When my daughter was in the 8th grade she was given the assignment of collecting 2
personal stories of the depression. Where they lived, what happened, how
it affected their lives.
Everyone thinks some great upheaval will happen. It has, it is, for many many people
right now. They are losing their jobs/careers and their homes, some are relocating
to different states like here, Alabama.
We have alot of folks coming from Michigan, I moved to Alabama in 1979.
In fact, there was such a large movement at that time, that it is in my daughters
history book, it is called the great Sunbelt movement. My brother moved to Houston, my
sister moved to Tucson, and me to Birmingham, Alabama. We only have one sister
left in Michigan. Her husband is a retiree from GM.
Back to the story. So it turns out, here in Alabama, most rural farmers were
not greatly affected by the depression. Many were already very poor and lived by
growing and tending their own chickens, beef, etc. They even made their own
whiskey. So when the banks collapsed many poor just bartered their goods with
others.
If you had chickens and eggs, you could trade for beef. Most rural folks grew
their own veggies and fruit. A simple but reasonable life. No big changes, when
you are poor, it is hard to get poorer. And since many families in the area where I live
homesteaded the property, they didn't lose their homes. (In the area where I
live, which is white republican types) A commenter pointed out that sharecroppers
didn't do so well. More predominant in South Alabama. Although you will
find many cases, where they did remain, and continued to grow crops.
Now much of the farmland has been turned into housing complexes, with
large homes, and no gardens. Some of these folks are going to lose their jobs,
then those expensive homes, but most did not buy beyond their income, so
it is hard to tell how all the chips will fall in todays market.
I know my small business is really hurting, and if I hadn't planned ahead for
the inevitable rainy day, I would probably have to close the doors. It is that
tough out here. I can barely afford the group health, and if there isn't a change
I might have to dump it, things are bad. REally bad, and now gas is going up
again. I guess the oil companies gotta make their BILLIONS!
Shit, sorry, wandering again. Back to the GReat Depression. My mother's family
were quite well off, living in Detroit. Providing glass for the car industry, or
something like that, then the stock market crashed. My grandfather got nailed
for stock fraud. My mother said" Oh, everyone got in trouble at that
time, trying to dump stock or some such thing."
So her father had to go to prison for stock fraud.
She went to live with a rich Aunt in New York. She told me the only difference besides
her dad being in prison, they had to let the upstairs maid go, and only had one maid
for the entire house. She said she never went hungry or did without anything else. Just
one less maid. She thought perhaps her experience wasn't typical of what other
people went through. It was typical if you were rich, just as today, the upper 1%
are doing without nothing. worrying about building more wealth. Not worried about
paying for grossly expensive drug that helps keep you alive. Her family did go
broke, but not for another 20 years!
I don't see things getting better around here. People seem to be going about their
daily lives, just as before. They aren't giving up karate classes, or eating out, or
shopping at Wal-mart. But the Malls are dying, the Bookstores are dying, the
printing industry is dying, the manufacturing industry is dying. And Health care
is beyond the reach of more and more people.
Things are not getting better, I don't think we have even hit bottom yet. I don't know
when that will be, but I do believe we need to fix this health care issue, and regulate
wall street, manufacture our own materials. WE MUST.
Last Point. When my sister visited last week, she wanted to go through our mother's
grooming case. She passed away 2 years ago, and she was a dog groomer. She
had this stainless steel grooming case with her stuff still inside. like the number
bands you wear on your arm, and powder, toenail clippers, clippers and 2
stainless steel combs. These my sister wanted and one of our mother's
arm bands.
Turning the combs over in her hands, my sister marveled at their quality. I'm sure they
were at least 50 years old. I looked at the handle of one of the combs.
Printed on it were these words. MADE IN AMERICA.