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Quite curious how meth has really (if at all) changed things. Doesn't seem to be much of a problem in NWI but appears to be a much greater issue in Fort Wayne. What about towns like Fowler and Pine Village or Kentland? I just remember those towns being really quite places when I was a kid. I know there are absolutely meth ravaged towns around parts of the SW United States where it's very obviously a problem but I wasn't familiar with any of those towns before so I really can't compare them to what they once were.
Or has Indiana's meth problem been waaaaay overblown by the media? Its just so difficult to imagine this being such a rampant problem there.
It is fairly bad. The issue just has to do with the future many people have in small to medium sized towns and cities in the state. Over the last few months, I've headed out east to hike, visit some festivals, and eat out at some restaurants. I've traveled through Metamora, Laurel, Richmond, Hagerstown, Winchester, Connersville, and tons of very small towns between. What I saw wasn't all that great. What likely used to be decent areas in the past are just dumps. It is basically no different than the poor areas in Indy, just it is mostly white people. Lots of run down homes, vacant homes, lots with overgrown grass and weeds, city parks that don't have funding to be maintained, etc.. It just so happened that when I was in Laurel, there had just been a huge drug bust. Connersville had a month where they had one OD every day, and a similar thing happened in Shelbyville as well. There have been a couple of high profile, multi-victim homicides in some of these smaller towns in recent years.
Many of these issues have to do with people who stay and their economic outlook is just bleak at best. Usually just a basic K-12 education. Lots of minimal paying service and retail type jobs, but home, auto, and utility prices haven't adjusted accordingly. Many higher paying factory jobs are gone and likely never to return. Substance abuse issues come into play, possibly due to depression for some and for others, there is nothing more to do so why not party. Be it alcohol or hard drugs, it has had an impact. There is no strong union work protection to give people numerous chances anymore, so losing ones job is easy. Meth was the start of a lot of issues, but heroin has made things really bad for many of these places. Heroin is said to be strong than in the past, and now the issue is that it is being mixed with much stronger substances, so the habit might be even harder to kick. Passing out those FDA approved heroin pills has played a huge issue in this, along with people who just wanted to get high on those pills.
There seems to be a lingering holder over of elderly folks, lucky enough to be able to survive on social security and/or pensions. There is also the issue of hillbilly welfare, which is social security disability. Once that source of disposable income is gone, who knows what will happen to these areas. Some of those people are bailout out family members I'm sure. Many of the younger college kids from these areas that I speak to say they can't ever go back, and many don't want to. The trend today is urbanization. Unless you are lucky enough to get a job paying $15+/hour in some of these areas, you will have financial difficulties and the chances of finding a decent paying job is just so low. Throw in kids and a maybe a spouse, it could be even harder. Driving 90 minuets to Indy was easier when cars and gas were cheaper. Gas prices have went way down from the $4/gallon era, but it is still costly to buy a reasonable car. Plus it would be hard for both parents to have to make such a drive just to get a decent job.
I grew up in town less than 1 hour from Indy and meth is a serious problem.
My mother does prison ministry twice a week (local jail and state prison) and almost all the women are in there for drugs, mostly meth.
Unemployment is around 4 percent so there are jobs, but they are mostly blue collar and not very high income (local factories pay $12-20/hr). Very few folks have bachelors and those that do often leave. Those that stay struggle to get ahead.
My hometown is not dying and is growing around 10 percent every decade due to good transportation access. The smaller towns not on interstates are faring much worse with declining populations (ie Rushville and Connersville) and drugs are even more prevalent.
I used to commute to Indy when I lived there as there are few local white collar jobs.
Its been way overblown by the Media.
Then again anyone that blindly follows the media is a fool.
2nd as mentioned above small towns are dying. Some are working their ass off to reinvent themselves and grow again. Some are just sitting with their hand out complaining they are the victim.
Small towns that adapt and get it will survive. Those that don't will die
Meth has had a profound negative impact on Evansville. You don't have to watch the news to know this.
Indiana had the most Meth Labs SEIZED. That's actually good because it means the state is busting ass and people aren't getting away with cooking meth.
So try again and its cute you would defend the media
You can't bust ass and seize large numbers of meth labs if there are not first large numbers to seize.
It is fairly bad. The issue just has to do with the future many people have in small to medium sized towns and cities in the state. Over the last few months, I've headed out east to hike, visit some festivals, and eat out at some restaurants. I've traveled through Metamora, Laurel, Richmond, Hagerstown, Winchester, Connersville, and tons of very small towns between. What I saw wasn't all that great. What likely used to be decent areas in the past are just dumps. It is basically no different than the poor areas in Indy, just it is mostly white people. Lots of run down homes, vacant homes, lots with overgrown grass and weeds, city parks that don't have funding to be maintained, etc.. It just so happened that when I was in Laurel, there had just been a huge drug bust. Connersville had a month where they had one OD every day, and a similar thing happened in Shelbyville as well. There have been a couple of high profile, multi-victim homicides in some of these smaller towns in recent years.
