What you are about to read is perhaps the most heartbreaking story that I have ever come across. It is so tragic that I am not even quite sure how to introduce it. Some time ago, a reader named Ashley sent me an email that described the nightmare that she has been living through over the past year. Ashley's email was very different from the vast majority of emails I usually receive, and I wrote her back right away and asked her some questions. One of the most important questions I asked was whether or not she really wanted me to share her story with the public. Privacy is such a precious thing, and I wanted her to understand that if I shared her story that thousands upon thousands of people would end up seeing it. After considering what I had to say, Ashley said that she was 100% sure that I should share her story because she felt that it could really help some people.
Sometimes it can be really easy to get lost in the economic numbers and to forget that this economy is really and truly destroying lives. The truth is that there are millions of Americans out there today that are hurting just like Ashley is. Her story is more dramatic than most, but that doesn't mean that we all don't know someone that could use our help. We have lost our sense of community in America, and thousands upon thousands of people like Ashley are falling through the cracks.
I cannot even imagine going through the things that Ashley has had to go through over the past year. If you think about it, please say a prayer for her. Also, let this story be an inspiration to all of us to stop being so cold-hearted and to help out those in need that are all around us.
The following is Ashley's story as told in her own words....
*****
Dear Michael,
My name is Ashley. I live in Upstate New York I have been reading your Economic Collapse blog for the past year. Everything that you have said is true. Our economy is dying, and the economic collapse has destroyed the lives of many, many people. I should know. I am one of them. I lost my house, my car, my feet and my father, all in just seven months.
My father and I had a great life together. He raised me as a single parent. My mother died while giving birth to me. So it was just him and me as I was growing up, and things were wonderful for us, but then everything changed.
In September of 2009, my father was laid off from his job after 26 years. He tried so hard to find another job, but he just couldn't get one. The economy was too horrible. As a result of the loss of income, he was unable to continue making the mortgage and car payments. Our car was repossessed, and not long after that, the bank foreclosed on us and we lost our house.
We moved into a low rent, hole in the wall apartment and lived off of his savings and his unemployment benefits for the next few months. Finally, in December of 2009, I was lucky enough to get a part time job at a pizza place. It was a really long walk from our apartment, but we needed the money badly. So I took the job.
By mid winter, my old snow boots, which had successfully lasted me through several terrible winters, were beginning to rapidly deteriorate. They had holes all over them and they were splitting at the seams. My feet were soaked and freezing all day long. At that point, we were lucky to have food on the table. We had to watch every penny. We couldn't afford to get me new boots. So I had to make do with the ones I had. My father worked feverishly to try and repair them. He spent hours supergluing them duct taping them. In addition to that, I doubled up on socks and wore plastic bags inside my boots, but nothing did any good. My feet still got drenched.
One morning, in mid February of 2010, I took the last walk I would ever take on my own two feet. There was a huge blizzard raging outside, but we couldn't afford to lose a day's worth of pay. So I ventured out into the blizzard and made the long trudge to work anyway. As usual, my feet were drenched and freezing within minutes of leaving my apartment, but there was no choice but to just stick it out. So I kept going. I finally arrived at work to find the place closed. Nobody had called to tell me. There was nothing to do but turn around and make the long trudge back home. By the time I got home, I knew that something was seriously wrong with my feet. They felt horrible. My father helped me out of my drenched boots and socks and we discovered that my feet were all purple and swollen. They were severely frostbitten.
My father was terrified to take me to the emergency room because that would have bankrupted us. So he did everything he could to try and rewarm my feet at home. He spent the next several days giving me hot chocolate, bundling my feet up in blankets, putting my feet on his stomach, etc. But nothing did any good. My feet didn't get any better. They just kept getting worse. They eventually turned black and began to ooze. At that point, my father broke down and called a car service to take us to the hospital. The doctors told us that, given the extent of the damage, they would not able to save my feet. The frostbite had progressed too far. I ended up having both of my feet amputated.
For the next whole month, my father didn't do anything but sob. He sobbed himself to sleep every night. He blamed himself for me losing my feet. I rolled myself into his room on my wheelchair every night and wrapped my arms around him as tight as I could. I told him that it wasn't his fault and that I didn't blame him for anything. I told him he was the best father any girl could ever have and that I wouldn't trade him for anything. I think it helped a little in the moment, but as time went on, he just fell further and further into depression.
