Safety net

Safety net

Today, we’re going to talk about the term, “safety net.”

Have you ever seen someone walking on a tightrope ? This would be in a circus or something. It’s a person—and I have no idea how they do this— carefully , I assume —but it’s a person walking on a rope . One foot in front of the other, arms out to each side , carefully balancing on just a rope .

What happens if that guy falls? Hopefully , there’s a net below him to catch him , to keep him from falling too far , to keep him from getting hurt . That would be a safety net.

In everyday language, “safety net” isn’t about tightrope walkers. It’s about protection against something bad happening, usually financial .

Have you ever dreamed of quitting your job and starting your own business? If so, I recommend you have a safety net before you do that. A safety net could be your savings . If the business you start doesn’t generate income right away , you need some way to pay your bills, to make ends meet . For many people who do this, that safety net is their savings.

You’re going to want a safety net for a lot of reasons—not just starting a business. It’s good to have several things in place , or available , that can help you if you need them.

So you might have a few things that make up your personal safety net, in addition to your savings. You might have a relative who can let you live in their house without paying rent in an emergency . That reduces your expenses.

Insurance can also be part of your safety net. Every country is different, but in the United States, if you get cancer , if you need an operation , if you get a rare disease , you have to pay for that and it is expensive. So having insurance is part of your safety net: you know that if you get a bad medical diagnosis , the insurance will pay for your treatment .

As you get older, you might own a home and you might pay off the mortgage loan . Or you might inherit property from relatives. And if you own a home outright —if you have no loan on it—that’s an important part of your personal safety net. It means you will always have someplace to live , nobody can kick you out (as long as you pay your taxes).

So from a personal perspective, your safety net could be your savings, different kinds of insurance, property that might be paid off , friends and family who can help in an emergency: that’s all part of the safety net.

It’s very common to talk about the “social safety net.” The social safety net is a collection of government policies that will help you in tough times . Every country is different, but I’ll tell you how it is in the U.S.

Social Security is the pension for retired workers . Medicare is a health insurance plan for retired workers. If you’re working age and lose your job , you will probably be eligible for some unemployment payments . If you lose your job, or if your hours get cut, you can still access health insurance, and the insurance plan will be subsidized .

If you become disabled in the United States, meaning you can’t work, you will be eligible for some disability payments from the government. If your income drops very low, you might be eligible for food assistance , tax credits , and other temporary cash payments . Your kids might get free lunches at school.

This is all part of the social safety net: the set of benefits the government can give you if you fall on hard times .

Some governments offer generous benefits ; you can say they have a strong social safety net. When I think of Europe, I think of a strong social safety net. When I think of the U.S., I think that there’s a good social safety net, but not like in Europe.

But it’s not the same in every state. A lot of government benefits are administered by the individual states , and some states make different choices. Some places, like California, have a strong social safety net. Other states, like in the South , have a much weaker social safety net. They offer fewer benefits and lower payments in case something happens.

See you next time!

All right, well that is all for us here at Plain English for Thursday, July 25, 2024. I hope you’re having a great summer. I hope you’re enjoying these episodes about daily life in the U.S. I’ve enjoyed creating them.

On Monday, we’ll continue with one more episode about the regions—we’ll cover the southwest and the mountain west on Monday. See you then.

The South is the most dynamic region in the United States today

Lesson summary

Hi there everyone, it’s Jeff and this is Plain English, where we help you upgrade your English with stories about the world. And the corner of the world we’re focused on today is the South—specifically, the southeast of the United States. Figure from Texas to Florida, and as far north as Tennessee and Virginia. It’s a big region. But it’s America’s fastest-growing region. The South is booming. On Monday, you heard that a lot of people have left the Midwest. Well now you know where they’re going.

In the second half of today’s lesson, I’ll show you how to use the term “safety net.” This is lesson number 695 of Plain English. So the full lesson is at PlainEnglish.com/695.

The South: America’s most dynamic region

A few decades ago, Atlanta, Georgia, had just a couple of tall buildings . Austin, Texas, was a sleepy university town. And Florida was a place old people went to live out their last days .

No more. The South is now America’s most dynamic region. Out of the twenty fastest-growing metro areas in the United States, fourteen are in the South—and that includes all of the top eight fastest growing metro areas.

