Jill Quackenbush

Jill Quackenbush is a 54-year-old mother of four in Greenfield, Indiana.  As a self-described “young retiree” living off of her UAW pension, Jill is worried that she is watching the American Dream slip away from future generations.

Many might say that Jill is the American story.  After watching her mother go to work at General Motors after World War II, Jill finished high school and began work at the local GM Plant.  She was paid a union wage with benefits, and knew that in her retirement, her 30 years of service would provide the income and healthcare that she needed to live out her days.  She raised a family of four as a single mother and the paycheck that she brought home was always enough to meet her family's basic needs, even in lean times.

Jill is an American success indeed, but as a resident of a town that once relied on heavy manufacturing from the Auto industry, Jill is worried for her children and her community as she watches the jobs shipped overseas and opportunity lessen for the younger generation. “My mother raised our family on her GM salary and I was able to take care of my four kids with the same paycheck” says Jill.  “But we seem to be getting less with every check and my daughter isn’t able to find a job that pays a decent wage.  She is willing and wants to work, but the opportunity just isn’t here.”

Jill says that she is watching the great community that she grew up in slip away right before her eyes.  She has watched the Auto plants that were once its livelihood close and her sister was recently laid off from the Delphi plant in town after 24 years of service.  “This wasn’t the way it was supposed to happen,” Jill states.  “Work hard, be responsible, and you are supposed to make enough to heat the house and give your children a future.” 

It is not only Jill and her family who are seeing the effects of the economy in Indiana. Jill has watched most of her friends and family suffer the same difficulties and have to make the same hard decisions.  “I have health insurance from my GM retirement, but I am one of the lucky ones.”  Jill knows that the food pantries are empty and the churches are running out of resources.  She wonders how people will afford doctors visits, and heating bills in the winter.

Jill says that in the 54 years of her life, she has seen difficulty, but has never seen things this bad for working people.  “I have never seen it so hard for working folks to just pay the rent and get the basics.  I’m not asking for anything fancy, just food, clothing, shelter and decent education opportunities,” reflects Jill.  “These past 8 years have made just getting by almost impossible and I don’t think that the country could survive another 4.  I just don’t know if we will ever be able to recover from that.”

With everything that she has seen, Jill is still hopeful.  She is involved in her community and is letting people know what she thinks they need to do to make things better.  “I always tell people to vote their livelihood,” says Jill,  “I tell them to get involved because our kids deserve to have the same opportunities that we had.  They deserve even more.”