On the morning of March 15th, 2010, I was awakened by a knock on the door from a police officer. He told me that my father was dead. I told the officer that was ridiculous and that there had been a mistake, but he insisted that my father was dead and that I should come with him. I went racing into my father's room as fast as my wheelchair could carry me, but he was gone. There was a note on his bed that he had left for me. In the note, he told me that he loved me dearly. He loved me more than anything, but that he had failed me. He told me that I would be better off without him. At that moment, my heart stopped as I began to realize what must have happened. Horrified, I made my way back to the police officer, and he told me that my father had jumped out the window of our apartment in the middle of the night. I went into shock and begged the police officer to let me see him, but he insisted that I wouldn't want to see him that way. I started sobbing so hard that the police ended up having to take me to the hospital.
I've cried myself to sleep every night since. I'll never understand how my father could have thought that I'd be better off without him. If only he had known how much I needed him. If it wasn't for my extremely kind hearted and caring neighbor, I don't know where I would be right now. She's such a sweet lady. After I lost my father, she took me in and took care of me as though I were her own family. She has gradually helped nurse me back to health, both physically and mentally.
This is probably going to sound really crazy, but throughout this past year, you have been one of my heroes, Michael. As devastating as the truth of your words may be, it is refreshing that somebody has the good sense and the good judgement to come forward and say them. All the government and the media do is lie to us, every single day. I only wish more people would listen to you and heed your warnings. Feel free to post my story on your blog if you would like. You have my permission to do so. I just ask that you not reveal my full name and my email address. Just use my first name. Perhaps my story will serve some purpose in the way of helping to wake some of these idiots up and getting them to realize that this nightmare is real.
Best Regards,
Ashley
I got out of the US as soon as I knew what was coming. Thank god for the people on this blog and the guy I follow in OZ over at http://www.forecastfortomorrow.com they have been spot on and bring the truth, not lies and BS like the US government.
I now have a green card and am staying here in oz. WSHTF the worst place in the world will be the US. I am glad I am out of there. I was in tears amlmost every day. I now have a job here and the people here are awersome, so friendly.
Dear Ashley,
Thank you for sharing your story—it is a wake up call. Your bravery and self-sacrifice in the face of such trials is not only inspirational but challenging to the rest of us. I will be watching my neighbors much more closely, ready to lend a helping hand wherever I can. Please know that you are in my prayers today; I am certain that the Lord will sustain you and encourage you in the days ahead. God bless you. You are not alone.
A heartbreaking story to be sure. My only question is, why didn’t you contact a local church to see about them helping you get a new pair of boots? Most churches put aside funds to help people out on small things.
Very bad. And when you try and tell people of whats going on in the world they write you off as “your so negative”. Oh well maybe some are better off with their heads in the sand if that helps mentally.
Assuming that this is verified true, some of us would really want to help this person. How can we do it?
I felt sick reading this story. Ashley could have had my boots. It seems inconceivable that in this UPSTATE NY town there was no place to turn. But that’s how callous society has become. Today there is a Super Bowl game – The stadium cost $1.5 bill – electric bill is $200,000 a month – tickets to game $2,400 – White House / wealthy all engaged in Super Bowl parties. Thousands are living in tent cities (freezing to death) – I read (deregulation) that over 200,000 in Mich alone have had their electric cut off. Food stamps – Medicaid – fuel assistance are all being drastically cut/ or eliminated. Meantime TRILLIONS have been given to the contemptible bankers / Wall St crooks. Super Power USA and a young girl has no boots and now no feet!! JM
My heart broke after reading her testimony. It shows that we need to be there for one another, especially when times get worse in the future. The modern day family is broken, as more couples get divorces, and children are split up.
If you were to take a poll of how many people know their neighbors to the left or right, I would guess over 70% of people don’t know who lives around them. The communities of the past where a person would know who lives on their block no longer exists.
Although, for some good news, we are seeing communities spring up on the internet such as on facebook and meet-up. Alex Jones is putting together a forum where people can get in touch with one another in their local area.
***We need to create a community around us to get through the tough times ahead.
We subscribe to Free cycle in our local area, and it allows a person to post their unwanted stuff for free, but another option exists where a person can post something that they need as “wanted”, which could be an outlet for those who are in a better position to help those who are truly are in need.
What does our God tell us about giving?
Matthew 25:33-40
33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
We all hope that our parents can be for us as we make our way out of the nest, and so Ashley’s story really touched my heart, being that she didn’t deserve what happened to her. Even though she lost her feet, her life is full of promise and hope, and she can do amazing things with her life. May Jesus truly bless you Ashley. Thank you for sharing your story*
Ashley, this is not your fault.
