You drown by staying in water.” So when his accountant embezzled from his architecture business he didn’t dwell on the fact that he was the victim of a crime. He didn’t seek revenge. The accountant was a mother of three—three kids who needed her—so Jose didn’t press for jail time. He just wanted restitution. The court awarded him that restitution, but when the recession hit and Jose’s firm went under, he faced his employees and took responsibility for the failure. The buck stopped with him. When you talk to him about it today, he tells you, unbidden, that he wishes he saw more of that in Washington. At forty-one, he has lost his business, and with a wife and two kids to support, Jose has had to start his life over again. He’s had to go back to school to get his master’s degree, which he hopes will give him an edge in a competitive market. At the same time, he works full-time, leads the Boy Scout troop at his church and worries about the burden that puts on his wife, Lisa, who manages to work part-time while taking point with their eleven-year-old son and nine-year-old daughter.
