by Ann Hinds

Created on: March 16, 2009   Last Updated: May 16, 2010

The state of the economy has not only hit home, it has hit our town, our schools and our businesses. It does not matter who you talk to, there is a quiet sense of desperation that pervades all conversations. No longer do people talk about their plans for the weekend or something they found at a great sale. The talk is about who is looking for a job, where to recycle and which newspaper has the best coupons.

There is anger about the way the government is handling the bailout and the economy in general. However, everyone agrees that it makes no difference in our daily lives. What does matter is who has a home to live in and who can buy food. This is survival mode. We are at ground zero.

We live in a small, low-income community. There are not many jobs and the competition is fierce. Like everywhere else in the country, stores are closing and small companies have cut back on employees. We lost seven teachers in our school district.

People are coming up with new ways to save money. What was normal has taken on new meaning. Having a land line and a cell phone was once standard in everyone's home. Now it is a luxury. Eating out, which was a favorite pastime, is now only for special occasions. People are no longer using credit cards and more and more transactions are made in cash. Lawn care is a family affair and pet grooming is done at home.

We used our retirement savings to buy a used economy car. The more expensive to drive vehicles now decorate driveways. There are as many empty driveways as there are ones that still have cars. Gardens are big. People who have not planted a garden in years are networking with other to produce fresh produce. Our community garden is now a very busy place. Families are moving in together to share expenses.

In spite of it all, there is a wonderful spirit of cooperation in our community. A family brought eggs to the quilt shop. We are passing the kids clothes around so no one needs to buy new. We barter for things we need done. We share what we have. This is happening all over America.

While we are trying to survive each day, our state has raised the sales and vehicle taxes. The state budget deficit solution hits right at the people who can least afford it. It may be just pennies out of our pockets but right now, pennies count. We are making hard choices to survive the economy. We expect our government to do the same.

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