The issue for seniors is the economy

Carmelo DePrima survived the Great Depression by shining shoes for a nickel a pair on Manhattan streets.
Today he relies on his Social Security check to pay his rent, which recently increased to $1,000. Still, the 92-year-old retired house painter from Sunnyside isn’t feeling sorry for himself.
“I feel sorry for you people,” he said. “I’m glad at least I already have one foot in the grave.”
For senior citizens, money is the top issue when voting. According to a 2008 Pew survey, 42 percent of people 65 years and older believe they are better off than their children, compared to 26 percent who say they are worse off.
At Thomas P. Noonan Jr. Park on Greenpoint Avenue in Sunnyside, the benches are closely spaced - but some of the people sitting on them on recent brisk fall day couldn’t be farther apart when it comes to the presidential election.
DePrima, a Democrat, plans to stay true to his party, even though he doesn’t agree with Senator Barack Obama on many issues.
He predicts the financial crisis will only get worse, no matter who is the next president. In addition, the economy is already taking a toll on his diet. When DePrima is not eating reduced-price meals from the Sunnyside Community Services senior center, he makes soup. “I cut down on cold cuts and Entenmann’s cake,” he said.
Betty Priori, a 92-year-old retired furrier, recalled working after school during the Depression to make ends meet. “Those days, my parents lost their house, like people now,” she said. “My father became a super so we could have the apartment free, and my mother cleaned different homes so we would have clothes and food on the table.”
She said that life is harder today - because people need more money to keep up their standard of living. “My children almost lost their homes,” she said. “My daughter is working two jobs; I expected them to have an easier life.”
Priori said she plans to vote for Senator John McCain, in hopes that Alaska Governor Sarah Palin may one day become President.
Some of the other folks on the benches in Noonan Park said they are shunning party labels - and the campaign buttons favored by many of their grandchildren. Some of the seniors said they have seen too many presidents come and go in their lifetime to believe one person can quickly turn the country around.
Dolores Sofia, 77, said she has seen much change in her community, and does not have great hope things will get better soon. Once a ritzy neighborhood with “doormen by elevators,” she has watched Sunnyside diminish. She said she will vote as always, but this is the first time she finds herself uncomfortable in making a choice.
“Whichever one is the lesser of the evil,” she said.
Enith Arias, who admits only to being 60, said she’s not going to vote because she is unhappy with McCain and Obama. She bemoaned what she called a lack of qualified candidates.
“This is a great country, with smart people [of] great intellectual capacity. No one wants to take responsibility,” the Woodside woman said.
Arias said she’s particularly worried that neither candidate has a good plan to help immigrants weather the financial crisis. “They come here to work, and they work hard. What will happen to them?” she asked.
On the other side of the park, Edwina Byrne, 75, was listening to a political talk show on her portable radio. She is an avid Republican, and believes a McCain presidency will help undo the economic crisis, which she blames on the Democratic Congress.
She also likes McCain, because as a 72-year-old, she’s confident he understands senior citizens’ needs. “And he has a mother who’s like 96, he has 30-plus years of experience, he’s knowledgeable about military affairs, he would know what to do with the war,” she said.
As she tossed breadcrumbs to pigeons, Byrne said, “Look at them, who else is going to feed them? I wonder what they’ll do in winter…”