How Have You Been Affected By Today's Economy?

Trailer Park Life For Some People
©2010 PK Hawk

With the cost of living heading skyward in the past few years, and even more with the last month or two, there has been a definite impact on the lifestyles of many people. 

It's no secret that the unemployment rate is the highest it has been since the Great Depression of the early 1900s. Many people have stopped even looking for work, and have lost their homes, and self respect, as well. even people who were formally educated are being fired from the positions they once thought to be secure. 

Graduation
Now the real work begins,
looking for a job.

Even youth who have college educations are in many cases unable to find work in their chosen field. High school students who would have once looked for work in fast food establishments, are fortunate indeed if they can find any work at all. Many retired people are now seriously looking for any work they can get, just to help fill the financial gap of their meager Social Security, and/or their retirement income. It's just no longer enough to cover living expenses. 

Many more adult children are returning to their parents home to live due to the loss of income and the raise in the cost of living. Other families and single people of varying ages are taken to renting a room or two in their home to help cover living expenses, as well as the cost of owning in a home, such as insurance, and property taxes, utilities, etc. 



Have you noticed how much groceries prices have risen over last year? Why, I have seen some prices increase by about thirty percent on many things within just the past month or so. 

Cost of food rises

Pet food is also going up like I have not seen before. Within the past month, I have seen some foods for dogs going up at least twenty-five percent. 

Thankfully, gasoline prices have at last dipped about fifteen to seventeen cents from the four dollars of some three weeks ago. Yet, everything else, from food to clothes, and rents have continued to rise. 

With the threat of crime rising, if for no other reason, than there are more people who no longer work, so they may not be able to provide the things their family or even things they themselves need to live, such as food and water, or clothes. Another reason the threat of crime looms over many parts of the country; that being that many more hardened criminals are being released from many prisons in the state of California, due to budget matters. There may also be such happening in other states, as well. 

Crime Concerns

According to the news of this morning, there is now a plan in the works to raise the sales taxes in California another quarter percent, making it in the range of 9.0% to 9.25 percent. They are also trying to raise the vehicle registration fees, as well. California already has the highest taxes in the United States, for the most part, and very close to the highest in many other categories. 

There are toll roads which were already paid for, that have been sold to the private sector, from what I understand are in some other country, and to use them, one has to pay per mile on a varying scale, depending on what time of the day one uses that road. 

Rents are getting higher than mortgage payments would be for the same place. More and more people are homeless, or living in tents and travel trailers and motor homes for lack of other options. 

Yet, there are some people who either have way too much money to worry about prices, or they are just turning a blind eye to things happening right in their face, and all around them. Some people I have spoken with simply don't want to know what is happening, so they don't listen to the news, or even talk about it.