Middle Class Suffers from Economic Downturn

After hours of labor at his job, Joshua Allen still has to depend on a local food bank to fill his stomach.

Allen, 52, visits Yorkville Common Pantry on E. 109th St for a hot meal after work. He holds a labor job at a pharmaceutical company in Queens.

He said he has seen the number of people who visit the food pantry increasing every year, even among the working class.

“The economy is really bad. you have the family to feed at home, so you come to soup kitchen,” he said.

Working-class Americans receive hard blows of the continuing economic downturn. The soaring prices of food and gas make those who live paycheck-to-paycheck hard to adjust to the worsening economy.
And not to mention those who try to reenter the job market after being incarcerated or homeless. (See our multimedia presentation.)
Greg Colman, an economics professor at Pace University, said the economy is growing very slowly, which affects the job market.

“The number of new jobs created each month has been negative and has declined in the last three or four months,” Colman said. “The population always gets bigger and more people want jobs – this is bad for the economy.”

During economic meltdown, the less educated usually get hit the hardest, he added, referring to those with minimum-wage jobs.

Manhattan, the highest cost-of-living city in the United States, now has shocking gas prices that make low-wage earners grit their teeth.

The national average price for regular gasoline is $3.95 per gallon, but in Manhattan, a person has to pay $4.20, a jump from last year's $3.20.

From May 6 to 298, the retail gas prices hit record highs for 232 days in a row, according to Triple A’s website. It was not until the 29th the prices started to drop. Crude oil prices have only recently dropped from their peak price of $135 barrel. Yesterday crude oil prices dropped $4.41 to from $130.04 to $126.62.

In Omaha, a nonprofit homeless shelter has given out more gas vouchers than before. The shelter, Open Door Mission, has also seen some new faces – many of them have jobs and homes. In April, it served 51,000 meals – the highest number since it was established 50 years ago, according to a Tuesday report by KETV, an Omaha news channel.

New York City's homeless population has risen significantly. 2007 was marked the worst year of NYC family homeless since the Depression, according to a 2008 study by Coalition for the Homelessness.

Sheila Corrales, a senior case manager at Yorkville Common Pantry, said she has felt the blow of recession. The pantry is funded through private donations to serve 2,300 families breakfast and dinner each week.

The problem, she said, is the number of the clients is increasing while the amount of donation is dwindling.

Just working few blocks away from the pantry, Allen said he appreciates the hot meals provided by the pantry and the staff who smiles at him when he walks in.

“I hope they don't shut down with the budget cuts, not just for me but everyone else,” he said.