New Feature to Examine How Salinians Are Meeting the Changing American Dream

We're excited to inaugurate a new series for our Patch readers: "Dispatches: The Changing American Dream."

Every day, the national media is full of stories about how American families, businesses and neighbors are adjusting to these trying times. There are so many changes happening so fast that it's dizzying: national debates about unemployment, foreclosures, debt, religion, government and private enterprise all touch on fundamental ways in which we see ourselves and our communities.

At Patch, we want to explore that conversation so we can better understand how our neighbors are adjusting to the challenges and opportunities that surround us.

We don't think there's one American dream, but a multitude of American dreams that each individual works toward. Looking out across nearly almost 900 Patch sites, we see businesses holding their breaths as they decide whether to expand, college graduates returning home because they can't find jobs and senior citizens bringing boarders into their homes to help pay their bills.

We also see bold new volunteer efforts, inspiring stories of local businesses that succeed because they innovated and locals who've taken these trying times as a signal to engage more, not less, in their government.

Nationally, there seems to be no bridge long enough to span the gulf between our political parties' solutions for our challenges. Locally, we're fortunate to see cooperation across party lines and between Saline and its neighbors in ventures such as the Saline Sustainablity Circle.

In Saline Area Schools, we're also fortunate to have one of the best school systems in the state and one of best high schools in the country. But even after closing two elementary schools and laying off teachers and support staff, the district faces a structural deficit, and money will need to be found somewhere, somehow. Revenue-sharing cuts from the state and lower property values have also squeezed the city, which is constantly looking for ways to save money while maintaining services and promoting recreation and culture. 

At the same time, businesses that have survived Michigan's depressed economy are hoping that what didn't kill them made them stronger. 

Perhaps nobody has been hit harder than the Michigan blue-collar worker. Strong middle-class wages, pensions, paid benefits, vacations and overtime are thing of the past for many workers. At the same time, the value of their homes has declined, rising energy costs and food prices eat away at their checks, and the government talks about reducing the social safety nets they've paid into all of their working lives.

And yet, people continue to step up and volunteer in their churches, in Little Leagues and other sports, in the schools, on city boards, for local festivals and more. Put out the call to help make Saline a better place, and many people will answer.

"Dispatches" will be built upon the compelling vignettes and snapshots we unearth across all our Patch sites.

And, of course, we want your help: Tell us what issues and what stories in Saline go to the heart of your American dream.