Appalachian

Domestic violence in the Appalachian regions is a seemingly perpetual problem. Most of the struggles involve stem from a single common denominator in the region: poverty.

Stresses from money and the lack thereof have cause more problems for Appalachian residents than anything else. The tragic circumstances of an entire region impoverished carries consequences no one wants to see.

Companies that charging residents for goods and services want as much money as those living in large areas, even with the knowledge that there is no real employment available. This makes it twice as horrible because the problem is known, it is clearly visible, and no one cares.

The idea of budgeting is laughable in most areas due to the lack of money to begin with. Many offer credit counseling and other options for those having financial struggles, but fail to recognize that it isn’t often entirely the individual’s fault.

For most families, this struggle involves no luxury or irresponsibility whatsoever. There is no “splurging” on a designer skirt as a reason for late rent. It’s a trip to the doctor’s office or a car that broke down. The electric bill is late, not due to a wonderfully expensive dinner, but due to an unforeseen illness preventing the person to work.

Appalachian residents must maintain transportation. That is fact. There is no public transportation and the nearest grocery store is often, at least, half an hour away by car. The nearest gas station may be as far as ten miles away. If you have a car, you also have fuel and maintenance to consider. Many Appalachian states also require annual inspections and automobile insurance.

With such financially strained areas, you would think car payments would be economic for residents. Sadly, that is a complete misconception. Car payments commonly run 200.00-300.00 per month. This doesn’t count insurance or any other need arising from use.

The Credit System in America is little more than enforcing a caste system based upon economics instead of birth. This is a visible problem in the Appalachian regions. The credit system ensures that no middle or low class households can have the same advantages as the upper classes of America.

It is odd that the credit system’s lack of merit is no more questioned. In America, a late car payment can be far more devastating to your future than a criminal conviction. You can be convicted of grand larceny, but still have perfect credit.

Since employers and potential landlords have began utilizing the credit system when it comes to hiring or renting, it ensures the “riff-raff,” will not bother them. Instead of hiring people who genuinely need the work, they can rely on those who’ve always had a financially stable life.

Financial issues you may have at eighteen or nineteen can cost you for up to a decade to come. What are higher interest rates if not financial punishment? Knowing how important credit ratings are in today’s world, our schools teach little of it. High school students often have no knowledge of credit reports or scores.

To make matters worse, it seems any seedy creditor’s office anywhere in the United States can make a poor report on your record. Today, it doesn’t have to be true. It can be on your record and you have no knowledge of it. There are criminal punishments for identity theft, but none for lazy collection agencies who make false reports because they haven’t done proper research on their cases. Both cost you equally.

Domestic violence is one of the chief products of poverty. It is a brutal and vicious cycle for a family to endure. The odds of domestic violence occurring in a household multiply when severe poverty enters the picture.

Senior citizens are equally impoverished in our areas. Many commonly go without food so they can purchase their medicine. Many residents are never able to get their medication. This increases the death rate and severity of illness that might otherwise be far less incapacitating.

In our areas, the insurances we do have are seldom effective. Citizens must deal with premiums and ridiculous co-payments even if they have insurance. Many working families who have insurance are unable to get the medical attention they need due to these co-payments. For a regular physician’s office visit, co-payments are commonly $30. That doesn’t seem particularly negative until you factor in medication which many co-payments are $30, as well. By the time you figure in gas and time, it’s much like being uninsured.

Many of these problems exist all over America. However, they occur far too often in our rural areas. We don’t have the population to justify such large numbers of the impoverished and the uninsured.