What Now? Two Generations: Alison Mansfield and Joan Skal

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - Most of life’s changes will happen between the ages of 17 and 78 but while 61 years of experiences separate two Fort Wayne females, their views of the nation are not all that far from one another.

Joan Skal, 78, spent her working years as a secretary, a bookkeeper, newspaper copy editor and city clerk of her hometown. Skal moved to Fort Wayne, Ind. from the East Coast in recent years to be closer to her daughter’s family.

Skal was the most senior member of WANE-TV’s selection of people from the surrounding communities interviewed in a series called “Saving America: 28 Ideas in 28 Days.”

In November 2011, Skal said the biggest problem facing the nation, in her opinion, was the rising national debt.  In a similar conversation one year later, she agreed with the previous assessment that the country was in ‘an enormous mess.’

“That has not changed, except that we are now starring at the fiscal cliff on top of everything else,” Skal said.

Government spending is the gravest concern for another Fort Wayne resident, 61 years younger.

At age 16, Alison Mansfield participated in NewsChannel 15’s 2011 series as the youngest interviewee.

One year older, Mansfield is also one year closer to making her largest financial investment yet; she has spent recent months applying for college.  When first asked about worries she believed faced the nation, Mansfield expressed concern about the state of the job market once she is prepared to enter it.

“Honestly, I don’t really think my concerns have changed as much as they’ve just broadened and I’ve been looking into it a lot and kind of realizing the implications of that,” Mansfield said when revisiting the first conversation.

Both Mansfield and Skal have been paying close attention to the campaign season.

According to Skal, the outcome of the election will not necessarily promise improvements unless Congress is able to work productively with the president.

“There is no way that any one person, even though he may be the highest official in this country, is going to be able to do anything by himself,” Skal said.

Mansfield offered her advice to elected officials on behalf of future generations.

“I’m going to be dealing with this in four years and we’re dealing with it now, all policy and current events going on; [they] have direct impact[s] on you,” Mansfield said. “I would urge the [future] administration and all politicians to think very carefully about the decisions they’re making, where they’re allocating our national resources and how that’s going to affect people in the future.”

Watch the video in this story for more of Skal and Mansfield’s interviews.