ABSTRACT
Jeremy is in his early forties living in an isolated town of nearly two thousand residents located in the mountainous western United States and is caring for his elderly parents. Because his town is facing bad times as refl ected by a declining population and dearth of economic opportunities, Jeremy has been without a job for several months. He wants to work and get off the welfare rolls, he has the skills and the ambition, and there are jobs in a nearby university town only twenty-fi ve miles away. But he was forced to sell his automobile to pay for some unexpected medical expenses and there is no bus service. The neighboring town does have public transit vans available on a request basis. However, service is erratic as the van cannot handle the numerous requests. Jeremy decides that the time and hassle is not worth the entry-level wage that he would earn and elects to continue to receive welfare benefi ts.
