Depression settling in? (Marlinton, Switzer, War: second mortgage, credit, new home)

[millersangel]

James Mcmurtry released this song in 2004. Plug it into google and see how the rest of the country thinks the economy is doing.

Download it from iTunes. The music is just as good as the lyrics.

A snippet from the thousands of emails that have been posted in response to this song since it came out.

Dear, Sirs/Ma'ams,
Just got my hands on Childish Things, having heard parts on WFPK here in Louisville. Thank God some stations aren't Top 40 bound! Can't Make It Here has got to be one of the most chillingly accurate assessments of our current state ever put to music. Chills up my spine and tears down my face every time I play it, which is often. Just wanted to let Mr. McMurtry know how much I appreciate his message. My wife works in Community Services, taking care of those who need help and fall through the cracks. A copy of the words to this song will soon grace the wall of her office as a focal point in the battle against want in our country. Again, thanks.

We Can't Make It Here
James McMurty

There's a Vietnam vet with a cardboard sign
Sitting there by the left turn line
A flag on the wheelchair flapping in the breeze
One leg missing and both hands free
No one's paying much mind to him
The V.A. budget's just so stretched so thin
And there's more coming home from the Mideast war
We can't make it here anymore

And that big ole building was a textile mill
It fed our kids and it paid our bills
But they turned us out and they closed the doors
We can't make it here anymore
You see those pallets piled up on the loading dock
They're just gonna set there till they rot
Cause there's nothing to ship, nothing to pack
Just busted concrete and rusted tracks
Empty storefronts around the square
There's a needle in the gutter and glass everywhere
You don't come down here less you're looking to score
We can't make it here anymore

The bar's still open but man it's slow
The tip jar's light and the register's low
And the bartender don't have much to say
The regular crowd gets thinner each day
Some have maxed out all their credit cards
Some are working two jobs and living in cars
Minimum wage won't pay for a roof, won't pay for a drink
If you gotta have proof
Just try it yourself Mr. CEO
See how far 5.15 an hour will go
Take a part time job at one of your stores
Bet you can't make it here anymore

There's a high school girl with a bourgeois dream
Just like the pictures in the magazine
She found on the floor of the laundromat
A woman with kids can forget all that
If she comes up pregnant what'll she do
Forget the career, forget about school
Can she live on faith? live on hope?
High on Jesus or hooked on dope
When it's way too late to just say no
You can't make it here anymore

Now I'm stocking shirts in the Wal Mart store
Just like the ones we made before
'Cept this one came from Singapore
I guess we can't make it here anymore
Should I hate a people for the shade of their skin
Or the shape of their eyes or the shape I'm in
Should I hate 'em for having our jobs today
No I hate the men sent the jobs away
I can see them all now, they haunt my dreams
All lily white and squeaky clean
They've never known want, they'll never know need
Their sh*t don't stink and their kids won't bleed
Their kids won't bleed in the damn little war
And we can't make it here anymore

Will work for food
Will die for oil
Will kill for power and to us the spoils
The billionaires get to pay less tax
The working poor get to fall through the cracks
So let 'em eat jellybeans, let 'em eat cake
Let 'em eat sh*t, whatever it takes
They can join the Air Force, or join the Corps
If they can't make it here anymore

So that's how it is
That's what we got
If the president wants to admit it or not
You can read it in the paper
Read it on the wall
Hear it on the wind if you're listening at all
Get out of that limo
Look us in the eye
Call us on the cell phone
Tell us all why
In Dayton, Ohio
Or Portland, Maine
Or a cotton gin out on the great high plains
That's done closed down along with the school
And the hospital and the swimming pool
Dust devils dance in the noonday heat
There's rats in the alley
And trash in the street
Gang graffiti on a boxcar door
We can't make it here
Anymore

[x1x]

May the year past leave with thoughts of wisdom and a imagery of lasting memories of what's to be
For it's past that makes a future and our present time is the beginning of a future of contentment
Shall not we grieve what was because one cannot dwell with what's past we must not rendezvous with grief
However if not for grief we would not
flourish in our present for grief is life and teaching for the present and our future
With knowledge learned from past let us move into a harmonious future together undaunted

[harborlady]

Not sure if anyone is big on the folk music scene, but I found it alarming, young artists like David Ford, seeing the same illness in america I've seen, but finding a way to articulate it better. See for yourselves.

