Saturday, July 19, 2008

Middle Class Can't Afford To Work And Eat According To NPR


Ben Keeler nails this story in one sentence over at Politics Ohio.
The backbone of the Democratic voting machine is right here in this story.

Buying votes used to be illegal, at least when Republicans did it, but Democrats have lifted bribery and vote buying to a national art. It is still wrong.

Ohio is the 15th fattest state out of 50 (not 57) states and the District of Calamity.

For Some Ohioans, Even Meat Is Out Of Reach

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.

Grew up middle class?

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.

Middle class? No high school diploma. No job. No savings. 2nd generation welfare. Middle class? Oh wait, this is the new middle class for Liberal tax purposes because if you've worked, saved, planned and educated your children you are so damned rich you deserve to support those who have less than you.

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.

Maybe Madam Pelosi will utter, 'Let them eat meat.'

UPDATE: 12 bags of groceries for $100.00? Wouldn't you like to average $8.33 per full grocery bag and that was with meat!

UPDATE 2: Gateway Pundit is working on this as well and has a good writeup.
Moonbattery doesn't buy it for a second.