The entire monetary economic system our society is set up on is predatory by nature. Someone, somewhere, always is left standing in this game of monetary musical chairs. Is it because you didn’t work hard enough? No. Some people don’t work. Their money works for them. Learn more by watching these two documentaries:
http://vimeo.com/13770061
http://youtu.be/4Z9WVZddH9w
I’ve just read this story, and I got so heartbreaking with all this, look I got scared, I don’t live in the USA but I see that this girl is a human being like me in spite we live in different countries, I think your government forgot their people, I hope, not for the government but by the people that are suffering, that you economy gets better so that cases like this don’t happen.
Sorry…
what can be said…wow!
What a tragic heartbreaking story. I can only hope that Ashley can find some peace through all this sorrow.
Wow. My heart goes out to you…
So tell me how will Ahsley be better off with the republicans giving tax cuts to the rich? That trickle down BS doesn’t seem to be working.
Ashley-you are poor because the republicans insist on giving more money those who need it the least (the rich) by taking it from you and me by trying to eliminate any type of social safety net for the poor. Conservatism has ruined this country. In more socialist Europe this would have never happened to you. Isn’t America great-we are a wealthy country that gives all the wealth to the top 10%.
You had to wear bad boots (like I do) and tragicly lost your feet because of conservative republicans and thier sich policy of tax cuts for the rich.
Ashley I in no way want to diminish what you went/are going through, however, if we do not address the cause of why things like this happen in a country as wealthy as America nothing will change.
We have to tax the rich and spread the wealth IE: Tax the greedy (rich) to help the needy (Ashley and millions of others)
If someone kill a person, he might get a lifetime in prison or destroy 1 family. But if corruption that causes economy collapse will indirectly kill more families than the actual act itself. I think US should try to reconsider the crime which would impact vast people. Else people like Madoff and his executives may be still happy going around with their wealth. Make them pay for the hineous crime.
Republicans pushed a trillion dollar tax break for the top 2%, they dont care.
Gary2 = Troll
Stray Cat:
While churches put aside funds to help people in need, this is not advertised outside the church. Folks that do not attend church would not be aware of that. Some folks try to muddle along the best they can and don’t always have family and friends to fall back on. It is true that families have fallen completely apart, leaving people alone and vulnerable. There is not always someone there to scoop you up. So, if you belong to a church, get the word out that you are there to help. Keep your eyes and ears open to folks that may need help but are not comfortable asking.
Ashley: I am truly grieved for the pain and sorrow you have had to endure.
We Americans have let each other down in many ways. I think of America like a family – a very dysfunctional family. Our selfishness has caused people to be hurt. It is an abomination that so much money is spent on a stupid game when that money could be spent feeding and helping our fellow countrymen. God will judge America for this type of behavior. It is not free. It is not godly. Everything we do in this life matters. God is taking notes. Let that sink in.
I just want to point out that Gary2 needs some boots. Is there a way to get him some?
YOU IDIOTS THE BANKERS OWN BOTH PARTIES,,, STOP BEING LAZY AND MATRIX CAUSED STUPID. THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX OR STAY MORONS.
For Gary2′s comment above…
You cant help the poor by destroying the rich. Taking the wealthies money and giving it to the poor is not an answer either.
My heart goes out to Ashley but no situation is completely hopeless and you never know unless you ask and that goes for jobs too. I wondered if she had asked for help in any way if there would be people to give it to her,
I know I would have.
Ok, the cost of an emergency room? WHO CARES! DECLARE BANKRUPTCY!!!!!! I see this story as 2 people who ignored society and assumed it is bad and no one cares which is WRONG! When I was 25 I was dying of testicular cancer that had spread to my abdomen. I was poor and didnt have two nickels to rub together. 2 hospitals saved my life knowing full well they would never be paid. My bill for all my surgeries and chemotherapy was $230,000. I didnt flinch, it was get a piece of paper with numbers on it or me laying in a casket. I’ll takes the bill with some numbers on it!!!!
There are tons of kind hearted people like your neighbor and churches in EVERY community and why you both refused to reach out for help THAT WAS THERE ALL ALONG signifies an astounding ignorance of our society.
Citizens in need should not isolate themselves like this. Who cares if the goddamn hospital bill was expensive? They will not sue you, come after you, throw you in debtors prison, etc. The hospital will work with you, even at $5 a month!
ALL of this was easily avoidable. Your neighbors or a churches would have helped you get shoes!!!!! I am blown away by the astounding ignorance and it breaks my heart to read it.
