Democrats hope the dispossessed of smalltown USA will make Bush pay

[kskiska]

Suzanne Goldenberg in Eden, North Carolina, where factory closures are dumping life-long workers into poverty

(snip)

Janice Armstrong lost her job when one of Eden's last giant textile companies closed its gates. After sputtering on for years through cutbacks and down-sizing, the Pillowtex company declared bankruptcy last year, and Ms Armstrong's lifetime of labour, 29 years spent folding and inspecting bedspreads, ended with a brief phone call from her supervisor. It was the only job she has ever had.

"I made a really good living, and I liked my job, and what is so bad is that we have come out with nothing after all those years - no pension, no insurance, no nothing," she says. "The day it closed, our insurance was gone, our pension was gone. It was devastating."

(snip)

For Maria Coleman, 61, it is simply too late, though she goes to the mandatory two job interviews a week. Thirty-four years ago, when she started at Pillowtex, it did not matter that she had not finished high school and had trouble reading. Now that is the only thing potential employers notice.

A few days ago she was offered a place on a course at the local community college - in ice sculpture. Ms Coleman has no illusions it will lead to a job. "How many people do you know in this area who are going to have the kind of party where they are going to need an ice sculpture?" she asks. "The factory got the best years of my life - 34 years. All my life is hell now."

more…
http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1290236,00.html

[hadrons]

1. probably won't happen ....

these people are immunized against reality and their own financial interests; most (not all) won't have the courage to look in the mirror and admit their own gullibly and obsession with a "cultural war" that exists mostly in their minds that led them to this

[QC]

3. "these people are immunized against reality"

The poor know reality quite well, since they deal with its harsher aspects every day.

The problem is that for many of the poor, their reality includes the not-unjustified perception that neither party really cares much about whether people like them can make a living or not. (Remember that both candidates in this election support "free trade.") So many people like the ones in the article see no point in voting, or worse, they figure that since neither party is really going to help them much, they might as well "vote their values."

I agree that it's what makes them so easily victimized, and it's a real tragedy, but I just don't think it's far to say that people who have to fret over whether they can afford that jar of peanut butter are somehow isolated from the real world.

[rednek_Liberal]

6. I think Hadrons put it well...

these people are immunized against reality. I live in South Carolina which has been devastated by off shoring of the Textile industry. you have to know that the people here are extremely devout to their faith, and see that as a value they share with *. It is likely that they don't asssociate the Plant or Mill closing with Trade policies or politics. They cant see the whole screen, because theyre looking at the corner where jesus is. just my 2 cents.

[ksatriyakiller]

2. if kerry elected, not much he can do about this

that's why an education is so important, even if you don't have one, you should want to learn

[GoddessOfGuinness]

4. But if she'd had more of an education,

she would never have had the factory position...She would've been "overqualified".

I remember a time when the people who worked in our neighborhood grocery made enough money from that one job to support themselves. If their spouses worked as well, they could comfortably raise their kids. They received decent health benefits, a couple of weeks worth of vacation, and a pension to help them out when they wanted to retire. They worked hard, and they were happy to do so, because their company took care of them.

[QC]

5. And if she'd had more education,

she probably just be an unemployed programmer with a lot of student loans now, rather than an unemployed factory worker.

When the bosses are as determined to ship as many jobs out of the country as possible, as they are now, I'm not sure education really provides much protection. After all, even radiologists are getting "outsourced" now.

[Avalon Sparks]

7. What?

Quote from the article:

A lot of my friends are trying to get jobs at the factory, but those jobs are not what they used to be," she says. In time, she would like to study nursing at the local community college, although there is a two-year waiting list for courses.

A two-year wait? That is insane to me. There doesn't seem to be ANY options for these people.

[grasswire]

8. the only good thing...

...for the 61-year-old is that next year she will be eligible to start collecting her social security and with such a solid work history will probably have enough for basic expenses. If she shares housing with another senior, they'll be okay. Although it's another three years before she can get Medicare.

Thank you, FDR and LBJ, for these programs that have provided relief for older people who lose their work or cannot work.

Democrats! Gotta love them.