David Ford http://www.seeklyrics.com/lyrics/Dav...The-Union.html
Nellie McKay NELLIE McKAY LYRICS - There You Are In Me
rufus wainwright RUFUS WAINWRIGHT - GOING TO A TOWN LYRICS

x1x I see where you're going, and yes- very important to learn from mistakes to guide yourself in present tense. When people don't acknowledge reality for what it is, they've relegated themselves to self imposed ignorance. Our country has been split in half for over a decade now. Which half is right? What do we need to learn here?

[David Kennedy]

My people came to Wv in 1788. They survived indian raids, the starving times, the year without a summer, the wars: 1776,1812,1865,1898,1917,1941,1953,1965, the several depressions, the bank failures, the outward migrations, disease.
What was not taken from them in all of the adversity of the past 220 years was the faith in themselves. That is possibly the failing of this nation in this time. It is broadcast far and near that everything is bad...It's always been bad and then it gets good...It goes in a circle because everything that is driven in a capitalist society and economy is cyclic. I'm an American...I want it this way because it makes me as hard as flint and steel. If I become the conqueror of the adversity of my generation then I will be an example of success to those of my people who follow me.
We succeed because we will ourselves to succeed. Its a test of character. The meek of heart, the lazy and the lame of mind wanting everything to be given to them without work have no real place in this country...they should look elsewere...may I suggest Holland or Switzerland. Both welfare states on the brink of reigning in the financial insanity of the past 40 years. I would suggest China, Cuba, Venezula or Germany but they do not seem too popular. Wonder why?
Our country has always been a wreck too...the Roosevelt years, the Nixon years, the Kennedy years, the Carter years...the Regan and Bush Years and in the future the Obama years...It has found a way to go on inspite of its leadership. It will cointinue to do so.
Our duty, if we have one is to be the very best we can be and do the best we can do and put our hands back into our pockets. I don't want to provide health care for anyone but my family...I want to feed and clothe only them. That is my duty as a responsible family provider....Wait!!! One d*** minute...maybe thats the problem...we need to return the family...to its role...to its perspective and to its place.
I'm talking about a family...dad, mom, kids and the dog or cat. and perhaps even the roles that they examplified before we were forced to swallow all this socialistic dogma and propaganda.

[millersangel]

DK, there are several problems with your argument.

First of all, there are many families whose children have moved from WV to make better money. Perhaps, they were raised to believe that income is the true marker of a successful person?

Would you force your children to stay here and make half of what they could make elsewhere? Do you expect them to return home to care for you when your health fails as everyone's does?

As you know I work in home health and Medicaid and Medicare pays my salary. The private pay patients are far and few between.

Caring for someone who is dying of black lung, cancer, CHF, etc is a 24 hour a day job. Even when there are children, they need to go to work or get a break.

Yes, I could make more money working in another field. However, I wasn't raised to be materialistic and that blackberry will just have to wait.

It's a choice I've made and I'm not complaining. Nor am I saying I am some kind of exceptional person because I choose to give back what was given to me. This is just a concept that was instilled in me by my parents and my church.

As a friend of mine says "A nurse is born, not made." Be thankful that the quality of people who will be wiping your butt when you're laying in a bed and turning you to prevent decubites from eating through your muscles have some kind of social conscious that compels them to work in a low paying but very rewarding job and also CARE about you.

There are many people who came to WV in the 1700's. In fact there is a form of muscular dystrophy in Mercer Co that is genetic and comes from two of the original settler familes intermarrying. It was studied at Duke and I have cared for many of the descendants of those families.

The sad part is that unless you research your geneology back to that period, you can marry someone with the gene and not even realize it.

But I suppose that these people should just "die and decrease the surplus population" since they aren't well enough to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and have lost the ability to raise their children properly. Oh that's right. They do die. Horrible deaths.

Just as those faced with the great choice of working at McDonald's or Walmart's should take pride in the fact they have a job and make do with a minimum wage of $5.15 an hour while inflation drives the price of a gallon a milk up to $5 and gas is well over $3 a gallon now.

I have seen strong families where you ask the children what they want to do and they tell you "work for the railroad." This is their dream. This is their reality.

