TERRE HAUTE — This month, inside a church on Terre Haute’s south side, a minister reminded the congregation of the wealth we enjoy.
Few of us probably feel that way, especially after a nearly two-year recession has made the phrases “pay raise” and “job security” seem as out of date as a 45-rpm record. Us, wealthy? Now? Say what?
Yet, most people on Earth live on less than 2 bucks a day, he said.
In fact, according to a report by BBC Radio World Service, nearly half of the world population survives on less than $1 each day. A life under those circumstances likely means few opportunities to better themselves, and exposure to hunger and illnesses. Jobs, education and hope are hard to find, not to mention safe water, functioning showers and toilets, and reliable electricity, according to a United Nations summary.
Thanks to the American spirit and ingenuity, those problems aren’t the norm here. We’re not used to living in such conditions.
There is no doubt the Great Recession — which began in December 2007 and finally has begun to end — has been unforgiving. Its most wounding aspect, especially in Indiana, is unemployment. While a gradual recovery takes hold in the rest of the economy, the job market won’t bounce back for at least another six months, and by then, the recession will have claimed 8 million U.S. jobs, according to Bill Witte, an economist at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business.
And clearly, this recession’s grip is far stronger than any in recent memory. That grip is loosening very slowly, compared to other recessions.
“The strength of the recovery is usually proportional to the depth of the downturn,” Witte said at the annual IU Kelley School of Business Economic Forecast. “But we don’t think that’s going to be the case this time.”
He added, “We don’t think that consumption is going to be a driving force, as it has been in past recoveries,” Witte said.
When the dust settles on this Black Friday weekend, the status of American consumerism may be more clear. A Reuters-University of Michigan poll, cited in Wednesday’s Christian Science Monitor, showed a decline in consumer confidence this month. People remain worried about their jobs, and rightly so.
As a nation, though, the worst of this long, draining experience seems to be over. At some point, our economy will improve. We’ll start working again. We’ll build new houses in greater numbers again, and hopefully finance them more wisely. We’ll start new businesses again, with more responsible lending. America will recover, just as it always has.
It should strengthen us to remember that even in the roughest patches of this recession, our standard of living is only a dream to people in many places around the globe. Many of us have scaled back spending for the holidays, and have decided to focus on family instead of gifts at Christmastime. With more neighbors struggling to pay their bills and for medicine and groceries, more of us understand the need for contributing to food banks, shelters and charities. As entire industries get overhauled or — worse yet — disappear, lots of Americans are figuring out they’re capable of being re-trained for new lines of work.
The Great Recession is certainly not a desirable event. But it happened, its effect is still with us in many ways, and that fallout will be apparent for a year or two. Maybe the thing to remember this holiday season is not how bad this ordeal has been, but rather how fortunate we are.
One of the greatest feelings in life comes from things you can count on. A car that starts reliably, with a working heater and radio. A house that’s warm and safe. A job with a paycheck that arrives on time. Friends who hang in there. Loved ones who stick by you. Communities that offer help when things go wrong.
By many standards — before, during or after a recession — we live richly in America.
Mark Bennett can be reached at (812) 231-4377 or mark.bennett@tribstar.com
Mark Bennett Opinion
MARK BENNETT: Americans have been experiencing tough times of late, but this country has a lot going for it
- Mark Bennett Opinion
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MARK BENNETT: Stuck in the middle with you
Thank goodness, members of Congress do not drive in the Indianapolis 500.
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Plenty of dads connected with a car ad that first aired on TV two years ago.
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MARK BENNETT: Farmers using no-till and cover crops doing their part to keep soil healthy
Earth Day typically features community cleanups, and discussions of air and water pollution. All deserve the attention.
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MARK BENNETT: Lyrical legacy
Traditions begin, end, revive and evolve.
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MARK BENNETT: GOP campaign fireworks could fizzle for Hoosiers once again
Of all the United States, Indiana deserves to experience Republican-on-Republican presidential attack-ad mania.
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MARK BENNETT: Hard hit: Cash rewards for game-ending hits on NFL players are not a part of the game
The moaning and whining miss the point.