I’m talking about cities like Raleigh, North Carolina; Orlando, Florida; and Nashville, Tennessee. And then there’s Texas: Austin, Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas are all attracting new arrivals —new people and new companies .

Why is everyone moving to the South ? There are a few reasons. First, the economic environment in the South is friendly . Manufacturers are drawn to the South because labor unions are not as strong and government regulation is not as heavy . Other employers are attracted to the South for its well-educated workforce and lower cost of living .

Taxes on companies and people are lighter in the South than in other regions . Texas, Florida, and Tennessee have no personal income tax . Land for new factories and offices is affordable . States offer generous tax incentives for companies to move their headquarters —and their employees —there. Over 80 large companies have moved their headquarters from California to Texas just in the last few years.

The COVID-19 pandemic helped the South, too. Southern states tended to have fewer restrictions on movement during the pandemic. Businesses reopened faster in the South than in any other region. There were fewer mask mandates than in other states . And, adjusting for age and other factors, the South didn’t suffer more COVID-19 deaths than other states did.

Southern states were rewarded for those policies. When remote work became possible, a lot of employees decided to leave their high-cost homes in the Northeast and the West Coast and move south, where the weather was nicer and where the houses are newer, bigger, and cheaper—and where the COVID-related rules were not as strict .

The weather in the South is generally pleasant. It’s hot and humid in the summer. Summer can be brutal . But a lot of houses in the South are new, and they come with efficient air conditioning , so the southern heat is more tolerable than it once was. Winters are generally mild.

For all those reasons, the South is booming —and now it has a diverse economy . It was once mostly agricultural . But now, you can find a little of everything. Dallas and Houston are very well-diversified cities , home to about 50 Fortune 500 companies between them. Austin, Texas, is a tech hub .

North Carolina has something called Research Triangle Park, a high-tech research park with over 300 companies and 65,000 employees all in one business park. Nashville is the home of country music ; New Orleans and Memphis have strong music cultures , too. Miami is the country’s gateway to Latin America.

Atlanta is a media capital—Turner Broadcasting, which includes CNN, is based there. Several movies and TV shows have been filmed in Atlanta. It hosted the Olympics in 1996. Atlanta is also strong in services , like consulting and finance . And the city has the world’s busiest airport .

The South is an unequal region . While some parts of the region are booming , with tech jobs , manufacturing , and services, other Southern states are among America’s poorest . Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama have some of the lowest average incomes of any states, even after adjusting for the lower costs in the region.

And remember how people love the low taxes in the South? That cuts both ways . Public spending on things like education, roads , and health care is lower than in other areas of the country. The social safety net is weaker here than in other regions.

What about outdoor activities ? Florida, Alabama, South Carolina, and North Carolina have great beaches . The Smoky Mountains in Tennessee and the Appalachian Mountains in Georgia and the Carolinas offer great opportunities for hiking , biking , and sightseeing .

College sports is huge in the South. The Southeastern Conference, or the SEC, is the most popular and most successful conference in college football. In many places in the South, college football is more popular than the NFL, the professional league. Universities of Georgia, Alabama, Texas, Florida; Auburn University; Florida State University; Clemson—these might sound like universities to you, but to some people, they’re religion.

I joke, of course. Actually, if there’s one region of the U.S. most associated with religion, it’s the South. The South is often called the “Bible Belt” for the strong Evangelical Christian tradition . Out of the fifteen states with the most self-identifying Evangelical Christians, thirteen are in the South.

There’s even something called a “megachurch.” A megachurch is a church with a large membership . The largest, Gateway Church, is near Dallas. It has over 100,000 members. Each service might attract 10,000 members in person , and there are multiple services per week—and of course megachurches have a strong online presence .

There’s a concept in the United States called “southern hospitality.” It means people in the South are warm, friendly, and welcoming . And that’s largely true .

If you like food, you’ll never be bored in the South. The South has a long growing season , so you can find fresh ingredients year-round . Southern barbecue is delicious. The Gulf Coast—Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida—that area has great seafood . You can find catfish , crawfish , blue crab , shrimp , grouper , red snapper , and more.

Jeff’s take

The South also has—and this is not even a matter of opinion , this is just a fact —the best grocery store in the country, maybe in the world. It’s called Publix. Publix is like everything you want a supermarket to be. And if you’re ever in the South, especially Florida, and you see a Publix—stop and get a sandwich. Publix subs are the best.