Then your dad abandons you by doing the most selfish thing imaginable. Sickening!!!!
Ok, the cost of an emergency room? WHO CARES! DECLARE BANKRUPTCY!!!!!! I see this story as 2 people who ignored society and assumed it is bad and no one cares which is WRONG! When I was 25 I was dying of testicular cancer that had spread to my abdomen. I was poor and didnt have two nickels to rub together. 2 hospitals saved my life knowing full well they would never be paid. My bill for all my surgeries and chemotherapy was $230,000. I didnt flinch, it was get a piece of paper with numbers on it or me laying in a casket. I’ll takes the bill with some numbers on it!!!!
There are tons of kind hearted people like your neighbor and churches in EVERY community and why you both refused to reach out for help THAT WAS THERE ALL ALONG signifies an astounding ignorance of our society.
Citizens in need should not isolate themselves like this. Who cares if the ***** hospital bill was expensive? They will not sue you, come after you, throw you in debtors prison, etc. The hospital will work with you, even at $5 a month!
ALL of this was easily avoidable. Your neighbors or a churches would have helped you get shoes!!!!! I am blown away by the astounding ignorance and it breaks my heart to read it.
Then your dad abandons you by doing the most selfish thing imaginable. Our society is not so cruel and unusual, its you two who refused to open your eyes. Sickening!!!!
the principle of democracy is no longer workable but already inadequate,is not only the product of corruption why america facing difficulties it is aready self destruction on its self.this things is asure you
This story makes me so mad, I want to get myself cool magical healing powers so I can make her feet regenerate, just so I can say “up yer nose with a rubber hose” to all the people who put her in this situation.
I know, I’m weird, getting mad instead of heartbroken. But when I hear stories like this, it makes me snarl and hiss instead of cry. But I hate being able to write stories in which regeneration is common medical technology, but not be able to make it happen here in the Primary World (flunked freshman chemistry).
What a mess!
Sorry to hear this.
This is also a good example of how the rural areas of America are especially at risk to the consequences of the economic collapse.
When you globalize, or even nationalize to such a large extent, it becomes very difficult to prescribe blame where blame is due.
Also, due to the nature of this crime, the police are always useless. Only an angry mob with pitchforks are able to administer justice.
I posit that fear of mob justice is half the driving force behind globalization.
How will Ashleys friends, family and countrymen bring justice to a moneychanger in Tel Aviv, Shanghai, or Basel Switzerland?
I will pray for you, Ashley. Thank you for sharing your story. It makes me realize all that I have, and to give thanks. May God be with you.
We have a safety net Medicare, Medicaid, Food Stamps, Section 8, Social Security, and many more programs to help really needy people like her. The real problem is that, for decades too many people who don’t really need the help, are doing their best for generational dependency on all of those programs, almost as a career, and are draining the resources away from the truly unfortunate people like Ashley! I personally know of some people who’ve had their children falsely diagnosed with “ADD” and other “Conditions” by doctors, so they can collect SSI etc…, on all of their kids. If we could reserve those institutions for the truly needy of our society, we could really be able to care and help people like Ashley. Fraud should be reported to the authorities, so that those programs can be reserved for the truly needy! There are too many NEEDY people on those programs that aren’t!
impeachRonPaul – Please just shut up. This isn’t about right or left, who is correct and who isn’t . The fact is that we are where we are. The big question is what is you, me or anyone going to do about it? People need help today and it’s up to us to make sure they get it. Ridiculous, Twitter byte complaints do nothing. Find and help the person in need. If you can’t do that, then please just be quiet.
AS I said before The Government of United States of America, Politicians, Congress . . . . . .are a sham. Shame on those, who destroyed our country and many lives have been shattered as a results.
Don´t they have any decency, honesty and integrity? It is time to take control of this nation by the power of PEOPLE folks. How much suffering people like Ashley have to go through here! Enough is enough. It is time to take in the streets of America folks!
And meanwhile we have the bankers doing God’s work while collecting $135 Billion in bonuses in 2010 while Americans continue their fall into debt serfdom and no hope. Don’t blame the small business owner on the amount of taxes paid to a deviant govt. where the taxes go down the swirling black hole of corruption never to be seen again. We are running a $1.5 Trillion Dollar deficit for fiscal year 2011, and yet people like Ashley are allowed to fall down a rabbit hole not of her own making. I imagine all collapsing Empires throughout history have stories like Ashleys, yet we never learn from history. Exponential math is a real bitch when you get on that particular train which always has it’s destination as, “off the cliff”. Anyone still shilling for either political party at this point belongs on a very short bus!
