WHAT DEPRESSION?  ISN'T THIS A RECESSION?  Don't know; I'm not an economist.  A Recession is when there is no growth for three quarters in a row.  A Depression is when real estate, on the average, goes down in value, or banks or major corporations go bankrupt or require a government bailout.  In most countries, but not necessarily the USA,  a Recession lasts one to three years.  A Depression lasts 30+ years, or until there is another World War, whichever comes first.  That's history. 

EMPLOYMENT:    If you are unemployed, be sure that you take advantage of being a low-income person.  You get a discount on your gas and electric bills, so call your utility to sign up.  www.sdge.com.  Have a copy of your gas and electric bills.   You also get telephone service for $5 a month, local unlimited, so read what I write below.  There is also good advice on my web page, at right, called "Salesmen & Job Seekers".  Read it.  It can help.  One source of job information is San Diego 211.  You can visit them online at www.211SanDiego.org.  Or, you can just dial "211" from any phone, and free from any payphone.  All County Libraries will help you type a resume, and give you 5 free copies of your final draft.  See www.sdcl.org.

FOOD:  There are 2 pages dealing with food on web pages at right.  The above "211" website and phone number also deals with food.

HEALTH CARE:  The poor and unemployed in California can sign up for Medi-Cal, which is State Medicare.  Check with County Social Services to see if you qualify.  Visit www.medi-cal.ca.gov, or visit their local office.  This insurance plan covers prescriptions, although it no longer covers eyeglasses, dentistry, and chiropractic.  It did a few months ago, but Medi-Cal is expanding in costs rapidly as more and more people become poor.

TRANSPORTATION:  Your best bet in San Diego is to use public transportation whenever possible.  If you're over age 60, or disabled, or poor enough to qualify for Medi-Cal (above) due to being unemployed, there is a gasoline tax that pays for most of your bus/trolley pass.  Your share is $18 a month, for an SDM (Senior, Disabled, or Medi-Cal) monthly pass.  This enables you to get to your doctor appointments, job interviews, and take advantage of the free meal and free grocery programs, listed on other pages of this website.  Dial "511" from any phone (free from any payphone), or visit www.sd511.com .

Owning a car means car payments, interest on any loan, gasoline and oil, repairs, replacement of vandalized windows, maintenance such as new tires and batteries, parking, storage fees, towing, auto insurance, and DMV fees.  If you want, you can rent a car for the day, occasionally, from a car rental company.

They go for $14 a day and up, and require a bank account (free checking) which gives you a free MasterCard or Visa debit card.  The car rental company takes a security deposit of $200 to $400 (depending upon the rental company), plus the estimated amount of your car rental bill.  Shop around.  Think about renting a car one or two days a month, if you don't own one.

ELECTRONICS:  Phones, cellular, TV, web.  If you own a home computer, you need a telephone line to connect it to the web.  Low-income people (the unemployed have basically no income) get telephone service for $5 a month, unlimited.  Call your phone company (or AT&T) and ask for "Universal Lifeline" telephone service.  Phone 1-800-288-2020.  Web address www.att.com.

Specify the "Unlimited Calling" plan.  You should also specify that you want NO long-distance provider, NO local-toll call provider, NO "900" service, and NO long-distance or local toll by outside carriers by dialing an access code.  All of this is extremely important!

For long distance, local toll, etc., use the Penny Plan, from 99 Cents Only Stores, www.99only.com.   No monthly fee, no connect charges, no hidden charges, and both local toll and long distance for one cent per minute.  Hopefully, your home phone has an automatic dialer feature, which can make this type of long distance service really easy.

You obtain a local phone number to call for all of your long-distance needs.  Dial that number (automatically by dialer) anytime you want to place a long-disance or local toll call.  Your caller-ID (all phones have it, free) will tell the computer who you are, and the computer will automatically enter your PIN number.  Visit the Registration Menu, and you're good to go.   It works just as fast as the old service where you dial the number "1" first.

For free connection of your home computer to the internet, visit www.sdfree.com.  This is free dial-up service.  If you don't own a home computer, visit any library for free internet computer usage.  It requires a library card, but those are free, too.  Visit www.sdcl.org for hours and days.  Need to find a library the old way, using a phone book?  Phone books can be had at any Ralph's supermarket.  Find one at www.ralphs.com.