Okay, so what have we done? The northeast , the west coast , the Midwest , and now the South. We’ve got one more episode like this left; we’ll do that on Monday. We’re going to combine the southwest and the mountain west into one episode. Those two together on Monday, and then you will have an idea of what it’s like to live in every region of the contiguous United States.

{Break}

Safety net

Today, we’re going to talk about the term, “safety net.”

Have you ever seen someone walking on a tightrope ? This would be in a circus or something. It’s a person—and I have no idea how they do this— carefully , I assume —but it’s a person walking on a rope . One foot in front of the other, arms out to each side , carefully balancing on just a rope .

What happens if that guy falls? Hopefully , there’s a net below him to catch him , to keep him from falling too far , to keep him from getting hurt . That would be a safety net.

In everyday language, “safety net” isn’t about tightrope walkers. It’s about protection against something bad happening, usually financial .

Have you ever dreamed of quitting your job and starting your own business? If so, I recommend you have a safety net before you do that. A safety net could be your savings . If the business you start doesn’t generate income right away , you need some way to pay your bills, to make ends meet . For many people who do this, that safety net is their savings.

You’re going to want a safety net for a lot of reasons—not just starting a business. It’s good to have several things in place , or available , that can help you if you need them.

So you might have a few things that make up your personal safety net, in addition to your savings. You might have a relative who can let you live in their house without paying rent in an emergency . That reduces your expenses.

Insurance can also be part of your safety net. Every country is different, but in the United States, if you get cancer , if you need an operation , if you get a rare disease , you have to pay for that and it is expensive. So having insurance is part of your safety net: you know that if you get a bad medical diagnosis , the insurance will pay for your treatment .

As you get older, you might own a home and you might pay off the mortgage loan . Or you might inherit property from relatives. And if you own a home outright —if you have no loan on it—that’s an important part of your personal safety net. It means you will always have someplace to live , nobody can kick you out (as long as you pay your taxes).

So from a personal perspective, your safety net could be your savings, different kinds of insurance, property that might be paid off , friends and family who can help in an emergency: that’s all part of the safety net.

It’s very common to talk about the “social safety net.” The social safety net is a collection of government policies that will help you in tough times . Every country is different, but I’ll tell you how it is in the U.S.

Social Security is the pension for retired workers . Medicare is a health insurance plan for retired workers. If you’re working age and lose your job , you will probably be eligible for some unemployment payments . If you lose your job, or if your hours get cut, you can still access health insurance, and the insurance plan will be subsidized .

If you become disabled in the United States, meaning you can’t work, you will be eligible for some disability payments from the government. If your income drops very low, you might be eligible for food assistance , tax credits , and other temporary cash payments . Your kids might get free lunches at school.

This is all part of the social safety net: the set of benefits the government can give you if you fall on hard times .

Some governments offer generous benefits ; you can say they have a strong social safety net. When I think of Europe, I think of a strong social safety net. When I think of the U.S., I think that there’s a good social safety net, but not like in Europe.

But it’s not the same in every state. A lot of government benefits are administered by the individual states , and some states make different choices. Some places, like California, have a strong social safety net. Other states, like in the South , have a much weaker social safety net. They offer fewer benefits and lower payments in case something happens.

See you next time!

All right, well that is all for us here at Plain English for Thursday, July 25, 2024. I hope you’re having a great summer. I hope you’re enjoying these episodes about daily life in the U.S. I’ve enjoyed creating them.

On Monday, we’ll continue with one more episode about the regions—we’ll cover the southwest and the mountain west on Monday. See you then.

The South is the most dynamic region in the United States today

Lesson summary

Hi there everyone, it’s Jeff and this is Plain English, where we help you upgrade your English with stories about the world. And the corner of the world we’re focused on today is the South—specifically, the southeast of the United States. Figure from Texas to Florida, and as far north as Tennessee and Virginia. It’s a big region. But it’s America’s fastest-growing region. The South is booming. On Monday, you heard that a lot of people have left the Midwest. Well now you know where they’re going.

In the second half of today’s lesson, I’ll show you how to use the term “safety net.” This is lesson number 695 of Plain English. So the full lesson is at PlainEnglish.com/695.

The South: America’s most dynamic region

A few decades ago, Atlanta, Georgia, had just a couple of tall buildings . Austin, Texas, was a sleepy university town. And Florida was a place old people went to live out their last days