The new face of destitution

The Providence Journal has a heartbreaking story of a jobless man who plans to sell his automobile rather than pay the state's ad valorem tax on it:

The single 45-year-old ... lost his job when the Cleanscape recycling plant closed its doors in April. He and his nephew pay $1,050 each month for their half of a Sunbury Street duplex.... He also has a cell phone, electric, cable, heat, grocery, car insurance and Internet bills.

His $551-a-week unemployment covers all that, and the new tax bill. But it leaves little for him to indulge his love of dining out.

Since he lost his job, he’s begun to do things more cheaply — bargain movies, not as many pastries from LaSalle Bakery, and getting a less expensive steak on Wednesdays at Texas Roadhouse.

$551 a week is $28,652 a year. The per capita income in the U.S. for 2009, the most recent year available, was $27,041. Blue skies! -- Dan Ford