The Average American

The Average American

Rose Gibson is a single working mother from Michigan. She had been with the same company for over 8 years, making barely enough to survive on, paying the rent, electric, gas and trying to keep food on the table. For Rose, in the past few years, a car become a luxury item, a dream that maybe she'll have again someday. The telephone and cable tv have been occasional visitors to her home, as well, but in the past 2 years, she says they've been more off than on.

"I took on a second, and then a third job" she says, shaking her head, "and because of that my kids spend a lot of time taking care of themselves. What do you do?" She asks with tears in her eyes "You have to do what you can to survive, but I never dreamed things would be so hard. When my children were small I was a stay at home mom, always here to help them get through. Now that I'm always working, and they are all teenagers, I am really worried about the impact on them." She brushes a tear off her cheek, and says "Besides I really miss them." "You work 3 jobs, there's no more time in the day. What more can you do? I still can't keep up, just with rent and utilities and buying food, the little things, the things you have to have."

"I gave up the car, because I couldn't afford the insurance. I made the mistake of trying to drive without it, and of course I got pulled over. The fines and fees with Michigan Driver's Responsibility laws mean 2 years later I'm still trying to pay for that mistake."