Ohioans can't afford meat - but twinkies must be cheap

Today, I noticed the the headlines: "For some Ohioans, even meat is out of reach." http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92592545 Wow - I thought, things must really be getting bad if people can't afford to eat meat. I suggest that you take a look at this article. These 2 women seem to have fallen on some hard times and that is making their lives harder. They have to live on public assistance and food stamps. Please note that these women are each easily 150 pounds OVERWEIGHT. I suspect that there are few salaries out there, hard times or not that could fund this grocery basket without government assistance.

People tell Nunez her daughter could get more money in public assistance if she had a child. "A lot of people have told me, 'Why don't your daughter have a kid?'" - OMG - is this really advice people are giving? You can't afford to live, and you can't get a job why not bring another poor soul to suffer with you?

This article is written in such a way to convey that this could be anyone. The sad fact of things is that, yes, it could be anyone. But it doesn't HAVE to be. There are places in this country that are growing and thriving. There are places that are shrinking and dying. That is the way it has always been and that is the way it will always be.

You are sitting in your car and it runs out of gas on the rail road tracks. A train appears in the horizon - it's coming at you slowly at first, but then gaining speed. What do you do?
1. Stay in the car and pretend the train isn't coming.
2. Stay in the car, recognize the training is coming - but hope someone else will push you off?
3. Sit in the car and complain that the government should send someone to help you?
3. Get out of the car and run as fast as you can?
4. Get out of the car and push it off the tracks so on one else is impacted by your situation?

The economy is the same way. The problem with those on the dole is that they forgot they were sitting on the tracks. So when things change in the city they live, they don't see it. They never see the (neg. economic) train bearing down on them because they aren't impacted by it daily. They only become impacted by it, when everyone else in the city has left and there isn't anyone around to push them off the tracks (or give them money by way of taxes).

The truth is - that the successful are always looking for ways to be more successful and those who are unsuccessful often are lookging to blame someone else for their situation (It couldn't be their fault, right?)