Living the Economic Divide

By Rachel Leingang
Staff Writer

The story of America is often told by the gamechangers: the elite, the rich, the famous, the leaders. But the truth about America lies in the experiences of the average woman, in the struggles and stresses of everyday life that plague the nation.

Upper-income families’ income increased from $95,737 a year in 1970 to $164,104 in 2001—a 72 percent increase.

Yet the wishes of the paycheck-to-paycheck families of the U.S. remain simple: decent housing, food on the table, peace of mind.

People like Julie Rivenes, a 34-year-old mother of two from Fargo, N.D., work hard daily to barely scrape by. Rivenes works as an optician while going to school part time at Minnesota State University Moorhead, as well as heading a household.

“I wake up at 6 a.m. to get my kids ready and off to school,” said Rivenes. “I usually get to work by 9, then leave for part of the day to go to classes. Depending on the night of the week, we may have church school or other activities. Then it’s home by 7:30, supper, homework, showers. The kids go to bed by 9:30, then I start my homework. I usually finish by midnight. Wake up the next day and do it again.”

Most people aren’t strangers to busy days, but working hard and still not getting by is another issue entirely. A recent National Public Radio report stated that 30 percent of Americans have trouble making ends meet.

After the birth of her second child, Rivenes began having grand mal seizures. The seizures affected her family emotionally and financially in significant ways. They continue to pay substantial medical bills today. “I would love to go to school full time so I could finish my degree faster, but the school insurance doesn’t cover my medications,” said Rivenes. “I need my job now for the medical insurance.”

Like Rivenes, Heidi Morlock, a mother of three from Eureka, S.D., works extra hard to try to make ends meet. She is the editor of the local newspaper, sells Mary Kay and Avon, and serves at a nearby restaurant. Her husband works full-time in construction and manages the family farm.
Eureka is a town of 1,100 with few job opportunities and low incomes. It faces many of the problems common in rural America: lack of economic development, low wages, fewer options.

Despite having multiple jobs, the Morlock family frequently has trouble getting by.

“In 2008, when we filed for our taxes, our combined income fell below the poverty line,” said Morlock.

While Morlock worked on laying out the next week’s newspaper, some of her Mary Kay and Avon customers dropped off orders. Her daughter stopped by to pick up some cakes that Morlock had baked for the school carnival. People came in to drop off ads to place in the paper.
Juggling multiple obligations is common, especially for those working hard to make ends meet.

Christine La Coursiere, a 38-year-old mother of two, attends Minnesota State University Moorhead for about 10 credits a semester. She also volunteers as a board member for Centro Cultural (a Latino community organization), planned the Unity Conference (a forum for discussion on Latina issues), dogsits and sells Avon.

“I had a full-time job until 2005 with full benefits, but I lost that job,” said La Coursiere. “Now I basically live off student loans. I’m able to receive housing and food support through the government. But if I had a full-time job, I’d lose those benefits. And I refuse to take a job that will not benefit my family.”

Families like La Coursiere’s are often creative about their frugality. “The other day, my two boys and I went to a movie, I got a coffee, we ate out and had ice cream, all for under $25,” said La Coursiere. “I’m a master at making my money stretch.”

With so many obligations, laundry and chores can often take a backseat. La Coursiere said she usually gets the laundry done in the morning, but that doesn’t always mean it gets put away. “My apartment is not pretty. Only people I know very well are allowed to visit.”

Rivenes, the optician, lives in a four-plex with her husband and daughters. “It’s smaller than a normal apartment,” said Rivenes. “The kids are usually bouncing off the walls.”

Rivenes is going to college for social work and gerontology and hopes to work in hospice when she finishes her degree. A job in hospice would mean a better income, and also a measure of peace of mind.

“I can use my degree and I’d get paid more,” said Rivenes. “I volunteer there now, and it just calms me. It’s my real passion. And hopefully with that pay increase, I can own a house one day. I really just want a house with a basement for kids to be able to move around in.”

La Coursiere will also be graduating soon with a degree in English and Spanish, and a minor in American multicultural studies. Her path is less clear than Rivenes’s. “I’m worried about transitioning soon because I’m still not sure what I want to do. I’m thinking about going to graduate school and where to go if I do. Do I take my kids out of their community for a school? And I’m not sure what to go to school for, either. Maybe leadership, planning, educating…I’ve thought about being a professor or a lawyer.”

While families like La Coursiere’s, Rivenes’s, and Morlock’s struggle to make ends meet, wealthy America continues to make more money. According to U.S. Census studies, the gap between the rich and poor continues to widen. In turn, prices are driven up by the wealthy, who have increasingly more disposable income.

As Femolution has previously reported, women are more likely to bear the brunt of this gap. While these women are examples of rising above the numbers, working hard and finding solutions for themselves and their families, the truth is that the economic divide widens with each passing year. There shouldn’t be such a constant struggle to make ends meet. However, the trials of being a strong woman who works hard to support herself and her family lead to experiences that build character.

As La Coursiere is quick to note, she wouldn’t change a thing about the path she’s taken. “I always thought ‘no kids before college,’ but my experiences are unique and have made me a better student. I’ve lived a lot of life. All of my experiences, good and bad, have made me who I am.”

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