My Economy: How a single mom makes ends meet
Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have both talked about jobs and wages on the campaign trail. Americans have made it clear that seeing their paychecks go up is critical.
Lydia Flores is one of those people who would like to see a pay increase. Flores lives in Lancaster, California, and travels two hours to work at a grocery store in Arleta. She’s a single mom supporting two sons, one who is severely autistic, on $24,000 a year.
“I have to pay mortgage, you know, and all the extra bills that I have to pay, the light, the gas, the water, you know, the trash, the cable bill. You can’t even imagine how I make it,” Flores said.
One of Flores’ biggest struggle is paying the utilities. Tears fill her eyes as she explained, “I have to say I’m sorry to my children when my light is cut off.”
Flores makes $13 an hour. She believes that if she can see her wages increase to $17 an hour, it would make a huge impact.
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