"Living on the Edge" -- The economic crisis as seen through the eyes of a family

[Bozita]

The comments at the bottom of the linked page are truly something to behold. Don't miss them.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080316/FEATURES01/803160496

A PORTRAIT OF THE ECONOMIC CRISIS

Living on the edge

George Dreher is one of thousands of metro Detroiters who are out of work and in debt

BY JEFF SEIDEL • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER • March 16, 2008


Late at night, when the house goes quiet and his wife goes to bed, George Dreher sits on the couch and starts to cry.

Everything has fallen apart -- all his dreams, all his plans. He doesn't have a job, and he's three months behind on his bills, and he's afraid of losing his house, and he can't find any work, and he doesn't feel like a man anymore, a real man, the guy who used to walk around with a couple hundred in his wallet, just in case.

He hates asking for help -- whether it's the government or relatives or anyone else -- and has sold off most of his possessions. The 55-year-old welder can't support his family and can't imagine the future. He doesn't have a pension and his savings have evaporated. When he thinks about everything, he sees only one way out.

"I think about suicide a lot," he says.

But he stops himself. Because that would make it even worse. How would his wife pay for his funeral? "At one point in my life, I was worth more dead," he says. "Not now."

more...

[babylonsister]

1. Rec'd. I'm very afraid there's a lot of this going on. And * says it's

a temporary glitch? :grr: :nuke:

[Brigid]

14. Yeah.

And George Marie Antionette Bush has no clue. He's got his; what does he care?

[Liberal_in_LA]

2. Bush says it's just a "tough patch".

[fasttense]

3. All of us about to lose our homes should

pitch tents on the White House lawn and call it bushville.

[Bozita]

5. The Bonus Army tried something like that a long time ago.

General MacArthur took care of the problem.

[Brigid]

12. Yes, but it might not work the same way this time.

With today's 24/7 news cycle, it would be all over the media in seconds. I think that we're headed for some real trouble once there are enough homeowners in this position, and they get angry enough. Add that to the rest of the economic misery people are going through these days, and we're right back to the social unrest of the '30's.

[tavalon]

16. Like the protests I've been to in Washington,

in which artful photography changed us from a million strong to "thousands"? It's a bizarre feeling to have a protest of that magnitude "disappeared".

Make sure you have some sympathetic media before you do this.

[Bozita]

17. I watched the MSM's coverage of the anti-war marches in recent years.

I watched as crowds of a million were reported as tens of thousands. Reporters used the "official" police estimates. No questions asked.

My confidence in the MSM is obviously a few notches below yours. Nevertheless, I hope you're right.

[superkia]

21. At least in the 30's, the technology thats out there wasnt like it is...

now. If it goes bad, its going to be ugly and it will definitely be history in the making.

[blues90]

4. it is sad and I do know how they feel

I read some of the comments on that link to the story . I don't think many people get it at all .

They didn't go for some high dollar house with an ARM , he lost his job and income , no fault of his own and tries to find work . AT 55 it is true that no one wants to hire him . I doubt wal-mart would either .

I lsot a good job in the auto industry that I too felt was a lifetime job and I too tried to get any sort of job even at home depot and storage places , anything and everything and yet over time there is less and then no interviews and I was not offered one job even though I was qualified . I am now 59 . Don;t tell me about age discrimination , you can't prove this .

I don't own a house but have bills and also sold everything I had just to keep going . I have never asked for help all my life and feel really down about it .

[Liberal_in_LA]

6. Sorry to hear your story. Hope things improve for you soon.

[scarletwoman]

15. I'm so sorry you're going through this.

I hope you find a way through to better times.

[blue neen]

7. I've actually heard people say that if someone loses their home, it's their own fault.

"They were trying to live beyond their means."

Bullshit. This man deserves to have a home, a job, his wife's health, and hope.

[fed-up]

8. I can relate.... :( n/t

[Brigid]

9. I see a lot of "Blame the Victim" going on there.

Big surprise, considering it's Freeperland, right? "Why didn't he save more?" "Why doesn't he get new skills?" "Why doesn't he move?" Yeah, that's all a lot of help for somebody who's out of work in Michigan at the age of 55. Sheesh. :eyes:

[Lorien]

10. I didn't see much of that in the comments. "Freep" refers to the Detroit

Free Press, not free republic.

[Brigid]

13. Oh.

:blush:

I just glanced at the top and assumed I'd been directed to "freeperland," which I had never visited before. Still, a lot of the suggestions don't seem gvery helpful to someone in that situation.

[scarletwoman]

11. The "freep" stands for Free Press, as in the newspaper the Detroit Free Press.

So, no, it's not "freeperland", it's just plain old America, land of "I've got mine, too bad about you other losers."

[sarcasmo]

18. Kick a million times if I could. Thanks Corporate America for what you have created.

[sarcasmo]

19. Not to start another sub thread, but when do they bring back Debtor prisons?

We already have them in the form of Child Support.

[knitter4democracy]

20. This is happening more and more around here.

Michigan's dying. I know so many people in this situation. It's disgusting.

[ribrepin]

22. God, that was depressing

George and his wife are about the same age as my husband and me. We also brought a modest house that we still own on. These are not people who have ever lived high on the hog and they will lose what little they have. Not everybody was meant to be a CEO.

[Matariki]

23. "a real man, the guy who used to walk around with a couple hundred in his wallet, just in case"

Not to pick on this guy personally, I really feel for his tragedy - but that sentence sums up at least part of the problem.

People have been buying so much stuff they don't need, on credit, for so long. Or houses bigger than they really need - overextending themselves - granite countertops, brazilian hardwoods, whatever. And why - to fill up some void of self worth. We got our priorities all wrong...