Westwood Residents Weigh in on Debt Crisis

People around the nation have been glued to televisions to see what will be happening with the current debt crisis.

Congress is expected to vote today, with a bi-partisan agreement that would raise the debt ceiling through 2012 to $14 trillion and bring over $2 trillion in savings over the next decade.

The agreement would save America from a national default, and must be before President Barack Obama by Tuesday evening. If this is not done, Americans could see serious problems arise including a falling market and dollar.

Westwood residents have been watching the fiscal situation very closely. Rita McCormack of Highland Glen Road said that she has been following the crisis, and hopes that it doesn’t mean that she will not be receiving her social security check.  

“That to me is very important,” said McCormack, a long-time Westwood resident.

She added that she started work making $14 per week, and had to give her mother $10 of it. She hopes that her years of hard work will not be ignored. However, she explained that it would probably not affect her voting decision in 2012.

Helen Kontrimus, 80, an off-and-on resident of Westwood since she was 25, agreed with McCormack, and said she has been keeping up with the situation, saying that she both agrees and disagrees with the agreement.

She also said that she received a recorded phone call from last night.

Kontrimus admitted that she has been both a democrat and a republican throughout her life, and that this agreement may lead her to not vote for President Obama in 2012.

“The world really is crazy right now,” Kontrimus pointed out.

Kontrimus spoke of her family who came from Lithuania, working in factories and hot shops in the early days. However, she said that her parents never took aid.

Christine Poulos stuck up for President Obama, saying that people need to stop laying the blame on him and people need to stop feeding into what the media tells them and look into things for themselves. She said that she is frustrated with the current system, as well as the public that it is a part of.

“Most of all, I’m really angry and frustrated,” said Poulos. “Obama has made some mistakes, but he is still human. It won’t affect my vote for Obama.”

Poulos said that she has kept up with the debt crisis and hopes that the agreement will work out for the best.

She said she feels that the right wing is screaming and the left is lying down, however she feels that many people are misinformed and are voting against their own interests.

“People need to take time to search for the real truth,” said Poulos.

Rick Good was optimistic that the agreement would work out for the best for the country. He said that it is something that will need to be revisited throughout the upcoming years, but feels that the country is on the right track. He also said that this situation will not weigh in on his voting decision for 2012.

“I guess I am just glad they seem to have reached an agreement,” said Good.