Sep 30, 2008 7:58 am US/Eastern
Heart Of Crisis: Local Families Drowning In Strife
CBS 2 HD Talks To Families Struggling To Stay Afloat Under Pressures Of Economic Meltdown
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Ana Perez of Massapequa speaks to CBS 2. The economic situation has become dire for Ana and her family.
CBS
With Congress yet to pass a bailout plan and the Dow Jones sinking, there are plenty of reasons to be concerned about the economy, but what's worrying you the most about the current financial crisis.
In the heart of New York City's Time Square, people are concerned about the market meltdown and how it is subsequently going to affect the economy of the Big Apple.
Scary is the word both Jeff and Judy Marshall of Clifton, New Jersey use to describe the finances of their family. They worry each morning because nowadays they just can't make ends meet. Judy's a switchboard operator and Jeff's a Manhattan doorman. Together, they bring in $4,000 a month, but that's just not enough to pay the bills:
"Reaching the end of the month knowing that the mortgage is due, car payments are due, PSE&G payments are due, everything is due and what's coming in? Nothing. It's really tough," said Jeff Marshall.
Ana Perez of Massapequa is in the same boat. She lost her job at a bank a year ago and even though her husband is working, it's just not enough to cover the mortgage and the home equity loan used for their children's college fund:
"His salary and my unemployment is not enough. It's like maybe half what the bills are," said Perez.
CBS 2's Magee Hickey asked commuters in Times Square what their biggest concerns about the economy are:
"Well, obviously the foreclosures are going to impact apartments and businesses in Manhattan. Some people could end up homeless. The fallout is that things are going to go under," said concerned resident Dmitri Lelchuk.
The mushrooming Wall Street crisis could cost the state of New York $3.5 billion in tax revenues over the next 18 months.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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