“He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.” Hmmm. Is this a reference to conservatives and liberals? Anyway, this is quite a heartbreaking story. Obviously we need government money to distribute boots to the needy. Come the revolution all will have boots! I believe Ashley still has an option.
This is indeed a tragic story–testimony of what globalism has done / is doing to people. I’m sure Ashley & her father are not the only people whose lives have been ruined by this economy. Yet the question begs for an answer: how did this train wreck get started?
Our first mistake was the creation of the Federal Reserve system, which essentially placed the regulation of the core of our economic system into the hands of a tiny elite of plutocrats which has controlled it ever since. Our dollars have lost over 96 percent of their value since 1913. Personal savings have been wiped out; in the wake of “quantitative easing” our dollars are buying less & less.
Second, this society replaced a can-do, achievement-oriented mindset with an entitlement mind-set. This was institutionalized in the 1930s with Social Security & further institutionalized with Medicare: the two untouchables (& also the two largest federal expenditures). We did not see the Fabian socialists working behind the scenes “penetrating & permeating” our institutions & shifting the mindset of much of the country leftward.
Third: we replaced God with materialism. It is true that both Old & New Testaments command us to care for the less fortunate in our communities & in society generally; they do not command us to elect politicians who create faceless bureaucracies to forcibly redistribute wealth from those who produce it to those who do not. When societies embrace materialism we end up with a Pickwickian choice between cutthroat capitalism & Fabian socialism. Naturally, a lot of well-intentioned, humane people will choose Fabian socialism despite the evidence that it won’t work: those who produce will cease producing (or be so encumbered with taxes & regulations that they give up – & MOVE THEIR OPERATIONS OVERSEAS TO MORE BUSINESS-FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENTS). Then there is less & less to redistribute. Our standard of living is starting to drop both because of globalism & because of the unshakeable entitlement mentality that is forcing Americans out of business & making American workers too expensive to hire.
Lastly, we have dumbed down the American educational system. Today’s graduates of four-year universities arguably know less than the high school graduates of, say, 1950. Most could not walk up to a wall map of the world & find Egypt or Iraq. They have no grasp of economics, & hence are in no position to comprehend the forces & personalities that are destroying this country.
I don’t know if any of this is reversible or not, or if possible, it could be done in time. We need to get rid of the Federal Reserve; but honestly I see no practical way of doing so. If anyone thinks our standard of living is dropping now, just wait until the globalist community votes to end the dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency. I am making my own escape plans because, frankly, I get too much of the you’re-a-conspiracy-nut kind of response whenever I begin talking about the Federal Reserve or the Fabians or the Trilateralists or others who have clearly been working against the best interests of this country for decades. Not to mention those more interested in who wins the Superbowl or who becomes the next American Idol. For all our talk about plutocrats & the elite, we could reverse this at the ballot box, but it won’t happen because too many ordinary Americans are hopeless.
Just listwn to the Media & the GOV.
\The econmy is growing, stock market is breaking all records, unemployment dropped to 9%, spending is up WOW!!!!!!!!!
LIES and more LIES + CROOKS and ore CROOKS!!!!
Sad Story
The collapse is coming and Ashley’s story is courage beyond measure besides a wakeup call. I believe Jesus sees this and weeps alongside Ashley, yet giving her His strength to carry on. One day she will dance with Him. Many of my family think I’m crazy preparing/hoarding, but they will be the first at my door when it hits. This final round of greed taking of the last few pennies out of our hands while the stock market rises is great sin pure and simple while folks like Ashley suffer. If you love your families prepare, prepare, prepare…it’s gonna be bad.
If there’s a way to contact Ashely, I’d like to help her out. Her courage is inspiring.
Read the article and the current comments posted, unfortunately billions across the globe are too poverty-stricken to even possess ANY shoes.
Poverty is a RESULT and PRODUCT of government. Taxation is theft and robbing Peter to purchase Paul’s vote is ABSOLUTELY destroying many countries across the planet.
There are only two types of human beings on the planet. Producers and Looters. The Producers are being taxed and regulated out of existence and they are quitting, retiring, and or fleeing to other more Producer-friendly countries.
Ayn Rand and Tom Baugh both ask the same question in Atlas Shrugged and Starving The Monkeys respectively.
Of course that question is…Who will the Looters loot when looters are all that are left to loot?
