Economy Hits Home For Chicago Mom

She Doesn't Need A Government Report To Know Prices Are Inflating

(CBS)  Working as a community counselor on Chicago's west side, Theresa Welsh-Davis knew she'd never get rich. But she thought she made enough to get by, CBS News correspondent Cynthia Bowers reports.

Now she's not so sure.

"I bet you didn't need a government report to tell you we're dealing with inflation," Bowers asked.

"No, I live it every day," Welsh-Davis said. "Every day when I come in and I pick up the bills of I go to the store."

She's seen milk has gone up 29 percent in the last year, eggs are up 36 percent. Meanwhile, her paycheck's stayed the same.

"It used to could take $150 to $175 for a month to feed us, it's now only carrying us two weeks," she said.

With gas up 30 percent, just getting to work is a struggle.

"It used to take $25 to fill a car up. It's now taking you almost $50 a week to fill your car up," Welsh-Davis said.

And there's no let up in sight, the bills keep coming - and that keeps her up at night.

"Every time I write a check, I think God for that one day that I have enough to pay this bill," she said. "But then the phone rings and it's a bill collector saying, well, you didn't pay thit bill."

She says she spending a thousand more a month than she's making. For now she's picking which ones to pay, but knows - one day soon, she may be forced to do the unimaginable: Sell the home she worked so hard to buy.

"It's gonna hurt, the day that I have to close those doors and walk away from the house," she said.

Another potential victim of the troubled economy.

[ralphj53]

January 16, 2008
Hello;
When I drive on the freeway, I see a LOT of cars pass me by... like they were in a hurry to go somewhere. And all of us KNOW that ACCELERATING on the gas pedal... WILL BURN more gasoline, a PRECIOUS commodity we ALL don''t have.
So, are you surprised GASOLINE is expensive? When the demand for gas is up... and the supply barely keeps up... what do you have?

As AMERICANS, I''ve always felt that during the last THIRTY-FIVE years... we have been very WASTEFUL with our RESOURCES. " Live, laugh, and be merry and WASTEFUL.. for tomorrow we die."

That seems to sum up our ATTITUTES over the years. And sooner or later, we will PAY the PIPER. That "sooner" is already HERE.

I''m surprised that President BUSH hasn''t asked the AMERICAN people to ECONOMIZE, and PULL GACK on the USE of our MEAGER resources. I remember President NIXON in 1974, asking us to LOWER our room TEMPERATURE to 68 degrees, to conserve ENERGY.

What happened to those days?

Just a thought.

rjm

[krenz4]

and we have company after company sending jobs overseas, so that that can rake in more $$ for themselves. Move to India or mexico and you can get a job.

[katychicago]

This is a story which repeats itself everyday, in higher and higher numbers. Doesn''t anyone recognize how bad our situation is here in the United States? If you doubt it, start doing some research - check out the BBC news and then look at the economy in China, Japan, India - folks we are no longer number one - and no, those jobs aren''t coming back to America, and yes, it''s true that almost half our high school students can only read at a fourth grade level. Here''s to all the children who have to grow up with the problems we''ve given them. Please consider these things when making a choice for president. This might be the most important election of our time. katy