the new poor

"The Great Recession might have officially ended in June 2009, but high unemployment continues to vex the economy ...   New statistics paint a grim picture... Forty-one million people are now on food stamps, up 45 percent since 2008.  And one in seven Americans is living in poverty — the highest in decades..."  (http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/).


During the trips I made along  different states in U.S.A, I saw people trying to make a little money by selling , along the road, second-hand items: clothing, jewelry, trinkets, ...
 Here is, some people I met.

Larry Riddle in Damascus with his dog "Sally" (Virginia),  in 2008.
 Larry: "I am 47 years old... I have been in and out of prison in my younger years ...
About seven years ago my thinking began to change. I was running from the law and living on the Appalachian Trail. And it was out on that trail that I began to write. Shortly there after I had a profound spiritual experience and my thinking changed for ever".
 Visit, Larry Riddle: "The only wanderer". 

          Greenwoods Springs (Mississippi) Jimmy and Ray with my friend Mateo,  in 2009.

This video is  an intimate portrait of a husband  and wife in Portland, Oregon.  This couple built a life and a business, only to see their world quickly fall apart. At this time, the Crandalls are behind in rent and have received two eviction notices to leave their house.



http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/pitchroom/joblessness-in-america-share-your-stories/4068/

Guns In Bars

"...Tennessee   is one of four states, along with Arizona, Georgia and Virginia, that recently enacted laws explicitly allowing loaded guns into bars  and restaurants that serve alcohol. (Eighteen other states allow weapons in restaurants that serve alcohol)..."

"...The new measures in Tennessee and the three other states come after two landmark Supreme Court rulings that citizens have an individual right to keep a loaded handgun for home defense... The attitude from the gun lobby is that the 300,000 handgun permit holders in Tennessee should be able to take their guns wherever they want...Under Tennessee’s new law, gun permit holders are not supposed to drink alcohol while carrying their weapons..."         By MALCOLM GAY  Published: October 3, 2010. The New York Times.

  Pictures: Members of the Virginia Citizens Defense League gathered Thursday, July 1 2010, at Champps in Reston to celebrate their new-found right to carry guns in bars, so long as they don't drink alcohol. Saturday, July 3, 2010. Washington Post.


  I made  these pictures  during a trip  in Virginia in 2008.

Nikki Goeser is one resident of Nashville who supports the measure,  allowing registered gun holders to carry loaded guns into bars and restaurants.

      

"The way we get By"

"Bangor, Maine is the main exit and entry point for the majority of soldiers going to Iraq and Afghanistan and returning home. A group of senior citizens who gather daily at a small airport to thank American soldiers departing and returning from war..."

 

"Joan has a deep connection to the soldiers she meets. The sanguine Jerry keeps his spirits up even as his personal problems mount. And the veteran Bill, who clearly has trouble taking care of himself, finds himself contemplating his own death..."

Filmmakers Aron Gaudet and Gita Pullapilly talk about their film, "The Way We Get By".