Google the term “garden” and you will find information on over a hundred gardens that were designed by long past queens or extravagant millionaires.  However, one of the most beautiful gardens is in our own backyard, the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens.  If you have never strolled the gardens, then you are past due for a dose of serenity.  As the admission for the general grounds is free, it’s probably the cheapest form of stress relief in the area.  But don’t go just for the view or to smell the roses.  Go to enjoy and take-in an important piece of history.  Just before you enter the arches of the rose garden, step to the right of the entrance and read about how the gardens were originally established.  They were one of the public works projects from one of our not-so-great former depressions.  The gardens were built by people who needed work.  They were just ordinary people who hadn’t planned for unemployment or underemployment.  Even though it was a “public works” project that many viewed during the time as a way to reward the financially inept, the photograph of the original workers demonstrates the pride they had in making something beautiful out of hard times.  Ironically, despite the heated objections to the general concept of the program, many current tourist attractions were built with the assistance of public works projects, including the gardens and the Will Rogers Coliseum.

Despite the fact that the United States has consistently gone through seasons of economic ups and downs which placed ordinary, hard-working people in desperate situations, many still complain and criticize efforts to assist those struggling with financial stability.  We are not the first generation of Americans to suffer an economic drought or to be caught off-guard by a stock market tumble.  As you walk through the gardens, you can understand what those people were feeling, as they laid each brick, and appreciate that they were doing what they could to make it through.  Also keep in mind that they didn’t do it alone.  Unfortunately, a host of public works projects are not available today.  More and more cities are also being caught off-guard with deficit budgets.  The Star-Telegram reported that the City of Fort Worth has eliminated 150 jobs in response to a $61 million deficit for the 2010 budget year.  Additionally, according to the Fort Worth Business Press, they are also looking at pruning another 190 positions and potentially cutting funding for homeless projects.  Last year the city council voted to discontinue funding benefits for employees and their dependents who retire after January of 2009.

Even though relief is limited through city government, you still have other options to help you make it through.  Most debt is dischargeable during bankruptcy, including credit card and medical bills.  Others may not be dischargeable, but a plan can be developed through the process to arrange for repayment of those obligations.  Allmand and Lee can assist you with making informed decisions regarding your debt management plan.  These are hard times, but good things can still happen when you receive good information from a qualified bankruptcy attorney.