I don't wonder why so many end up snorting oxys. I wonder why they ALL don't. Where's the hope?

This is a unique period in history because the dangers of the Industrial Revolution that Charles Dickens wrote about are coming to fruition.

How many children now have AHDH? How many have asthma? Do you think this is a coincidence or do you think it might have something to do with pollution? Did you know that for the first time, the age expectency in the US has dropped?

Our economy is a house of cards and the cat just walked in the room. We are carrying a record deficit. We rely on other nations to provide our goods. And they don't even like us. The dollar falls daily against the euro. We spend billions in Iraq and I among many can't figure out why.

From Wikipedia a snippet:

There are numerous perceived direct and indirect causes of poverty in the United States. They include:

Unfavorable economic conditions

Mental illness and disability

Lack of educational attainment and skill

Substance abuse

Birth of a child

Domestic abuse

Natural or other disasters

Tax levels Cross-country data shows a correlation between tax levels as a share of GDP and child poverty.

Crime

A survey done by Michigan State University found that a slight majority of American households with annual incomes of $70,000 or more believed that the two principal problems of poverty are lack of work ethic and a minimum wage that is too low.

Region. Many rural areas, especially in the South and Appalachia have a high poverty rate due to limited job opportunities, and historical issues.

Poverty in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have your opinion and I have mine. I am NOT a socialist except when it comes to health care which I believe everyone is entitled to.

I believe that every successful person should be a power of example. However, to do so, they must do more than take care of their immediate family. They must become mentors to those who are never exposed to people who have succeeded. And believe me, they are out there. Especially here in Appalachia. I see them every day.

Pass it forward.

[Big_Al]

Originally Posted by millersangel

I am NOT a socialist except when it comes to health care which I believe everyone is entitled to.
Pass it forward.

OK,no question that anyone is entitled to get it ..BUT ;
Who said that government sponsored healthcare will work well? The vast majority of National Health Care systems in the world are not flexible, less productive, known for long waiting lists and bribes. Yeah, the idea sounds great (like any socialist idea) but never works. Of course, the idea is superpopular at the time of upcoming elections. Most marketing ideas are based of lazyness: eat anything you want-you'll lose 20lbs with our pill, listen to our CD while asleep and master Spanish in 2 weeks, I'll teach you to play guitar in 3 days using my revolutionary e-mail guidelines etc. The same with healthcare- do anything you want, have no responsibility at all -we'll give u an access to the best healthcare anyway. Nonsence huh?
Think this- we have Medicare for old and cripled and Medicaid for the poor. (which is, actually, NHC)We have commercial insurances, HMOs etc. All of them have advantages and disadvantages. All of them work. Yes, we have people who are not qualified for the 1st two and have no money for the 2d group. This is the problem, not the absence of NHC. Do you know we have clinics to cover that gap? (HealthRight of WV, for example). By helping those clinics on a local level we can solve a lot of problems, actually already solving. Doctors donate their time, state and private benefactors give money.
Another aspect- what easy come easy go. It's known that medicaid users have low compliance rates with treatment, appointments, lifestyle guidelines. They have access to medications for a symbolic price, no co-pays for doctor's visits etc. They do not value this- it came for free.
We do not need free universal care. We need to have an option for low income family to buy a health insurance-payment plans, more tax breaks etc. We need to maintain a sense of responsibility which made America strong.

[x1x]

Let us always remember
that we, and only we, can
master our fates.
For we are the leaders
of our souls.
Then, and only then, will
our tomorrows bring
Interludes of Integrity
To share briefly, is better
than not sharing at all.

[millersangel]

Yes, we have a clinic in Mercer County called Bluestone Healthcare. Which is based on income. The doctors are local boys and they are excellent. I don't know what they get paid. I'd be willing to bet it's less than they could make in a private practice.

As for low income families paying for health insurance, what would you charge them that they can afford? After they pay for child care, gas, groceries, etc. Do you really think they have anything left? The reason WV leads the nation in toothlessness isn't because people don't brush their teeth but because they can't afford to go to a dentist.

National Oral Health Surveillance System | Complete Tooth Loss

You'll get no argument from me that lifestyle changes are in order for this state and this country. I hiked for two hours today in the mountains and my job is strenuous. What did you do?

Obesity, diabetes, heart disease are all on the rise everywhere.

