Lithonia Plant in Cochran (Georgia) To Close, 440 To Be Laid Off

Factory closings are always tough, but they are particularly devastating whenever they hit smaller communities. Here is a local Georgia television station with the story:

A lighting plant that's been a fixture in the Cochran community for nearly 40 years is set to close its doors by the fall.

The Lithonia Lighting plant in Cochran will close within six months, putting more than 440 people out of work.

Workers at the plant swing by the gas station on Dykes Street everyday.

It's just across the street from the lighting plant, and its owner, Baliram Raveleker, says the employees keep him busy.

"I'm scared if they're closing because it'll hurt my business," he says.

But here is the real kicker to this story:

Cochran Mayor, Willie Basley says it's a move that will hit Cochran hard.

"Lithonia is our biggest employer, and there's a lot of people that are going to be affected by the closure of this company," he says.

Basley says he may have to cut down on city government because the water, sewage, and gas that they provided the company was a major part of the city budget.

But for now, he's holding out hope that they keep the lights on.

"We just prayin' to God that within this six month period things will change."

Cochran native, Emma Harris, says Lithonia keeps the city going.

"A lot of people dependent on that place for jobs and what are they gonna do? It's really gonna have a big affect on the community," she says.

What are they going to do, indeed? That is a question that is going to be asked more and more in cities and towns all over the country as the ongoing collapse of our economy continues.


Bonus: "Where do you think you're going? I think that you don't know. Where do you think you're going? There really is no place you can go."

Georgia College Students: "Without Food Stamps We Wouldn't Be Able to Eat"

Pardon me for being so crude, but I simply cannot think of another way to express my feelings here other than to ask the question: how many more ways can we fuck over our young adults in this country? We brainwash the poor kinds into thinking that the MUST have a college education in order to succeed in this society (even as that becomes more of a cruel lie with every passing year), send them to institutions of alleged higher learning which charge them exorbitant fees and then saddle them with massive amounts if student loan debt. And then, when some of them have the audacity to try to help support themselves by applying for food stamps, we cut off that meager support because its "too expensive." Here is a local Georgia television station with the story:

Georgia's college students are facing the prospect of the HOPE Scholarship paying less and less toward their tuition in the next few years.

So how are they dealing with rising tuition and fees?

Many are working whatever part-time jobs they can rustle up, mornings, nights and weekends. But they're also tapping into an unconventional form of student financial aid: food stamps.

The "Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program" is providing college students who qualify with $200 a month toward their groceries, making them part of the 20 percent of Georgia's population currently receiving the benefit.

Here are two students' appalling stories:

"With the budget cuts, students are definitely going to have to think of different ways to get money and finances for things such as groceries," said Danielle Ford, a GSU Junior. "So food stamps will definitely be a big help, absolutely. Without food stamps, they wouldn't be able to eat."

Taylor is a full-time student with a part-time job.

"As a full-time student, my bill usually comes up to about almost $5,000 a semester. That's tuition alone," he said.

On top of that are his books and fees and his rent for an off-campus apartment, which is $600 a month.

One of the reasons he moved out of a campus dorm, Taylor said, is that GSU was requiring him to pay, in addition to his room cost, about $1,700 a semester for the university's meal plan.

Now, living off-campus and buying his own groceries, he understands why students are tapping into the SNAP program.

"I mean, I think it helps," said Taylor, "because these are students that I know that [like me] are working, like, jobs! And they're really tight on money. These are people who actually really, really need it, and they tell me it's a big help."

Alas:

Last year, Michigan cut 30,000 students from its food stamp rolls by tightening up the requirements for approval, in order to save $75 million a year.

Sadly, these kids don't know it but they are learning some hard lessons about the new realities in modern day America. They'd be much better off dropping out of school and joining the Occupy movement than driving themselves ever deeper into debt chasing an American Dream than has long since turned into an epic nightmare.


Bonus: "Here are the young men, the weight on their shoulders...here are the young men, where have they been? We knocked on the doors of hell's darkest chamber...pushed to the limits, we dragged ourselves in"