Home » News » United States: the drama of families excluded from the economic recovery that praises Donald Trump USA

United States: the drama of families excluded from the economic recovery that praises Donald Trump USA

Corin Kealoha and Shaun Karagory work full time, but cannot afford their food without the help of a food bank from U.S.

“We can’t live on our salaries”says Corin, 46, who works as a hotel receptionist. “That’s why we come here.”

The couple is in the San Vicente Food Pantry in Reno, Nevada, U.S, where they have collected cardboard boxes with cereals, bread, milk, peanut butter and some meat.

His story reflects the complex reality behind the economic recovery that President Donald Trump has praised lately.

In his speech by the State of the Union in January, Trump highlighted the “Great return from the USA.”

“Jobs are booming. Revenue is increasing. Poverty is collapsing … the years of economic decline are over, ” he claimed.

It’s a narrative that he hopes will help him win the November presidential race, even in Nevada, a decisive state that supported Hillary Clinton by a 2% margin in 2016.

The western state, home of Las Vegas, was one of the most affected by the financial crisis of 2008. Housing prices fell by up to 60%, unemployment soared by 14% and had the highest number of foreclosures in all the country.

More than a decade later, Nevada home prices have recovered and the state was the first in employment growth in the US. in 2018, and unemployment now stands at a minimum of 20 years, at 3.8%.

But to get an idea of ​​some of the limits of recovery, one only has to walk through the center of Reno.

Food banks

On North Virginia Street, there are large casinos and hotels, and tourists taking selfies in the iconic Reno Arch, which welcomes visitors in “The biggest little city in the world.

Outside the tourist area, the reality of Reno, in Nevada, is very hard for its inhabitants. (Photo: Getty Images, via BBC World).

Outside the tourist area, the reality of Reno, in Nevada, is very hard for its inhabitants. (Photo: Getty Images, via BBC World).

But if one walks on East Fourth Street, the city looks very different.

Instead of high-rise buildings, there are smaller motels, and instead of tourists, there are people queuing in shelters and soup kitchens, and homeless people sitting, chatting or doing push-ups near the train tracks.

“Unemployment is low, but unfortunately that is not a great indicator of how many people are hungry,” says Jocelyn Lantrip of the Food Bank of Northern Nevada, which caters to charities, including the San Vicente Food Pantry.

Those who go hungry or who are temporarily homeless are usually people who already have jobs.

Carlos Carrillo says that the San Vicente Food Pantry serves about 300 families every day. (Photo: BBC World).

Carlos Carrillo says that the San Vicente Food Pantry serves about 300 families every day. (Photo: BBC World).

“We have between 350 and 450 new families per month”, says Carlos Carrillo, of the San Vicente Food Pantry, between packing boxes with food.

“We used to have many clients who were unemployed, but today most of our clients are working families,” details.

Most beneficiaries say they are forced to use the food bank because rents soared.

“They take money from their food budget to pay the rent, so that’s where we come in, to make up for some of the food they are no longer buying,” Carrillo says.

Housing shortage

Elliott Parker, director of Economics at the University of Nevada, Reno, argues that “recovery depends on the eye with which you look. ”

The most recent data from the US Census Bureau They suggest that the average household income is still below 2008 levels, he adds.

“We are at the end of a very long recovery, but wages have not risen as fast as housing and rental prices.”, says Parker.

Nevada has the worst shortage of affordable housing in the country for low-income families, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

There are only 19 accessible homes for every 100 families of low-income tenants.

“The rent has increased so dramatically that you can’t even stand up,” says Corin. (Photo: BBC World).

And Reno residents complain about the “Tesla effect”: California tech and retired workers, which is a more expensive state, cross the border into Nevada and increase rent for locals.

“50% of people in Nevada rent, and half of these spend more than 30% of their income on housing”, says state senator Julia Ratti.

“This means that they become very vulnerable to anything that happens in their life: if a tire is punctured or if your child needs medical attention, they will be late in the rental,” the Mint.

“We ended up living in our car”

It’s something that Corin and Shaun, 39, experienced in 2019, after Shaun, who works as a security guard, developed fibromyalgia and had to be taken A time of rest.

“We were homeless because we couldn’t pay the rent”Says Corin. “We basically end up living in our car.”

Since then they have moved to a studio apartment, although the rent, which is US $ 900 per month, takes away a considerable part of their salary. Both earn US $ 10 per hour.

“We are not stable yet, we are not even sure what will happen”says Corin with a smile. “We only live day by day for now.”

Stagnant salaries

John Restrepo, an analyst at RCG Economics in Las Vegas, explains that it is true that the economy in general has grown, but at the same time, many working families are still suffering.

Those with shares in the stock market and small businesses have won with the economic recovery, he says, but employees have lost.

“About 60% of households depend on wages, and a large percentage of those people, particularly low-income workers, have not benefited from recovery at all,” says Restrepo. “Wages have stagnated after adjusting for inflation.”

Nevada is emerging from a particularly deep recession, which means that “We have been growing for 10 years, but also that it is one of the slowest recoveries,” indicates.

Medical care

Another problem that arises again and again when you talk to Nevadans is the cost of medical care.

