Location, Location, Location

History buffs can tell you that location means everything. The first civilizations were started next to great rivers- each with their own "cradle of civilization." The Mesopotamians had the Tigris/Euphrates, in India the Indus Valley, and the Chinese had Huang He. These civilizations were able to flourish because of their easy access to water. Water allowed the growth of crops, travel, and rebirth at the end of each crop season. The yearly floods ensured constantly rich and fertile soil at the mouth of the river, which formed a triangle where the river flowed into the ocean. It is no wonder that these rivers were often referred to as life lines, and the Greeks named this triangle the "delta", symbolizing change.

But even now, well past the 10000 B.C. mark, we have our own "cradles" and location still matters. We do not need a river in the backyard to procure food, but family assets are a must. Though our society promotes social mobility, the family we are born into can still affect our survival. Many can agree that the location and condition of your childhood home says a lot about your current and future financial stability. While some families have an abundant family bank account (We'll call this the Euphrates.), others do not enjoy the constant flow of riches.

I consider myself lucky. When I applied to college, my parents were poor enough (but not too poor) for me to obtain financial aid. My family was middle class enough to instill the importance of education and hard work to cover the rest of the cost with merit-based scholarships. (And I'm not sure about this, but being a female minority may have helped, too.) After college, I was lucky enough to get a pretty well-paid job as a teacher. Now as a teacher, I get paid about $30,000- which is good, considering I recently graduated from college and some people don't even have the luxury of working at all. But that means that after taxes I only get about $1,000 per 2 weeks (year-round). I recently calculated my finances, and after paying for grad school, rent, car insurance, groceries, gas, traveling, etc., I will only save about $4,000 at the end of the school year. Thankfully, I have no college loans to pay off (for the aforementioned reasons), no payments (my parents helped me pay for the car), and no husband and/or children.

I think, in Biblical terms, I live by a mini river. And now I'm wondering how the people in the deserts are surviving. How are people with families saving up enough money to simply live? How are they able to save money for their own children? What if I got laid off one day? What if I were diagnosed with cancer tomorrow? What if I found myself pregnant and decided to keep the kid? (Don't worry, teaching is excellent birth control.)

But most importantly, what about the people who do not have half the resources I was lucky enough to have? The average college debt on graduation day is well over $20 thousand. The housing market is plunging. Our national debt is now at $3.5 trillion. And gas is now over $4/gal, over double the prices in 2000- "back in the old days when I started driving." The economy (not teaching) makes me feel old. It is like some sick time warp where the prices tell me I should really be at least 40 years old.

Hundreds of homeless people (including families) are now camping in Kapi'olani Park after being forced out of other parks since Kapi'olani has no set closing time. But all we care about is the negative effects on Waikiki's tourism. Their relocation should alert us instead. Something is terribly wrong when hard working people with jobs and frugal spending habit still cannot make ends meet. I don't remember ever seeing my teachers working at a second job to pay the bills. It is not only an embarassment but a warning sign. A rise in credit card debt and college debt should put us up in arms. This is the situation the next generation of kids will live through. If we can't survive, how far can they even go?

(By the way, Kapi'olani Park is right by the water.)


@LOH@