12/17/09 12:00 PM
Recession Increasing Domestic Violence, Decreasing Victim Options
For victims of domestic abuse, recession stress can increase the danger they face at home. At the same time, financial hardship makes it more difficult to leave. It's the kind of dilemma Cathy N lives every day.
"I would love to get a divorce and move on with my life. If I knew I could walk into that courthouse and walk out with my house and my kids--and without my husband--I would do it. But the thought scares me because I could lose more than I would gain. The financial part--trying to make it on my own--it's impossible," Cathy tells me as we're sitting in the office of one of her allies at Family and Children's Services of Central Maryland.
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Wandering through the chilly streets of South Philly in search of a good story, I approach a small group of elderly gentleman talking on a street corner. After I finish my pitch, they look at each other silently, communicating through raised eyebrows and subtle shrugs. Finally, one speaks: "You should talk to his daughter. She got laid off. Now she's--how should I put this--a provider of erotic services."
"I wear this T-shirt because his superpower was will power," James Tartamella tells me, pointing to the Green Lantern symbol on his chest. "The greatest green energy is the green energy within us." James and his brother Joe each suffered a direct hit from the recession, but are rapidly adapting to seize opportunities created by the swelling wave of green jobs.Read More
Discretionary spending has declined dramatically while the price of consumer goods has risen. This simple recessionary formula struck a hard blow to manufacturing across the country. But in rural New Jersey, one vile product has enjoyed a surge in demand and a steep drop in retail price.
"Heroin has become quite prolific here in the past two years," says Capt. Andy Russo of the West Milford Police Department.
I woke up cussing this morning. A heated verbal altercation with an ignorant coot in the parking lot of a Waterbury, Connecticut, dive bar last night gave me unsettled sleep, as our argument over health care policy rattled on in my head throughout the night.
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11/30/09 12:30 PM
Massachusetts Budget Deficit Threatens Lifeline of Thousands
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Throughout the Recession Roadtrip, people I've spoken to regularly cite the increase of panhandlers as a prominently visible representation of these economic times. Many have also expressed suspicion that those begging for money aren't as desperate as their appearance and hand-lettered signs might suggest. I decide to ask an admitted longtime panhandler how the recession has affected his "profession."
Rejoining the professional work force after years of full-time parenting can present a challenge under even ideal circumstances. Because the recession has demolished careers of so many primary breadwinners, stay-at-home moms like Melissa Hinebauch are not making that transition by choice, but compelled by the dismal reality wrought by their spouse's ongoing unemployment, most particularly the high cost of private health insurance.Read More
