I can’t go anywhere without hearing people mention “these times.”

“These times” include trying to make plans when money is uncertain. We’re all being affected by the country’s failing economy.

And those of us at the Herald want to discuss it.

Today the Herald is running the first of a five-part series on the economy.

The series, “Dreams is Distress” will run every Thursday in April and will address the many issues that are facing you.

The American Dream, the idea that we all have a fighting chance to succeed, is on life support.

I don’t know that many people could successfully argue that the dream is alive and well today when people across the country are losing their jobs, their homes or even both.

The question that the Herald wanted to know was, “how are our readers being affected by this?”

And that is the focus of our series- you.

And the truth is that we’ve all been affected.

I belong to a group of students who are about to enter a workforce where jobs are scarce. A select few of us might have jobs in our field waiting for us when we graduate- a lot of us don’t.

Some of you belong to a group who are choosing to stay in college longer in hopes that things will improve and that there will be more options available to you in a couple of years.

Some of you have parents who have lost their jobs and you’re in Bowling Green, maybe far from home, wondering what, if anything, you can do to help.

And even if you don’t fall into one of those categories, you’ve all been affected by the recession.

Western has cut money from its budget to make up for a shortfall.

Departments will have to cut money from their budgets and hard decisions will have to be made.

Because of decision by the Council on Postsecondary Education, tuition will only increase 4 percent this year, a relatively small amount in comparison to past years, but the increase will still be felt by students whose wallets are empty.

Everywhere we turn, things are different than only a few years ago.

The goal of this series is to put a face on those changes. It’s easy to talk about loan companies, the auto industry and even state budget issues, but it’s even easier to forget about the people it affects.

You.

We want to tell each of you how you’re being affected by the problems that are facing our country, our state, our city and our school.

We’re not claiming to have any answers. We’re just as bewildered as most of you.

But maybe we can educate you.

In the next five weeks the Herald will bring you stories about people who work at the Corvette plant and people who run local businesses.

We’ll tell you how Bowling Green’s economic situation stacks up against the rest of the state and how Kentucky universities are doing in comparison to other states’ universities.

We’ll introduce you to people who you might already know- your neighbors, your classmates and your friends.

I hope that you’ll pick up the paper, visit wkuherald.com, as well as chherald.com, our multimedia site, to learn more about the students and residents who are trying their hardest to make the best out of difficult situation.