The Collapsing of American Families

Our families are collapsing and the politicians don't seem to care!  I understand that our States, Cities, Counties, etc., need policies in place so that our Societies are living at a comfortable pace, enjoying our lifestyles, whatever that may be, at whatever stage of your life you are (Upper Class, Middle Class, & every variation of all Classes:  i.e., worker-bee, retired, student, families, couples, child, wealthy,  poor, living off the system, etc.,).  The people in charge governs - Mayors, Governors, Politicians; laws are enforced by the Police, Judges, etc., we as the people (most of us) uphold these laws so that we can enjoy our way of life.  Do you agree with this broad generalization?  

As  you know dear reader, this economy has been (to be blunt) biting many of us in the ass consistently.  So many people can't seem to get a break, and it is not that we aren't trying to make it work, IT is just not working!  We are living our lives, trying to carve out whatever little we can to enjoy the lifestyles we do have! 

I read a New York Times article today (dated March 15, 2011) on nytimes.com, written by Sabrina Tavernise about a town in Ohio called Gallipolis about the lifestyle and its people and some of the angst
 they are experiencing.  Angst that so many other cities in our country are going through.  Ms. Tavernise featured a family who have had a change in lifestyle (for the better) because of the jobs they have that enabled them to move out of a trailer, and into a house, and to sometimes have little splurges!

All this is being threatened though, have you come to a conclusion yet?  Yes, their lifestyle will be no more because of the changes being made by their local politicians.  It is the kind of changes that has incurred severe consequences for many people in other cities such as the one in Ms. Tavernise's article. 

One section of the article stood out to me:

"Now, as Ohio’s legislature moves toward final approval of a bill that would chip away at public-sector unions, those workers say they see it as the opening bell in a race to the bottom. At stake, they say, is what little they have that makes them middle class.



“These jobs let you put good food on the table and send your kids on school trips,” said Monty Blanton, a retired electrician and union worker. “The gap between low and middle is collapsing.”

Too many people's lives are being affected by the decisions that politicians make in order to get our cities out of the quagmire that have befallen them.  The politicians do this, they say, because this will get the unemployed back to work, housing cost more affordable, taxes stay as they are, yada, yada, yada!  These politicians don't see what  you and I see, they don't feel what you and I feel, they don't see the collapsing not just of America, but also the collapsing of families and the very life they try to live!