First I want to preface my question by acknowledging that I know I am not the only one experiencing difficulty during these times. My husband and I have been struggling since 12/99 when his company laid him off. He is 57 and it has been hard for him to find a decent paying job; I am 50 and had been home raising the kids who are adults now. It has also been hard to find employment given the years I have been out of the workforce.
We lost his retirement in the stock market resulting in a huge tax liability of $80k because it was considered a distribution and now facing the IRS putting liens on everything we own. We were trying to use the money to make ends meet while he was trying to find employment when the market crashed. One month ago
We both have hired on with a company making $500/week each. It is sales and the salary will end in 2 months. We hired an attorney to help us with the tax bill but they have failed to negotiate with IRS. We are barely surviving. I wanted to go to Nursing school in January but with this tax lien, I will not be able to get a student loan or grant. Our credit was shot anyway because of the unemployment and inability to pay bills.
Do you know of any source that could help us find decent paying jobs or lend us money so we can pay IRS. Our mortgage company would not lend us money because of the bad credit and inability to repay loan.

I don't know where you live, but where I live we have commercials and advertisements of attorneys that will contact the IRS for you. They then settle for pennies on the dollar and has worked for many, many people. I have heard some results of them cuttingmore than 80% off IRS bills. I would first look up and attorney that works with the IRS either in the phonebook or on the internet. There is help for that. Also, if you go online and lookup help me find a job it will take you to sights like Monster.com and many others. I have joined. Then you fill in the information you want concerning what area you would like a job and what type of job you would like. You can put several types of jobs and pick the ones you like. I would register with all of them. You will get emails from them everyday telling of different jobs.

Since you are interested in nursing, I had an idea. Contact the local red cross and ask if they offer nurse assistant training. It is a requirement of most nursing programs, and would qualify you to work as an aid in a nursing home immediately. I'm not sure how good the pay is- but it's definitely a stepping stone. I thought of this because the Red Cross will not refuse you for inability to pay. They self-finance scholarships so that their programs are available to everyone. They also hire a lot of instructors on a per-diem basis to teach first aid, CPR, and so on - also skills you will have to learn anyway to become a nurse. It's easy to teach the courses (I do and have no medical education at all). Larger chapters of the Red Cross have more to offer, so if your nearest one doesn't, check in the largest close town to you.