Jim Eaglesmith spent four years caring for his mother, who had been diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and eventually lost his job at a physiotherapy clinic after having to reduce his hours to care for her.

Jim lives in a bedroom provided by a foundation that offers rooms from US $ 400 per month. (Photo: BBC World).

Jim lives in a bedroom provided by a foundation that offers rooms from US $ 400 per month. (Photo: BBC World).

“The expenses of renting, housing, medical care, palliative care and medications exhausted my savings … in the last three years I used my retirement. I spent everything I had, thinking that my mother would have some money left over, but I ended up spending most “, He says.

After that, he says he was homeless for two months, staying on the couch of different friends until he was able to move to a bedroom of $ 400 a month from the Community Foundation of Western Nevada, which helps poor and hardworking people.

US health care costs They are among the highest in the world, which means that even middle-income families may feel vulnerable.

“American dream” remote

Adrielle Hammon, 35, works in a preschool, earning $ 9 per hour. In 2019, she and her husband qualified for Medicaid, a public health plan for poor Americans, which meant that when their children had a medical emergency, the hospital bill of $ 40,000 was covered.

In 2020, his family’s income increased and Adrielle believes they are now “Approximately middle class”, but that means they no longer qualify for Medicaid, and none of them receive health insurance through work.

“I don’t think we can ever buy a house,” says Adrielle Hammon. (Photo: BBC World).

“Now we can pay for food, gas and bills”, He says. “But if you add things like hospital bills, that’s already a worrying thing … I don’t go to the doctor for anything unless someone is literally dying. ”

And the American dream of having your own home seems like a remote possibility, something that bothers you because “We always think that by the time we were this age, we could afford to buy a house.”

Angel Mcceig-Escalanti, 44, says that most of his family’s income is spent on rent and problems with his car.

“We can’t save money at all, we are really fighting”, He says.

Angel lives with her husband, her mother and one of her three children in a two-bedroom apartment that costs US $ 1,270 per month.

“And a person does not have a room, my mother sleeps on the couch”, account.

Angel Mcceig-Escalanti says that his family cannot save any money. (Photo: BBC World).

Visit the San Vicente Food Pantry and other food banks to get fresh and canned fruits and vegetables, because, as a diabetic, you should have a low carb diet.

“We could buy food, but not the kind of food I should be eating. It is supposed to be low in carbohydrates, but carbohydrates are the cheapest ”, the Mint.

Optimism

In politics and in the media, it can be tempting to generalize, whether it is the economic recovery or the plight of low-income families.

But reality usually admits more nuances, especially because the working class does not necessarily see itself as poor.

Kayshoun Grajeda, 33, studies at the Las Vegas Culinary Academy, a training center that has built kitchens, a restaurant and rooms for her students.

“If you really want something and do your best, you can do it”add. “There is help, you just have to love it. You can’t blame another person. ”

Kayshoun says her three children are proud that she is about to graduate from Culinary Academy. (Photo: BBC World).

Kayshoun says her three children are proud that she is about to graduate from Culinary Academy. (Photo: BBC World).

The single mother of three children has just received a job offer at a hotel, and believes that it will be a significant step with respect to her previous job as a hairdresser.

“It’s definitely a good start, you know? I’m starting at $ 15.35 [por hora], but it is a beginning! It is above the minimum wage ”He says with a smile.

Christopher Ripke lives with epilepsy and works full time as a dishwasher at the University of Nevada, Reno.

Sometimes he works seven days a week, as he usually offers to work overtime. He also runs People First, a nonprofit organization that helps people with disabilities.

He earns $ 9.30 per hour and sometimes, $ 13.50 per hour for overtime, and also receives rental assistance and food stamps.

Although he needs help from the government, Chris is happy that his job offers him medical insurance. (Photo: BBC World).

Although he needs help from the government, Chris is happy that his job offers him medical insurance. (Photo: BBC World).

Despite that, he is pleased to have medical coverage at work, and says he feels “absolutely”Optimistic about his future. “I am saving money for future plans and I plan to move to Texas because medical care is better.”

The feeling of optimism is shared in part by Deidre Hammon lives with his daughter Brianna in a mobile home park on the outskirts of Reno.

She is also Adrielle’s mother and has three jobs: in a law firm, in a center for children with disabilities and as a caretaker for Brianna, 36, who lives with cerebral palsy.

“We are very optimistic about our lives, we don’t want to see ourselves as poor people who can’t afford anything”, she says.

But he adds that the difficulties faced by working families are very real. Her car broke down, so she was forced to spend $ 250 a week on a rented car, as she needs to drive to work and transport Brianna.

While she would prefer to work in a full-time position with benefits, “It is easier to have jobs with low wages, I can easily quit and then find another job with low wages”, because sometimes you need free time on short notice to take care of your daughter.

Deidre Hammon takes care of his daughter Brianna, 36, who suffers from cerebral palsy. (Photo: BBC World).

Deidre Hammon takes care of his daughter Brianna, 36, who suffers from cerebral palsy. (Photo: BBC World).

She and other parents find like “frightening”The possibility that their children with health problems may live without them.

“We all feel that we can never die, because who would take your place?”, think.

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