Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe MIDDLE CLASS CAN'T AFFORD MIDDLE CLASS Good schools and easy credit are the reasons many middle class families can no longer afford to be middle class, reports the New York Daily News. Advertisement According to the book, "The Two-Income Trap: Why Middle-Class Mothers & Fathers Are Going Broke," in just one generation the price of a decent home, health insurance and schooling has outstripped the average paycheck. A family with two earners today ends up with less discretionary income than a family with one earner back in the 1970s, even though food, clothing and appliance costs have all dropped, the book says. The authors say the search for good schools in pricier neighborhoods has taken a bigger chuck of pay while families turn to easy credit to help pay bills -- and end up paying $7 billion in yearly late fees. SINGLE FIRES BIGGEST NATURAL DISASTER While hurricanes, tornadoes and floods get the most headlines, the American Red Cross says individual house fires top the list of U.S. natural disasters. The destruction of the Southern California wildfires, Hurricane Isabel and the Midwest tornadoes forced thousands of families from their homes, however, the number pales in comparison to single house fires. Advertisement Red Cross chapters respond locally to more than 72,000 community disasters, most of which were house fires. These fires accounted for about 93 percent of all Red Cross disaster responses in 2003 so far. FOREIGN-BORN POPULATION CLIMBS The foreign-born population jumped from 20 million in 1990 to 31 million in 2000 and all regions of the United States experienced increases in immigrants. The foreign-born population grew by nearly 90 percent in the South, 65 percent in the Midwest, 50 percent in the West and nearly 40 percent in the Northeast. In 2000, more than half of the nation's foreign-born population lived in three states: California, New York and Texas, the U.S. Census says. More than 70 percent of the people in Hialeah, Fla., and about 6-in-10 in Miami, are foreign-born, while the California cities of Glendale, Santa Ana, Daly City and El Monte all have about 50 percent foreign-born residents. PAIN MAY INDICATE DEPRESSION For people who suffer from chronic aches and pains -- it may be the body's way of indicating depression. A non-profit patient advocacy group's goal is to target 1 million of Americans to seek treatment for depression, because while some may not seek treatment for mood and sadness, they will seek help to alleviate physical pain. Advertisement Psychiatrists and pain specialists say pain frequently is a symptom of depression and often the primary symptom that patients express to their doctors. Depression can elevate the pain signal in the emotional center of the brain, but medication can restore this balance and reduce the suffering of pain and depression.