For just one example we could point out our acquaintance who is one of the top brain surgeons in the world. He only accepts cash, gold, silver, etc. and always demands prepayment BEFORE the surgery.
These brain surgeons and other professionals, like an ever-increasing number of Producers, are putting their feet down and saying NO to the looters and their hordes of bureaucrats, enforcers, and mercenaries.
Again, the lesson for all is that voluntary interaction between individual sovereign human beings is the solution. Gunpoint looting, robbery, and property redistribution absolutely does NOT solve any of our afflictions. After the billionaires are looted, then come the millionaires, then come the upper-middle class, then come the middle-middle class, then come the lower-middle class, then come the upper-lower class, then the middle-lower class, then come the lower-lower class…eventually you end up with homeless people killing and BBQing each other just to exist one more day.
Starving The Monkeys and Ending The Looterfest,
John and Dagny Galt
Atlas Shrugged, Owners Manual For The Universe!(tm)
.
My bet the root cause was NAFTA or China Free Trade. Therefore both party’s put her and her father in this unfortunate position.
On the bright side we’re lifting up Chinese workers out of starvation and into just poverty. A big increase from a bowl of rice and a fish head to 50 cents/hr.
The US Constitution in the Preamble states “For Ourselves and Our Posterity” that includes Ashley and her father and certainly does not include the Chinese.
I also have only one pair of winter boots. I cannot find another pair that fit my feet at the thrift shops, so I’m wearing mine out too.
As for going to a church for help, that works only if you are a constant member of a church. I am not and don’t want to be. However, going to the Federal and state gov’ts for help gets you nowhere. I found out you either have to be destitute or over the age of 65. Nor do I expect any of the clowns in Congress–particularly the Republicans–to give a crap.
While tragic and heartbreaking it just goes to show that even in a city you need some survival skills.
But really folks her letter states no one from work called her to say the business was closed due to weather. Couldn’t she have called due to the weather? To me that statement indicates she had a phone.
So while tragic and heartbreaking it could have been avoided in any number of ways.
I’m not trying to be heartless, but if you don’t look at what happened and how it could have been prevented. You learn nothing.
This is my first post here, this story made me want to say something, sorry about my english, its not my native language.
If you think this one story, it feels heartbreaking, its something that as a human being you think that should not happen. Also this was not just bad luck nor random event of nature, but something that could have very easily avoided if we would be civilized beings living in civilized society and really care lot about each other.
But if this touches your heart, then what if you could hear 925 million similar stories, if you divide that to one year it makes 2534246 sad stories in ONE DAY! And every one of these numbers is living breathing human just like you.
If it would be possible to hear and understand all suffering in world my heart probably would stop beating because i just could not handle so much horrific pain and desperate suffering in my mind.
That is amount of people in the world who don’t have enough food to eat, and probably they also lack medical care, shoes and other basic needs. 14% of world population is in this state, and every passing moment more and more are falling in desperate poverty.
How long will go until there is 1% of super rich elite who control the world and 99% of slaves without any human rights. Or is it already happened?
To everyone who says “how sad”, “my heart goes out to you” This is nice and I second all of it, however, you also need to DO something:
Stop voting for selfish right wing conservative republicans who only care about the rich. Vote for policies that will TAX the rich and spread the wealth or there will continue to be many more Ashley”s.
Our family runs a food pantry for the poor.
We regularly see the same faces every month, month after month—The people who scrounge off the system.
But then we’ll have a family come through telling us how aweful it is to have to ask for help. You see, most Americans are so proud they refuse to ask for help until it’s almost too late.
The worst are the elderly. They will go hungry or eat dog food rather than come to the pantry for help. Why? “Because there are poor people who need the help worse” is their usual reply.
A tragic tale in a time of the Great Depression 2. Then you read Gary ImpeachRonPaul and you just want to wring their necks. This is not politics this is a human problem that folks should have prevented with a simple kindness of buying this lady a pair of winter boots. Government is not the solution we the American people are. Think about how to help your fellow man or woman instead of pointing fingers.
This is a very sad story.
But why are people to proud to ask for help.
There are a lot of us still with the means to at least buy a pair of boots for someone, but you have to ask. We are not mind readers.
