Ivon Katz, Ames, IA, USA

I'm a temporary worker, living from pay-check to pay-check, paying rent for an apartment I can barely afford. I can relate to the fear Bruce felt, but of course I can't relate to being homeless. Does he have any family and friends he can stay with? It seems strange to have to go straight from an apartment to a car or even a shelter without any kind of help in between. I'm not doubting the integrity of the story, just wondering how his family and friends could have let him get to this point.
Jason , Seattle, USA

I lived in the USA for a few years. You can earn more than in the UK and taxes are lower, but there is no safety net when things go wrong. It's a good place to be rich, but a bad place to be poor.
Don, Herts, UK

Bruce is not alone. I had been working for a multinational bank for almost four years. I was in charge of a small group in the risk department. The nature of the business was risky - credit cards. One day my manager invited me to a meeting, when I got the conference room, her manager was there too. He acted as if I was the worst criminal he ever caught. He escorted me to the elevator where I was met by the security. I have not been able to find a job since. It seems like I have applied for the jobs with no luck. I may lose my house, my car and everything I own. I don't have medical coverage. I cannot even pay for teeth cleaning or an annual physical exam. The so-called most powerful country in the world cannot even offer the basics to its citizens. I have worked all my life, paid 35% taxes from my income. Now I have nothing. Where are the people who collect my taxes? And what do they do with it?
Marcie Morton, Bridgeport, CT, USA

Mr Richall's experience is frightening to him, I'm sure. He has all of advantages that are supposed to get one ahead in our culture (education and drive), but yet things can quickly spiral downwards. Keep trying, Mr Richall, if you have to get more skills in service industry, you can do it, times will change. The real kicker was his last line. The pols are giving the very people who lost a trillion dollars even more of OUR money to lose. That's insane.
Andrew Grunke, Cocoa Beach, Florida, USA