If you were poor or low income

sitting on the edge of the bottom quintile, hoping to move up a notch, which would you prefer:

1. a job in an Ohio coal mine in Appalachia at $25/hour, or a job at an interstate McDonald's at $8/hour serving the people from Columbus and Cleveland who come down to see the fall colors in Appalachia


2. the opportunity to shop at a Walmart on the outskirts of your community once a week, or driving 60 miles after filling the tank for the round trip to a Walmart 2 counties away to shop once a month


3. living in your humble 2 bedroom home which grandpa bought in a not so great neighborhood near your friends and church, or being pushed into a balloon mortgage out in the suburbs by developers who bought the land with the help of city council rezoning to "revitalize" the down town


4. being denied access to military recruiters who might make promises and come through on 50% of them, or hang out on the street corners with your friends and do a few drugs


5. a job that has potential but no guarantees, or the security of a steady income stream from WIC, low income housing support, food stamps and SCHIP


6. a used automobile that's not very fuel efficient or bus transportation that might get you within 2 miles of shopping and the doctor's office


7. a used automobile that's not very fuel efficient or a fancy 10 speed bike and snappy lycra shorts with matching helmet

Don't answer based on your income or education in 2008, answer truthfully what you would do if your income was $20,000 a year. Think local, not global, as the tree huggers would say. You can't create another scenario. This is my fantasy, not yours.