Death by a faulty economy

                                                          DEATH BY A FAULTY ECONOMY


         So many families have had to make deep budget cuts due to the decline in the economy.  People have lost their jobs with no jobs available to replace them.  The government has designed a plan to help bring the economy back to life.  However, this plan includes financial assistance to major business owners, banks, and car dealerships.  Meanwhile, organizations that were put into place to help low income families have been depleting in order to pay for this financial assistance. 
         
         In Northern Kentucky, a family of seven lived in their three story house.  The mother, Amber, had always been a stay at home mom.  She did not mind when her mother in-law, Louisa, came to live them.  Louisa had recently been cut from the Medicaid program that paid for her cost of living in the retirement home.  Amber welcomed her, made sure she was comfortable, and even gave her some space to call her own on the third floor. 

         Michael loved his family very much.  He worked everyday, at a job he held for more than fifteen years, to provide them with the things that they needed.  His oldest was his son, Michael Jr., they called him MJ.  He was a teenager, and Michael could not believe how time had flown by.  His twin girls, Maggie and Michelle, would be teenagers before he knew it.  Pre-teens, but they had all of the attitude of teenagers.  Eric, the last child, the baby of the family, was not even in school yet.  Michael had great plans for his children.  He was able to see just how bright their futures were.

         Michael lost his job in the spring of 2010.  The down sizing came as a surprise to everyone except for upper management.  Michael had no other skills or any education past a high school diploma.  He looked for a job in same field for months to no prevail.  He tried to get a job with the local fast food restaurants, but they all told him that he was over qualified for their companies.  With the savings running low, he started to scrap metal for extra cash.  Amber was able to get a job as a waitress.  Long hours and little pay did not cover the cost of living, but they thought they were making it work. 

         In November of 2010, they gas that they heated their home with was discontinued.  They owed more than $1200, and the company just would not work with them any longer.  Amber and Michael both went to the local churches asking for help, but they were not set up to help with the utilities for families who need them.  The local organizations that would have helped in the years before had been shut down because of lack of funding.  Trying to still make things work with the little they had, and were grateful for, Amber and Michael purchased a few used space heaters, and a kerosene heater to keep their family warm. 

         Just before Christmas that year, Michael woke up to the strong smell of smoke.  He woke his wife, and told her to get the baby out.  He went to his son’s bedroom on the second floor and woke him.  He went to the twin’s bedroom, only to remember that they were spending the night on the third floor with their grandma.  As he headed for the stairs, he realized the fire was out of control.  He tried to fight his way up the stairs, but they gave out from under him.  He fell to the floor below.  The impact winded him, but he knew he had to get up.  He knew he had to get to his daughters and his mom.  Before he could make it up, a firefighter picked him up and removed him from the home.

         Outside, Michael and Amber held their two safe children, and watched as their home burnt to the ground.  Michael fell to his knees as he screamed out for his daughters.  Amber held her sons close to her as she sobbed in despair.  The family was broken.

         Still, more than six months later, nothing has changed.  The economy is still weak.  The programs have not been re-opened.  The government has made no attempt to fix the problems that exists for low income families.  New jobs are not coming available.  Healthcare has not began to cover the costs that they use to cover. 

         This story was based on a true story about a family in Northern Kentucky.  So many other families have been broken in a similar way to this.  How many deaths must occur because of the shape that the economy is in.  When will the government step in and give bailouts to the families that would truly benefit from them?