Many of these issues have to do with people who stay and their economic outlook is just bleak at best. Usually just a basic K-12 education. Lots of minimal paying service and retail type jobs, but home, auto, and utility prices haven't adjusted accordingly. Many higher paying factory jobs are gone and likely never to return. Substance abuse issues come into play, possibly due to depression for some and for others, there is nothing more to do so why not party. Be it alcohol or hard drugs, it has had an impact. There is no strong union work protection to give people numerous chances anymore, so losing ones job is easy. Meth was the start of a lot of issues, but heroin has made things really bad for many of these places. Heroin is said to be strong than in the past, and now the issue is that it is being mixed with much stronger substances, so the habit might be even harder to kick. Passing out those FDA approved heroin pills has played a huge issue in this, along with people who just wanted to get high on those pills.
There seems to be a lingering holder over of elderly folks, lucky enough to be able to survive on social security and/or pensions. There is also the issue of hillbilly welfare, which is social security disability. Once that source of disposable income is gone, who knows what will happen to these areas. Some of those people are bailout out family members I'm sure. Many of the younger college kids from these areas that I speak to say they can't ever go back, and many don't want to. The trend today is urbanization. Unless you are lucky enough to get a job paying $15+/hour in some of these areas, you will have financial difficulties and the chances of finding a decent paying job is just so low. Throw in kids and a maybe a spouse, it could be even harder. Driving 90 minuets to Indy was easier when cars and gas were cheaper. Gas prices have went way down from the $4/gallon era, but it is still costly to buy a reasonable car. Plus it would be hard for both parents to have to make such a drive just to get a decent job.
This is a really excellent post and I think it gets to the heart of a lot of the drug use. I think a lot of it does result from depression seeing your town and culture decline.
I know that growing up in similar conditions here in Tennessee, there wasn't much to do growing up outside of churches, and people got into trouble. Most people in rural areas aren't "working on the farm" to keep themselves busy these days - so especially teenagers experiment with drugs and partying just for something to do, then they're hooked. A little more than a decade after graduating high school, the same people who were into the party scene then are often addicts now, if they're still alive. I went back through my annual a few weeks ago and we've lost 10% of my graduating class in 2004 to overdoses, suicides, or homicides. That's not even counting the people who have died of natural causes/accidents.
I've been to almost all the towns you listed and while they're quaint Americana, they're in notable decline. One of my former coworkers, who is only 25, grew up in Cambridge City and he's talked about how many of his hometown friends are addicts and how hard it is to stay away from it.
This guy was fired from the place we worked together at in Indy. He had a new job within a couple of weeks and didn't have any financial issues. Had he been fired in some small town, he'd likely have been in a mess. Word would have gotten around that he was lazy (he was), but in a major city like Indy it's easier to be relatively anonymous and get a clean start.
I moved back to my small hometown in Tennessee after living in Indy, and now my employer may be merged with another. If my team gets cut in the merger, I'll have to move again to make what I do now. At least in most major urban areas, you have a much higher likelihood of being able to find another job and weather the storm if something bad happens.
This ain't got nothing to do with the conversation in this thread. You're talking politics. You posted in the wrong thread. There's a politics thread somewhere on CD. You'll have to make the effort to look for it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by vision33r
If you don't have any experience or degree then your job prospects in this new economy will be grim. The government doesn't care because they are too busy granting H1-B work visas to immigrants that Silicon Valley and big businesses want. They are college grad, technology workers that are in demand.
Many businesses open job sites in less densely populated states to save on business costs will bring thousands of H1-B immigrants to the job site.
If you voted for Hillary you are voting for more H1-B workers, that's a fact. Because she has openly declared that she's support for giving illegals here a path towards citizenship.
Indiana had the most Meth Labs SEIZED. That's actually good...
There is a huge downside to this. Many of these homes will be reported to a database of meth contaminated properties. From my understanding, even having a one-pot in a detached garage, with no proof of meth in the main residence, will get the address added to the list. That is going to mean a ton of homes will sit and remain vacant, which will erode surrounding property values.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Serious Conversation
I've been to almost all the towns you listed and while they're quaint Americana, they're in notable decline. One of my former coworkers, who is only 25, grew up in Cambridge City and he's talked about how many of his hometown friends are addicts and how hard it is to stay away from it.
When I was in Laurel, I couldn't believe some of the run down property that likely had people living in them. The drug bust was about ten or so people, some were from Dayton OH and it involved a gun. It is the same type of stuff that has been going on in major cities all over the US. The thing is, many of these more rural areas just don't have the police to really get all that pro-active like major cities do. Major cities are always hiring young new officers who want to go out there and get in other people's business. So they make traffic stops, they do undercover stings, etc.. Smaller areas do this as best they can, but if resources are thin to begin with, it is hard to really make an impact.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ivory Lee Spurlock
This ain't got nothing to do with the conversation in this thread. You're talking politics. You posted in the wrong thread. There's a politics thread somewhere on CD. You'll have to make the effort to look for it.
Politics plays a big role in the drug issue. I do believe that for many young people, in the inner city or in some low income rural area, partying because there entire life path looks bleak is part of the problem. These young people start of drinking, but then it goes to meth, cocaine, crack, pills, and/or heroin and then you have a problem. I don't think things would be this bad if there were many things that were changed. If we didn't allow "free" trade with counties that have labor laws one step above slavery might help. If we stopped bailing out people to some extent, that might help as well. If we only offered subsidized housing in urban and suburban areas, where there are more jobs, more educational opportunities, etc., that could help. Instead, we have many political issues that won't change and thus things will likely get worse.
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Meth is a serious problem in rural Indiana
