Seniors Confirm as Depressing as the Great Depression
A large portion of my CD population consists of senior citizens. As the older, wiser generation, I figured these people, who have experienced the cost of living rise and fall while presidents came and went, may have a more reliable outlook on how we’re faring out.
Are we really going through some rough times? Can it be compared to the Great Depression? I spoke with three elders who went through the Depression and all agreed that life is definitely more difficult today.
92-year-old Betty Priori from Sunnyside is a retired furrier who worked until the age of 73. She was first pushed into the working world during the Depression when her family faced foreclosure.
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She said that life is harder today in that people need more money. “My children almost lost their home, but thank god their mortgage was paid. My daughter is working two jobs, I expected them to have an easier life.”
Annabel, 91, who withheld her last name, recalls her mother taking care of four children. Her father died of the influenza epidemic.
“Whatever she gave us, we ate. Sometimes it would be a box of sardines” for dinner, she said. Annabel added that other times it may be tomato herring, which would be sold as two pieces for a dime, and with those two pieces, her mother would make four sandwiches out of them.
She believes it isn’t any better today financially and continues to accommodate. “I don’t complain, if I can’t afford it, I don’t buy it,” she said. Annabel is worried about her Medicare, and doesn’t believe it should be privatized, as it is hard enough for people to come up with money to pay for insurance, according to her.
During the Depression, Carmelo Deprima earned nickels by shining shoes in Manhattan. He is now dependent on his Social Security check to pay for rent, which increased in the past few months.
Here is Deprima comparing shelter and food needs back then and now:
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In light of the financial situation, when Deprima is not eating reduced-fare meals from the senior center, he makes soup. “My [late] wife used to cook…now I cut down on cold-cuts and Entenmanns’s cake.”
Yet, when referring to the younger generation, he predicts the cost of living will only get worse. “I feel sorry for you people. I’m glad at least I already have one foot in the grave.”