Regarding television and cable, consider Dish Network from AT&T Yahoo! at www.dishnetwork.com.  For $40 a month, with no installation fee, you can get over a hundred channels.  And for a limited time, they're offering 50% off, plus 16 premium channels free.  (The offer keeps changing, so ask.)  It's a way better deal than cable.

If you can't afford that, broadcast TV now has a wider choice of channels than ever.  Each station can "split" into 3 different channels at the same time.  So, now there's Channels 8A, 8B, 8C, 10A, 10B, 10C, 15A, 15B, 15C, and so on.   Or, try renting movies (for free) at any library.  This requires a free library card.  Bring lots of identification.

If you read what I wrote about starting your own business, and you need a Domain Name (Web Address), consider Yahoo!, which will give you one for $10 a year the first year, including a one-page (home page only) starter web-page.   And, you can get a whole website like this one for around $10 a month, with no setup fees!   Details at www.smallbusiness.yahoo.com.

Afraid of censorship?  Well, read my web pages.  Does that look like censorship to you? 

I' ll sell you a web page at  http://nz9f.com/w.

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Top of page: http://nz9f.com/D http://nz9f.com/D http://nz9f.com/D       Home: http://nz9f.com    Index: http://nz9f.com/index

Libraries Offering Internet:

San Diego City:  All telephone Area Codes 619 unless stated otherwise:

Central, 820 E St.  236-5800

Allied Gardens, 5188 Zion Ave. 533-3970

Balboa, 4255 Mt. Abernathy 858-573-1390

Carmel Mountain, 12095 World Trade Dr. 858-538-8181

City Heights, 3795 Fairmont 641-6100

Clairemont, 2920 Burgener 858-581-9935

College Rolando, 6600 Montezuma Rd.  533-3902

Linda Vista, 2160 Ulric St. 858-573-1399

Kensington, 4121 Adams Av. 533-3974

Logan Heights, 811 S. 28 St. 533-3968

Mira Mesa, 8405 New Salem St.  858-538-8165

'Mission Valley 2123 Fenton Pkwy.  858-573-5007

Serra Mesa, 9005 Aero Dr.  858-573-1396

Mountainview, 721 San Pasqual St.  527-3404

North Clairemont, 4616 Cairemont Dr.  858-581-9931

North Park, 3795 31st St  533-3972

Oak Park, 2802 54th St.  527-3406

Otay Mesa, 3003 Cornonado Ave.  424-0474

Paradise Hills, 5922 Rancho Hills Dr.  527-3461

Tierrasanata, 4985 La Cuenta Dr.  858-573-1384

Scripps Miramar Ranch, 10301 Scripps Lake Dr.  858-538-8158

San Ysidro, 101 W. San Ysidro Blvd.  424-0475

San Carlos, 7265 Jackson Dr.  527-3430

Skyline Hills, 480 S. Meadowbrook, 527-3485

University Heights, 4193 Park Blvd.  692-4912

Valencia Park, 5148 Market St.  527-3405

San Diego County Libraries:  www.sdcl.org/locations_ALL-BRANCHES.html

www.NZ9F.com, A Public Service website easier to use than the 211 site, and not maintained at public expense.  *Soup Kitchens *Other Free Meals *Food Pantries * Free Shelters * Web Links * Homeless Rescue * Networking * Minister Support * Employment Tips

Section B helps poor people, without regard to profit.

B:  The soup kitchens and similar free meals in San Diego.   http://nz9f.com/B

F:  Other food help:  Food Stamps, Commodity Sites, Food Banks, Emergency Food Pantries, definitions, regulations, procedures, times, locations, dates, map coordinates, and bus access.  http://nz9f.com/F

D:  Depression Assistance:  Saving money on food, entertainment, web access, cellular, computers, and more.  General info to survive the Great George W. Bush Depression.  http://nz9f.com/D 

Help:  How to donate money, food, or time to various food-help resource agencies.  Links to their websites, so you can give help or ask for it.  http://nz9f.com/help 

E:  Employment advice, other than that on Page D.   http://nz9f.com/E

Else:  Homeless Shelters in San Diego, and Emergency Travel.  http://nz9f.com/else

H:  The new Homeless Action Page http://nz9f.com/H  

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