Poverty 61938

About Poverty in Mattoon, Illinois. How those in poverty are often wrongly perceived.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• poverty
• 61938
• mattoon
• documentary
• eastern
• illinois
• university
• eiu
• coles
• county
• il

[embracingreality]

What cases poverty, what perpetuates it?

I was born in Alton and poor but realized that there were opportunities for a better life elsewhere. Having applied myself and educated myself by simply reading about money and working hard, living cheap I've succeeded. Though I could have lived life like my parents, family I didn't. My greatest weapon against poverty though was simply not having kids.

Casual reproduction by the poor is the number one cause of poverty. Fewer kids or none is the solution.

[tklagesse67]

I also wish to qualify my "thug" comment. My car had a window shot out of it at 630am in my driveway shortly after someone called my house and asked my mother how she liked having a scab for a son. How was I a scab? My dad was a manager at the time and I was asked at 18yrs old to mow the front of the property. It wasn't even a union job and had nothing to do with manufacturing. Yeah, I have no love of unions. They've served their purpose. I won't be surprised if Lender's has layoffs.

[tklagesse67]

Well, for one thing, putting a union at Lender's Bagels was a huge mistake. Unions tend to make the companies run! I was personally affected by union thugs when I lived in Mattoon in the mid-80's. Young Radiator shut down after 35 years there because they kept going on strike. They relocated to my current home in TN and have been union-free since. I work at Pinnacle Foods in Jackson, TN. They couldn't even get enough cards for a vote.

[blondie61938]

If you feel this way about the people of Mattoon, pray for them. Pray they gain hope & desire to do better for themselves & their families. Pray that everyone desiring a job receives one. But please don't give up on the people in this community. I refuse to believe that Mattoon will become a "crime ridden dump." It is a community that will rise & prosper. I will not settle for less.

[blondie61938]

I have pride in this community & even though I am struggling I do everything I can to provide service to those in need. I look at the overall good in people. There are people way worse off than I, & nobody is this country should go without basic needs. But they are.

[blondie61938]

Never in my lifetime would I have thought it would be this way. But it is. Some people have given up hope, the will to fight for low paying jobs, some have lost the confidence in their abilities. While some sit on their butt & don't mind it, I refuse to believe that the general public is that way. I speak for Mattooon or any American community.

[blondie61938]

I will defend those who are not working right now. It is so hard right now even to work at a fast food place. Educated people & those who have been working longer than I have been alive are fighting for even these types of jobs.

[blondie61938]

Like those folks, I am forced to apply for positions that are a tremendous step down from what I have been educated to do. I am still working part time, because I am battling people for positions that use to be for teenagers. I am up now job searching, but I do have two possible positions. They both pay $8/hr. and have nothing to do with the broadcasting field.

[blondie61938]

The other folks in the video are citizens who work hard but still can't afford to provide the kind of lifestyle their families deserve. Two are recent college graduates. I just received my Bachelor's & applied like crazy for jobs in my field even before I took finals, but the competition is ridiculous. I lost the jobs to folks with 10+ years of experience, which were entry level to begin with.

[blondie61938]

I highly disagree with your opinion of the majority of Mattoon citizens. I however see the many people who work hard & still can't make ends meet. This video is about those folks.

I do have one citizen who cannot work because her doctor does not feel that is any job she can do that does not involve stress. This individual is my mother, a single mother since 1987 who worked hard going to school to become an LPN & day care provider and preschool teacher. Every day she wishes she could work again.