Ashley’s suffering is not only an indictment of the neo-feudalist robber barons who raped this country’s economy and turned the former USA into a Third World house of horrors called The Banana Republic of America—it is also an indictment of the country’s wretched health insurance system. In civilized developed countries such as France, Switzerland, Belgium and Germany, Ashley’s feet might have been saved because the minute she realized there was a problem, she would have been able to seek immediate medical attention without the fear of severe economic hardship. I’ve actually been to France on business and have seen their universal health care system first hand, and in that country, the well being of patients (including the poor) is top priority—not the profits of corrupt health insurance companies. Had Ashley experienced frostbite in Paris and been taken to the hospital across from Notre Damme Cathedral, she would have received immediate attention–none of this “Do you have Blue Cross or Aetna?” crap. No ifs, ands, or buts–saving her feet would have been top priority under the French medical system. But this isn’t France. This is The Banana Republic of America, where the peasant majority is expendable and their health and well being mean nothing. To quote Alex Jones, “We are in deep tyranny….deep, deep, DEEP.”
Lauren: Congratulations on escaping from the Third World nightmare that is The Banana Republic of America. You are among the lucky ones.
“Pride goeth before a fall.” In the case of Ashley’s father, the fall was literal…as was his pride.
Choosing not to take Ashley to the hospital because it would “bankrupt” him proves his folly.
I’m sorry some are too proud to ask for help when they need it.
@Gary2
From Naked Capitalism: Vision: Everyday Brits Are in Revolt Against Wealthy Tax Cheats — Can We Do That Here?
There is no question that the American people are being brutally, moreover, criminally exploited. We have been tricked and deceived into every form of debt known to humnaity, from credit card usury, mortgage swindles, too student loans and the biggest swindle of all, Wall Street. It also seems the Patriot Act has been put in place to ensure that this dark side corruption continues too.
Our supposed “Representative Government” has been turned into the three monkeys; it sees, hears and speaks no evil when it comes to corrupt giant banks and corporations. Government has enabled, legalized and appears to encourage the corruption by repealing laws like the Glass-Steagall Act in 1999 and enforcing other deregulatory policies. We have a democracy to the highest bidder political system that now says corporate entities are counted as people. Government has even gone so far as to provide bailouts, bonuses and other golden parachute
“entitlements” to corporations.
Meanwhile, almost every social safety net that was in place to protect Americans is and has been being slowly chipped away at. Now we have tragic stories like Ashley’s occurring on an every day regular basis, none of which will be heard in the mainstream media. Every thing we have known has been turned upside down and those in power are spectacularly indifferent to our suffering. America’s jobs have been “free traded and out sourced” over seas in favor of slavery or extremely harsh exploitive economic suffering of those people. Yet our government who supposedly stands for human rights pretends this is not the reality.
I hate to say this because I hate violence but I see why the NRA is so extremely, DEAD SET, against government taking guns away from Americans because it seems bloody insurrection is the only recourse being left to Americans. If American’s explode like so many other populations we are seeing in the news and those we don’t see in the news, i.e. in Europe, the world will be in for a long period of unprecedented chaos. I have a feeling this maybe one of those long hot summer scenarios.
I sat in disbelief as I read the story above and thought to myself, “my ****, this is 2011 and we are the United States of America”. We are a country who’s mission statement is one of liberating other nations of oppression and tyrany, yet we can not liberate ourselves from the grips of a bunch of bankers.
What has happened to our once great nation? Why have we sat back and allowed the politicians and bankers to economically drive our country into the ground? Why is it that so many people know the truth about our corrupt government and the unconstitutional Federal Reserve, yet refuse to stand up and let their voices be heard. Why have we sat idly by and watched politicians pass laws which sent our jobs overseas? Why are there no public outcries of rage against the machine when we hear stories like this? When will we finally wake up and take a stand and fight to take our country back from the grips of evil?
Ashley, you are a hero in my eyes and my heart goes out to you. I have republished your letter on my blog because I feel that everyone needs to hear your story. You will be in my prayers, God Bless You.
I generally like to jest at Gary2, but the truth is that I think his selfish desires to redistribute wealth would be SO detrimental to our country that it would be a 1 year high followed by several decades of mass poverty. Look at the Bolsheviks.
However, he DOES make a point that people need to DO SOMETHING. But this should not be a top down approach (such as legislation), it should be a bottom up approach (helping your neighbour).
To Jude Moriarty: As much as I agree it’s silly that so much money goes into sports, the reality is that that single football game injects hundreds of millions, if not billions dollars into our economy, creating 10s to 100s of thousands of jobs. It would be small thinking to say we should focus those dollars on helping the poor, when those dollars did more to help the poor by allowing the market to play out then by giving it to people directly.
