The NewsHour -- Economic Slump Hits Residents of 'The Last Best Place'
Montana's own Scott McMillion of the Montana Quarterly closed out The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer last night with a social essay on Montana. He described what it's like living in the Treasure State for many financially strapped Montanans. He briefly highlighted a Livingston woman's efforts to ease the burden of the 'working poor' and an Iraq veteran's struggle to make ends meet. Here are a few quotes from McMillion's piece.
"If you've got money and time -- you don't really need an awful lot -- and you like to go outside, you can live very well here. Crowds are rare, traffic is thin, and you almost never have to stand in line.
And in most of Montana, $10 bucks worth of gas will still take you away from almost everybody and to some truly glorious scenery. But not everybody has $10 bucks to spare."
Montana - spectacular scenery, a wealth of outdoor activities, and a great pace of life. Just don't expect to strike it rich.
"For too many people here, life is, literally, intolerable. Montana has the highest suicide rate in the nation. I can't think of a better way to measure unhappiness."
"But at one school in Bozeman, our richest town, 46 percent of the kids qualify for free or reduced lunches. The rich new arrivals might not notice those poor kids, but I guarantee you those poor kids and their parents notice the wealthy newcomers, especially when housing is so expensive and wages are so low.
And when the economy goes soft, like it's doing now, poor people lose their jobs first. When you're broke, the scenery doesn't matter as much."
How true.
2 comments:
glad you saw this too. montana quarterly is a great magazine. the stories about the small towns are excellent.
The problem is: I already know all about this. I now am one of the those summertime residents that everyone hates in the Bitterroot.
Only one small difference I had to move because I could not find a job and could not eat the mountains, river, or the recreation that I love to do. Also, I come back every summer because I cannot afford not to. I have to say it is a small sacrifice to come back every summer, but it is heart wrenching to leave at the end of summer.
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