by Hector Gamboa

We better learn and learn fast. Everyday, our economic situation gets worse.

Unemployment is on the rise. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the four-week average for unemployment claims rose to 372,250, up from a year ago when the four-week average was around 300,000. Remember this doesn’t take into account those that have exhausted their benefits and stopped looking for work.

(Source: Extra News)

OK, things are tough all over, but what does it mean for us in Chicago? Well did you know that Chicago leads the nation in the price of gas? That’s correct; Chicago and Long Island, N.Y. are the highest in the nation, both over $4.19 a gallon for regular and predicted to continue to rise, probably past the $5 per gallon by Labor Day.

To add salt to the injury, the five largest oil companies in 2007 had profits of $103 billion. That’s $2 billion dollars a week. The profit drive of these five free-market driven, patriotic, all-American oil companies is raising the gas prices. It’s not just because of the price of a barrel of crude. A serious, independent, “pro-working people” investigation is needed, and while that investigation is under way, let’s continue talking about the issue that affects us all, the economy.

How can we, Latinos and other low-income residents (two income family making $45,000 a year or below) in Chicago, make a difference? The economy is where you and I work, live and spend our money. First of all, your salary and/or your income level determine where you live. The 2005 study titled “The State of Latino Chicago, This is Home Now” states that 24 percent of Latino families are below the poverty line and spend as much as 59 percent of their income for housing. What is more alarming, however, is that since 2000, income growth has stopped for Latinos; however, the cost of living continues to rise.

What can we do?

(To finish reading "Learning through a Failing Economy," click here.)