To Patriot One: hindsight is always 20/20….I have no doubt that Ashely has played the scenario over and over in her mind, as her father did. There’s no benefit in rehashing where decisions were made wrong. Realist raises a very good point, often many people who are in dyer need just don’t ask for help, and then stuff like this happens, people fall through the cracks. It’s disgusting, people shouldn’t always have to ask, we as a society should be more observant. Ashely’s co-workers should have noticed her boots, when she entered a store to buy groceries someone should have noticed.
In my opinion the tragedy here is not outsourcing, it’s not football, it’s not nafta, it’s not rich republicans, it’s not Bill Gates, it’s not Obama, it’s not China, it’s not India, it’s not Ford, it’s not the BP oil spill.
The tragedy is that the people living in the wealthiest nation in the world are generally just blind consumers, they care only about themselves, their needs and wants, their baby to look cooler then the neighbour’s by wearing oshkosk and baby gap. The tragedy is that we don’t care for one another the way human beings should. The tragedy is that most people don’t know their neighbours, wouldn’t notice if their neighbour were robbed or killed. The tragedy is that we don’t notice when someone we see everyday has duct tape, goop and plastic bags for shoes. The tragedy is that we see that and we say: “Oh wow, retro shoes man”.
Like Gary2 said, DO something. Just don’t make it political. Notice other people, love them, meet their needs.
Charles Hughes Smith writes a 6-day-a-week blog I read (also his book)- http://www.oftwominds.com.
He keeps it real, too, so I figured I’d share it.
What an awful, tragic story. Our government has failed its citizens whom it has pledged to serve.
For the love of Aetna, why couldn’t this lady get the medical attention she needed, without fear of going bankrupt? What happened to ethics and morality in this country?
This is indeed a tragic story. But, seriously, is it true?
I find some of the events almost to bizarre to be believable.
Whatever the case is, no doubt we need to look better after each other. The “state” is not going to do it.
So, how about those Giants!? Woo Hoo Baby!! Bread and circus!!!!!
For the owner of this site, please read on this one, which appears to have some evidence that the collapse is coming!
The collapse of America is coming:
The History Channel | Today’s world has troubles unique to its time in history, from the global financial crisis to technological meltdowns to full scale, computerized global war. Observing the convergence of such events, contemporary prophets have begun to emerge from obscurity to suggest that these conditions might be signs of the demise of the modern world. These men are historians as well, using all manner of information and patterns from the past to provide context for where we are going. Their predictions interpret the current state of affairs in our world as evidence that the America we know may come to an end. The men proposing these ideas are not crackpots living on the streets of New York; they are intelligent, learned men who come armed with the evidence to back up their claims.
http://www.kurzweilai.net/technology-dangers-prophets-of-doom?utm_source=Kur
Those who are shilling against Republicans and Conservatives need to understand that the House and Senate were both controlled by the Democrats since 2006 and took control of the of the Executive Branch with the election of President Obama in 2008. The debt ceiling was raised 6 times in the last 3 years and more than $5 Tillion Dollars was added to our national debt. The Frank-Dodd Bill was passed by Democrats, and in my opinion, is criminal and a travesty of justice. I’m not defending the groups, so much as presenting the true historical facts in the face of blantant hypocrisy.
I call the former Speaker, “Cracker Jack Nancy”, because she said you had to pass the Bill in order to find out what was inside the Bill. When first elected Speaker she promised that all Bills would be posted online with time to study each Bill before passage. This lasted a New York minute. I won’t mention all the BS, “change we can believe in” from the President who’s done nothing but ramp the war in Poppy-Stan. I wonder where all that illegal drug money goes, or how how many times it’s levered?
I pray for you Ashley! Too bad I could not help you out earlier and find you boots at a nice resale store in Chicago. Two pairs! I would have bought them.
These are the consequences of modern slavery.
Neoliberalism corrupted it all
And no way out unless you provoke a global change.
Where the economy is put at the service of man
and not man enslaved in the economy
The poignant story of Ashley is .. and history should have an answer.
Gary
“Stop voting for selfish right wing conservative republicans who only care about the rich. Vote for policies that will TAX the rich and spread the wealth or there will continue to be many more Ashley”s.”
And do what vote for Democrats that have in overwhelming numbers voted for Free Trade with slave labor nations? This policy has eviscerated US industrial capacity and hence it’s former good jobs that are making government assistance necessary in the first place.
The alternative is voting for Republicans that do the exact same thing.
You can tax the rich out of existence and the US standard of living will still decline.