Response #3

Americas Situation

Everyday you can hear and read stories of someone losing their job due to the economy. When a person loses their job and are unable to find another one then they have no other choice but to collect unemployment. It is a very sad situation to hear the large number of people who no longer have the jobs they once had. I myself have family members who have no choice but to collect the government checks; because they no longer have the jobs they relied on. The situation in America today is being compared to the great depression of the 1930’s.
In the book “Someplace in America” by Dale Maharidge it tells about the unemployment and economic problems in America. The book talks about a woman going from wealth to poverty. She lost her home and now has to relay on soup kitchens for her food. Things in America have gotten so bad that some woman have to work three jobs just to keep their family together. Even with three incomes the woman in the book is still struggling to support her family. The book has many stories of individuals who have fallen on hard times. Some of these people are struggling due to lost jobs, some are struggling because lack of medical benefits has drained their savings and some are struggling simply because they have nowhere to go. One story I can relate to in the book is about Jim and Bonnie Alexander who migrated to Texas from Michigan hoping to find employment. They had to leave Michigan after losing their jobs. I can relate to this story because most of my family lives in Michigan. When the auto companies failed it was bad for a lot of people.
I have two uncles who have been collecting unemployment for two years. They both worked at the same factory for 16-18 years. The company they worked for made auto axles for a large auto company. When the automobile companies had a big down fall a few years ago the business they worked for shut down and sent most of the work to their plant in Mexico. It was a bad situation because they already had 18 years seniority with their jobs. They signed up on unemployment and looked for work, with no luck of finding a job. There were no jobs in the auto business to be found. After searching for jobs they decided to return to school and study a new field. With the help of a government program they are able to return to school free of charge.
I never lived during the Great Depression but to me the way things are now I don’t see how it was any worse back then. Dale Maharidge states in the book, that “officials brag that another great depression has been avoided.” Like Dale, I don’t see what has been done for workers and low-income Americans to better their situations. America came out of the Great Depression and I feel we will come out of this bad situation. While we are coming out of this situation the people of America should not be forgotten. I long for the day when we hear of families buying homes not losing them, having money to buy food instead of standing in soup lines, and all Americans having health benefits so they don’t lose their savings to pay for medical bills.

Works cited

Maharidge, Dale, and Michael Williamson. Someplace like America: Tales from the New Great Depression. Berkeley: University of California, 2011. Print.