I think we might differ on the reasons this is so. I believe it's because living healthy lifestyles take time and money, two commodities most people are short on with both parents working just to make ends meet.

I just don't buy into the paradigm that states people are just lazy. I think the opposite is true for the majority. Most are overworked, underpaid and stressed out to the max.

The people I see are already dying. How they die is up to us. I don't begrudge my tax dollars to help the elderly who live on fixed incomes the "luxury" of being able to pass at home, cared for by family members supported by skilled nursing care. And many of them are completely alone and the daily visit that Medicaid pays for is all they have. And trust me, that isn't very much when you can no longer perform the basic ADLs most of us take for granted.

There will always be people who abuse any program. That is just a red herring. They are the minority not the majority.

And btw, Medicaid does have a program here for low income families and individuals where they pay for their card. It's called M-WIN.

[David Kennedy]

Millersangel: The problem in my argument is only in your mind. As a citizen of this planet, I have the god given right to chart my own destiny...and I do that with the choices I make.
I graduated in a large 'baby boomer' class several of my girlfriends were cousins of some degree. When I married, it was a girl from Perth, West Austrailia. Her ancestry was Dutch and English. The children from that marriage seem normal in every sense and above average in intelligence. None of them desired to life in Wv and make excellent incomes in Key West, Savannah and DC. We have discussed the need for advanced care that will come in 30 yrs or so...and one son is expecting to give that care...none of which I want or will accept. I have a care provider that I established long ago when it was cheap to do so. It will more than meet my needs.
I do not in my wildest dreams intend to do anything about the national economy, world peace or saving the whales...I'm interested in what I can do to make a few dreams a realization for my family and my extended family...A nephew is finishing Medical School this spring, another is beginning Medical School. Others need higher education in trades and education..I volunteer my time to community groups and am liberal with money donations to charitiable organizations.
A friend of mine was talking about this exact same thing Friday. He said, "Greg isn't interested in this business...he just wants to work at Walmart and marry Josie (who is finishing up Dentristy School at WVU next year). She will make the money he needs...I'm so pissed off at this attitude that I'm considering leaving all my money to the university...At least that way it will help someone to succeed...now I know why others do that...their kids are bums and they are not intending to leave them anything but a name"
I said..."Don't be in a hurry...Greg may change and come into focus with his life...I wouldn't do anything like that just yet...give it a few more years...and Josie may dump him and go to someone with a little more ambition...this is not your problem anyway...its Greg's...not leaving him the money might be the very best thing you can do for him."
My friend was pleased with that answer...he will choose the right decision when the time comes.

What do I do...well I like to hack at golf...most of the satisfaction comes from the admiration of the design of the course and the craftsmen who built it...I like to walk too, in the forest at Coopers Rocks and at Seneca...particularly in May and early June...much of the Spring will be spent fishing the Blackwater as work is taking me to Thomas this year...
Stress? I've made an extreme conscious effort to NOT work at any stressful jobs...If they become too stressful I look for another...at the time being, I've retired at 48, 51, 55and intend to maybe retire at 71 or 72.
I want to make a real time commitment to Wv and the job I'm involved is a chance of a lifetime of fullfillment and enjoyment.
It is so much of a pleasure I might stay in it until the very end of my useful productivity. Thanks for your concern...

[Big_Al]

Originally Posted by millersangel

The reason WV leads the nation in toothlessness isn't because people don't brush their teeth but because they can't afford to go to a dentist.

Oh no. It's vise versa- because they don't brush. Otherwise you wouldn't see huge billboards "BRUSH YOUR TEETH". It's a problem- parents don't teach kids to brush their teeth, to floss, to seek help. If you know how to care for yourself the chance you need a dentist is times less. It's a cultural thing.
I had a chance to talk to a woman who was spending thousands on crack. She was in early 30's, toothless. She sued a pediatrician and got $700.000 in settlement after lawers' fees. Did she get new teeth? No. did she buy a house? No. She continued to live in a trailer and blew all her money on crack. And she's not alone. People rather buy cigarettes, chewing tobacco but a toothbrush. They don't exersise, smoke, drink--and they wonder why health insurance premiums are high??????C'mon millersangel. It's all about responsibility and education. One can quit smoking and get enough money for an insurance.