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I – (that’s me, Nina Robinson) have asked two very knowledgable people to give their assessment of Barack Obama, 100 days into his presidency.
Joe Maggioncalde has worked at GM in Detroit nearly all his working life. He’s been a regular contributor to Your Story - see some of his work here.
Joe writes …
This is one of those “milestones” the media uses to kill time and trees.
But what really has been accomplished?
Here in Detroit, the situation continues to decay quickly and daily.
Now GM has basically closed the doors till mid-July.
Here in Detroit we’ve seen nothing. Nothing. If Obama can somehow stimulate the rest of the country to the point where they feel capable of buying cars, then they’ll probably build a statue of him, chisel down his nose and wash him with a hose.
Although we sang his name
we all went hungry just the same
Read Joe’s full post on his blog.
Cynthia Harrison’s husband Al, works at Chrysler in Detroit. Here’s her assessment, 100 days in.
Cynthia and husband, Al
Cynthia writes ..
We certainly got change, just not the sort we expected.
As a part-time college teacher, I expected to be working less after 20 years on the job, not more. But like many wives of auto workers, I have added hours where I can, to make up for the smaller paychecks my husband Al now receives.
Our factories no longer bustle with activity, and our dealerships are deserted, but our auto plants are open most days. Al, who has been an employee at Dodge Truck for 35 years, has worked 30 of the last 100 days. He’s been laid off a good part of Obama’s presidency, but he still believes the right man won the office.
“Obama’s personal involvement has helped Chrysler stay viable as a company so far,” Al says. “If McCain had won, he would have let us hit the wall.”
So while times are tough, they could be worse. It’s almost certain that they will become worse. But we have Obama to thank for the reprieve, and if we can trust him to guide us through this streamlining of the auto industry, we can trust him to stay behind us if and when the bankruptcies begin.
Every week, as new waves of lay-offs occur, we wives of auto workers hold our collective breath. In my book group, there are three auto wives. One has already seen her husband forced into early retirement.
Obama seems to be everywhere at once. He’s in Europe and Mexico and in the Oval Office, but he is also in Detroit, working with our governor and with the auto companies. He cares about us, and we know it. And that is some comfort in these distressing times.
How do you think Obama is doing 100 days in? Add your comments below.
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here are some important personal stories to tell about the current economic times all over the world.
Some of those stories are being told in Michigan though citizen journalists Cynthia Harrison – this is her blog, and also Joe Maggioncalda.
They have helped contribute to a report which will be broadcast this weekend on the BBC World Service. Be the first to listen to this by clicking on the BBC Your Story homepage.
Andrea Fouks from Portland in Oregon has also contacted the BBC with her story from the point of view of someone who has lost her job but is trying to see things from her employer’s perspective and who is looking to become a boss in the future. This is what she writes ..
I was laid off 2 months ago by a boss who also owns the company (a firm of about 15 people total). It was very clear that his decision was a difficult one to make (I ended up telling him “everything will be OK”). I liked my boss quite well and loved my job, and I do not blame him for the company’s lack of projects coming in. However, I think his position as the owner AND the one who runs the show is different than just one who runs the show. He cannot help but place his financial interests first as it is not just his salary at stake. I think many things could have been done in more of a team spirit to defer or delay lay-offs, such as all employees taking a cut in pay or reduced schedules, but that was not the approach taken. For this type of lack of “we’re all in this together” perspective, I do blame bosses.
On the up side, I am taking this time to become my own boss and start a business myself, and I think many people are taking this path as they find themselves without jobs.
Are you a boss? Do you have to tell people that they’re out of a job? How do you feel about this? How do you feel if you’ve recently lost your job? It would be good to talk to some of you about this.
I have been trying to find someone to work with from Southern Sudan as it is not always easy for us as a news organisation to get on the ground reportage and personal, local stories from there. The idea was first raised by the editor of Outlook - Gavin Poncia.
A great woman called Eman has been helping me out and she says that she will be forwarding me some more names of people who might be able to help. We’ve found out it’s not safe to give a recorder to someone living in a camp – there are also some bureaucratic hurdles to be overcome before recording can be done in some places.
My colleague, David Whitty just got back from Southern Sudan- see all his photos on flickr
His advice was that Juba might be the best place to find someone who is an English speaker with access to a good internet connection and with local links to the area.
Then I had a quick look on twitter. You can follow Your Story’s twitter updates here. I found a guy known as one of the “Lost Boys of Sudan” – he has quite a story of his own – read more about him here – and he has been studying in the US but who wants to return to his home country to help with giving medical treatment. I’ve emailed him to see if he is planning a trip there anytime soon and if he might want to do a Your Story citizen journalist report.
I also have been in contact with my Chicago high school students so hopefully I will get some audio from them this week.
Also been in contact with the very popular Afghan blogger, AfghanLORD.blogspot - who has been posting about Your Story on his blog, see the entry here.
He forwarded me a contact from someone who has recorded a harrowing interview with a woman who suffered domestic violence. I have seen some of the photos – which I still need to make some extra checks on so have to hold off on posting here yet.
If you would like to spread the word about Your Story on your blog, I am looking to expand my links into the blogosphere. If you can help, please let me know by posting here.
Now back in London I would just like to extend a huge thanks to all those citizen journalists, guests and friends who helped to make the radio and online material work so well over inauguration, in Detroit and Chicago.
I look forward to hearing from you all again and working with you on stories in the future. So please do keep in touch.
I have been looking into whether Detroit’s music scene is helped by the struggles that it is currently facing. Do the problems in the local economy actually help creativity? Does it focus the mind? Does it fuel an ambition and drive that may not exist somewhere else – where there exists plenty and where there are no worries? Is torture and struggle in an artist necessary for success?
My guides to help answer these questions are the newly wed Augie and Korin who belong to the band The Hard Lessons. Pictured here, in front of their tour minivan which they have travelled many miles in, to perform in over 500 shows.
They have one song called “Made to Last” – an excerpt of which is below. It is looking into this idea that maybe things are not built to last – in Detroit this is certainly the case, we visited half demolished baseball stadiums, boarded up houses and a disused train station.
See the photos on flickr here.
Music is often a product of its surroundings, that does not mean that Detroit’s music is all sad and melancholic and depressing. If you are surrounded by anxiety and cold and darkness, then feelings of happiness and light are all the more poignant and perhaps this can be felt with greater intensity.
I’m just putting together the feature on this now which will be broadcast on BBC World Service next week.
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