Эллин Маклафлин работает в доме престарелых и владеет небольшой фермой, на которой она производит продукты для собственного употребления.
В сельских районах западно-центрального Иллинойса, вдоль реки Миссисипи, расположено множество небольших ферм. Их владельцы кормятся тем, что производят на земле сами, а недостающее покупают в дешевых магазинах.
Наша собеседница Эллин Маклафлин пришла в магазин со своими внуками.
“Мы разводим коз, – говорит она. – Некоторых мы продаем, других используем в пищу”.
Весной и летом они выращивают в саду овощи, но в зимнее время покупают продукты.
Маклафлин работает в доме престарелых, а дома на ее попечении находятся трое внуков. Здравоохранение – очень важный для нее вопрос. Она была рада, что президент Обама уделил ему большое внимание, но не удовлетворена результатом.
“Обама попытался приложить к этому максимум усилий, но он не сделал всего, что мог”, – считает она.
В Законе о доступном здравоохранении ей не нравятся высокие ежемесячные взносы – 400 долларов и то, что она не может лечиться у врача, который наблюдал ее в течение многих лет и хорошо знает ее историю болезни.
Большинство жителей округа Хендерсон, которые голосовали за Барака Обаму, на последних выборах отдали голоса за Дональда Трампа. Маклафлин – одна из тех, кто поверил, что он решит многие проблемы в стране.
In Henderson County, home of Oquawka, the majority of voters who had backed Barrack Obama, chose Donald Trump for president last November. Elleen McLaughlin is among those who looked to him to fix the Illinois country’s problems.
“I think our country is in a state of disrepair because we have not had the politicians that we needed,” she said.
As a wealthy man, she said, Trump was not controlled by political groups and corporations that funded other campaigns.
“He didn’t have to answer to anybody,” she said. “He did not have to lie to the country because he did not have anybody behind him saying ‘You need to tell them this if you want my support,’ ” she said. “I think we need someone like this who is strong-willed and wants to get the country back where it needs to be.”
While many women, even Republican women, around the country supported former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for president, McLaughlin cited her gender as a reason not to support her.
“I don’t think that this country, right now, is ready for a female president,” she said. “A lot of the other countries do not look at a female as a high-powered individual and I think, ultimately, that would have been a problem for us, we would have been in a war and probably would have lost a great deal.”
Another issue that concerns her is immigration. There are few immigrants in these rural areas, but McLaughlin claims she has seen illegal activity involving immigrants in larger towns nearby where plants offer low-wage employment.
“A lot of them don’t pay taxes,” she said. “They get the money, they send it home. I think they should be held accountable, too. If we work and pay taxes, they should, too.”
Although some immigrants work for cash and may not pay taxes, most of the immigrant workers at plants have to present a Social Security number and federal and state taxes are automatically deducted from their salaries.
Immigrant advocates say many undocumented workers never file income tax returns and therefore never claim the portion of their withheld wages they are owed. But the notion that they do not pay taxes is widely held in these areas.
SPEAKINg english is a must
McLaughlin is also bothered by another aspect of immigration that is often mentioned in these parts — that many adult immigrants cannot speak English.
“I don’t have a problem with them being here,” she said, “but when they can’t speak English and they have to rely on a 6-year-old child to translate for them, there is a problem.”
When it’s pointed out that older people often struggle to learn a new language, McLaughlin agrees, but she suggests schools should then set up programs to teach English to immigrants. But she can’t explain how that would be funded since, as she put it, “the state of Illinois is broke” and Trump wants to cut federal spending.
Still, she said she has confidence in the new president and thinks people should give him a chance to take on these problems.