Posted on 07/18/2008 10:18:24 PM PDT by paulat
Feeling The Economic Pinch For Some Ohioans, Even Meat Is Out Of Reach by Yuki Noguchi
Katia Dunn/NPR Angelica Hernandez (left) and her mother, Gloria Nunez, struggle to make ends meet on a very limited budget.
All Things Considered, July 17, 2008 · A generation ago, the livelihood of Gloria Nunez's family was built on cars.
Her father worked at General Motors for 45 years before retiring. Her mother taught driver's education. Nunez and her six siblings grew up middle class.
Things have changed considerably for this Ohio family.
Nunez's van broke down last fall. Now, her 19-year-old daughter has no reliable transportation out of their subsidized housing complex in Fostoria, 40 miles south of Toledo, to look for a job.
Nunez and most of her siblings and their spouses are unemployed and rely on government assistance and food stamps. Some have part-time jobs, but working is made more difficult with no car or public transportation.
Low-income families in Ohio say they are particularly hard-hit by the changes in the economy, according to a new poll conducted by NPR, The Kaiser Family Foundation and Harvard School of Public Health. Two-thirds of lower-income respondents, or 66 percent, say paying for gas is a serious problem because of recent changes in the economy. Nearly half of low-income Ohioans, or 47 percent, say that getting a well-paying job or a raise in pay is also major problem.
'I Just Can't Get A Job'
Nunez, 40, has never worked and has no high school degree. She says a car accident 17 years ago left her depressed and disabled, incapable of getting a job. Instead, she and her daughter, Angelica Hernandez, survive on a $637 Social Security check and $102 in food stamps.
Hernandez received her high school diploma and has had several jobs in recent years. But now, because fewer restaurants and stores are hiring, she says she finds it hard to find a job. Even if she could, she says it's particularly hard to imagine how she'll keep it. She says she needs someone to give her a lift just to get to an interview. And with gas prices so high, she's not sure she could afford to pay someone to drive her to work every day.
People tell Nunez her daughter could get more money in public assistance if she had a child.
"A lot of people have told me, 'Why don't your daughter have a kid?'"
They both reject that as a plan.
"I'm trying to get a job," Hernandez says. "I just can't get a job."
Hernandez says she's trying to get training to be a nurse's assistant, but without her own set of wheels or enough money to pay others for gas, it hasn't been easy.
'What's Going To Happen To Us?'
Most of their extended family lives in the same townhouse complex. The only employer within walking distance is a ThyssenKrupp factory that makes diesel engine parts. That facility, which employs 400 people, is shutting down and moving to Illinois next year.
The only one with a car is Irma Hernandez, Nunez's mother. Hernandez says that with a teenage son still at home, the cost of feeding him and sending him to school is rising, and she can no longer pay for the car.
She's now two car payments behind.
"I'm about to lose my car," she says on her way to pick up one of her daughters to take her to Toledo. "So then what's going to happen to us?"
So Nunez and her daughter are mostly stuck at home.
The rising cost of food means their money gets them about a third fewer bags of groceries — $100 used to buy about 12 bags of groceries, but now it's more like seven or eight. So they cut back on expensive items like meat, and they don't buy extras like ice cream anymore. Instead, they eat a lot of starches like potatoes and noodles.
Nunez, 40, has never worked and has no high school degree.Nunez is the "poster child" for the consequences of a lifetime of poor choices. Was a publicly-funded education not offered to her? Could she not get a review class and obtain a GED at little or no cost? No, she prefers to be a a human leach, living by sucking up the hard earned resources taken by force of law from productive citizens. She and her mother expose the consequences of 50 years of liberalism in America.
Democratic senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan long ago warned that the welfare state would destroy the family and trap people in a dependent lifestyle. He was one of the last Democrats I could respect, while differing with some of his policies.
There is a tenet of economics that you get what you subsidize. These two are living proof of the problem. NPR wants me to have compassion on them. I do. I want to remove the safety net and the delusion of legitimacy of this dependent lifestyle. I want them to have the satisfaction of working hard to gain skills to support themselves. I want them to taste the sweet flavor of a dinner you worked hard to earn.
Or an appetizer.
You nut! LOL Are you sure those are big nuff for these honeys?
Those were actually removed from Hillary’s room in the White House by Secret Service Agents in 1999.
I heard they removed them from the room with a very long pole.
No doubt. At least a 30 footer.
“reality talent show, something like “America’s got whiners”
A satire parody show along those lines would be a big hit, IMO. Follow ups on articles like this, pay the folks a few hundred each, which I doubt given their situation, would refuse.
Basically make fun of the main stream press.
You might also sign up for your local supermarkets Price Plus(ShotRite) or Club Fresh(Super Fresh) discounts. Doesn't cost a cent and you get special discounts on many items. Prior to the holidays the money you spend also accumulates into points that can get you a free turkey or ham.
I usually clip most of the coupons and wait try to wait until the item goes on sale You really can get some amazing discounts.
This site will help you on other items.
http://www.couponsurfer.com/coupon_show.cfm?id=20664
A quick search on Google finds some starting points for help with jobs for those with disabilities in Ohio:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=ohio+disability+job+services
There are also groups in Ohio who will provide you with basic transportation should you need it - like a car. Not a great car, maybe, but reliable transportation. I’ve no doubt they would qualify.
They need to start walking places.
Seriously, if they have an extended family close by then they need to pool their resources. Without a car, those that are able should walk or ride a bike.
What about working at home? What about various types of work like dog-walking, house-sitting, housekeeping, cleaning, cooking, telemarketing (and other phone jobs), babysitting, etc?
One of the biggest problems with job services and other government assistance programs is they never teach people to be resourceful or think creatively about solving their problems.
Why did they have a car that required they make car payments? If you are low income you buy a used car (and not one from the loan shark car lot) and pay only liability insurance.
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