Last night, 60 Minutes left me stunned with stories about a possible Israeli-Palestinian Apartheid state and a future pill that will slow the aging process. But, the story that really hit hard detailed huge job cuts with DHL in Wilmington, Ohio; thousands of jobs gone from a small hardworking town. I wake up to the news that Atlanta-based Home Depot is cutting 7,000 jobs, Caterpillar eliminates 20,000 jobs, Sprint/Nextel cuts 8,000 and John Deere is cutting 700 jobs. Of course, South Georgia recently took a hit with closing of the Cooper Tire plant in Albany.
The mayor of Wilmington outlined the rippling consequences by pointing out that the local hospital functions with funds from the DHL employees’ health insurance coverage. When those people start seeking indigent care, the double impact of revenue loss and free care increase will killed the hospital.
When the America dream turns into a nightmare, it is rough to witness. Back when we were in high school, Billy Joel’s “Allentown” served as a wakeup call with lines like, “For the promises our teachers made—if we worked hard, if we behaved. Now are graduations hang on the wall, but they never really helped us at all.”
Each family needs a comprehensive “Economic Recovery Plan” that focuses on sound decisions, cutting waste and supportive actions. What I really want to say to the teens in Georgia working families is don’t bring new drama into the household. If your parents were on their feet in steel-toed shoes for years to provide for the family, don’t come home grinning about a pregnancy or call from police station—be strong for yours and reduce their burden.
Southerners are resilient by nature and conservatives should prepare to say “amen” when President Obama starts appealing to every American to consider “personal responsibility” during these hard economic times. Former Morehouse College President Dr. Benjamin E. Mays once called a cut-up student into his office to inform the young man that he would be on the next bus home. Dr. Mays basically said that we as a people had come from so far yet had some much farther to go…we could not afford to have he holding us back.
In our community, we spend much energy and capital correcting and addressing the actions of certain members of the family. Can you prune rotten branches from the family tree? Tell you what: first deference should be toward hardworking people experiencing a rough patch due to job cuts and not…(I better stop right here).
Project Logic Ga 
…And not lazy ass people with a bad welfare habit.
Not unmotivated slouches who would rather wait for a hand out and never offer anyone else a hand up.
Not snorting, smoking, or boozing irresponsible leaches on society.
There. I said it for you.
:o)
Lord help us!
Lucia: wow, you broke it down to the nitty griddy.
Be careful what you wish because all of those Obama-crazy people who are new to poltics and policy will need to buckle down when the President says,”I have located the problem…some folks need to look in the mirror.”
Lucia….you need to be White House advisor on “Get Yourself Together” or “Stay out the bar” czar. Email me if you want to write a guest post because your voice is so need around the table.
I’m no philosopher. I just believe that if a person WANTS to be responsible, he/she will do what they need to do. Too many people sit around and wait for someone to give them what they need instead of going out and finding a way to get what they need.
I include some of my own relatives in that catagory, and at one time, I was there too. One day, I had an epiphany; “Things won’t change until I DO something about it” so I did something about it-I got my GED, took some classes, got a divorce, and, as a single mom of six, quit my restaurant job and starting selling homes.
No, I sit back and see people who are stuck in the cycle of doing nothing, believing in nothing, and having NO motivation? Why? Because they don’t NEED to be motivated-everything is handed to them!
And while I’m at it, I must mention the Earned Income Credit- thecredit given for earning as LITTLE income as possible.
And what about tax “refunds”- the government refunding money to people who have paid 0 to very little into the system! Grr!
Wow, Lucia there is a book in you and when the book becomes a movie, Will Smith or Hill Harper can play me.
I worked at the Congress when they passed Welfare to Work but more importantly, I had the opportunity to serve as a program director/teacher in a community service program at Albany State University after I returned to Georgia.
You are so right; once a person decides to “move forward” the personal achievement is grand. There is an old post on this blog about the Earned Income Tax Credit. The original intent was to say the working poor should not live below the poverty line. Think about it: a minimum wage working parent actually has less coming into the home than a person not working who is on public assistance. Then the public assistance person sits on the porch and heckles the person on the way to work. “You are silly to work for that little money and mess up your benefits.”
Of course, we know the benefits of working and providing good examples for the kids in the house is more important. The ladies in my job training class uses to say they could not tell their teenagers to prepare to work when the kids never saw them heading to a job.
On the T.V. news in D.C. one night, a reporter asked a group of youths in the projects what is work and one boy said, “what women go do in the morning.” I drop my head—wow.
…and that attitude is contagious. As a real estate professional, I see entire neighborhoods (some of them brand new) where people are lazing around and not working. Its ike someone dropped an Apathetic Bomb on some places while the community next door has been untouched.
It isn’t about foodstamps, or government programs, or grants, etc…Its about ATTITUDE.
I am hoping and praying that the enthusiasm Obama is generating will inspire people to overcome!
Can you believe the real estate opportunities for families with a little money put away. While not trying to take advantage of our nation’s economic situation, a money-wise person could clean up. Even people whose jobs are being cut might be pro-active and use the severance money to purchase a foreclosed property, fix it with sweat equity and stop renting. When a new job comes along, finances will be better because they would be homeowners.
As single person with no kids, I should grab a duplex and if I move I can have a responsible college age cousin handle the place.
Your calling for your retirement years might be a welfare to work program that is longer and ends with homeownership.
My dream is to buy foreclosed properties, rehab them, and resell them-at an affordable price- to hard working families.
Years ago, when I was looking for a home for my family (in Florida) I saw the discounted homes being bought up by investors who put a coat of white paint on everything and resold them for a 3xs what they paid for them. People who needed a mortgage loan couldn’t compete, because the investors were so fast with their cash!
I am in the process of buying my first one now( in Ohio) !!!! I am so excited about it! You wouldn’t believe the deals out there. i am getting a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car garage home-in a great school district-for $29,900. Estimated repairs are about 11,000.
I will be able to sell it for about $80,000-which is below market value. The (credit worthy) buyer will need no money down and payments will be around $800 a month. Less than the going rate for rent.
Lucia: sounds like you have the formula for success and I know you are going to do it. I can hear my daddy saying “when you rent, you are just buying it for someone else.”
My friends and I were talking recently and I told by buddy that when a woman is feeling him out, he should do the same by asking her what’s the channel for HGTV, CNN, PBS, and a few more learning-type, “be informed” channels. If all she knew what Lifetime and BET, he should move on to a bright lady. (Then again, maybe she is his type.)