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MARK BENNETT: Vigo County native helping relief agency provide physical, spiritual aid to Japan in wake of last year’s devastation
Help can be harder to receive than give.
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MARK BENNETT: Perception of Wabash River’s water quality doesn’t always match reality
People like chocolate milk. In a glass. Fresh from the fridge.
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MARK BENNETT: Filling a Need: Vigo County YMCA expected to open this spring
Comebacks inspire hope. They also require lots of work.
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MARK BENNETT: Favorable images
Movie critics take a lot of criticism.
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MARK BENNETT: Toxic victories
When the Super Bowl ends tonight in Indianapolis, most of the Giants and Patriots will shake hands, despite their competitive fire, win or lose.
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MARK BENNETT: Indianapolis will be on display for the nation with the Super Bowl coming to town
Someone immersed in a crash diet to make a smashing impression at a class reunion may get the desired effect.
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MARK BENNETT: Patiently waiting for Indiana's primary
While standing in a check-in line at Leonardo da Vinci Airport in Rome a few years ago, I watched an Italian woman walk past dozens of more patient travelers to grab a spot up front.
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MARK BENNETT: Processing postal change
You probably know one of those 10,026.
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MARK BENNETT: Multiple choice question: Voters must choose which direction they want the future of education to go
There was a time when few Hoosiers outside of education circles could name the state superintendent of public instruction.
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MARK BENNETT: With an historic election behind Terre Haute, it’s time to look at the future’s possibilities
Everybody knows their “woulda, coulda, shoulda” moments.
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MARK BENNETT: Economic forecast: Things looking up but don’t expect ‘much of a dent in unemployment’
Outside the Columbia Club, the atmosphere matched the picture of 2012 painted by a panel of economists for an audience of business people gathered inside that ritzy building on Monument Circle in Indianapolis.
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MARK BENNETT: Students who reach for a college education too often are buried under a pile of debt
Right now, millions of college graduates are wondering whether their education was worth the effort.
That doubt hurts the country. -
MARK BENNETT: Tangier’s festival volunteers keep past alive for future
Traditions stay alive only as long as the people who hold them dear.
Small towns have that same life expectancy. -
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The most rational statement about a small furor in the U.S. Senate campaign was uttered by a tea party organizer.
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MARK BENNETT: Daniels goes where a candidate probably won’t in new book
Some things simply won’t get said on the political campaign trail.
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MARK BENNETT: Time waits for no Manning
Sad, disappointed and uncertain. Colts fans feel all of those.
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MARK BENNETT: Value of every minute deeply realized on 9/11 (related VIDEO)
Editor’s Note
This summer, the Tribune-Star’s Mark Bennett visited New York City, Washington, D.C., and Shanksville, Pa., sites where the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, are now memorialized. He observed the cityscapes and landscapes forever changed by the events of that day and talked with people he encountered there, many of whom witnessed the attacks and their aftermath from close range and had personal ties to its victims. -
MARK BENNETT: As school begins, carve out daily time
By now, most back-to-school checklists are tattered and creased.
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MARK BENNETT: Movie scene shows Terre Haute accepting Debs' role in its history
You stay classy, Terre Haute.
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MARK BENNETT: Community outpouring represents collective sympathy for fallen officer
Every Terre Haute resident has probably been asked the same question.
“Why do you live there?” -
MARK BENNETT: Declaration of cursive’s death reminiscent of ’70s metric-conversion mania
When the state of Indiana announced it would no longer require schools to teach cursive handwriting, I was LOL.
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MARK BENNETT: On Fourth of July, remember, too, those we depend on
A spatula in one hand, a cool beverage in the other, and a stash of bottle rockets in a plastic sack in the garage.
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MARK BENNETT: Get out and see what the Valley has to offer
Maybe you drive the same route to work every day. Shortest route. Saves time and a few dimes worth of gas.
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MARK BENNETT: Walking the fine bipartisan line
Lugar’s occasional departures from hard-line conservatism have put his six-term Senate position in jeopardy.
- More Mark Bennett Opinion Headlines
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MARK BENNETT: Stuck in the middle with you
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