End poverty. Attack it. Now.

Posted on September 15, 2011 by Dr. Denny under American Culture, Economy, History, Journalism, Politics, Law & Government, Race & Gender, United States [ Comments: none ]

You know someone who lives in poverty. You may not realize it, but you do. Given that one of every six Americans lives in poverty, someone you know suffers from one of the most punishing and oppressing of all human conditions.

Too many of us blithely consider poverty to be limited to certain geographical locations such as the “inner city.” Too many of us believe poverty is limited to, perhaps, mostly a certain skin color. Too many of us attribute poverty to the lack of an “appropriate” work ethic, a lack of ambition, or a desire to “cheat the system.” The poor live in cities, they’re not white, they’re lazy, and they’re sucking up my tax dollars unfairly.

Discard that attitude. It’s disgusting. Poverty privileges no race, no gender, no occupation, no geography.

Last year, the ranks of those reduced to the federally defined poverty line grew by 2.6 million Americans. News reports show 46.2 million Americans live in poverty, the highest number in the 52 years the federal government has tracked that number.

Forget, for the moment, who or what is responsible for leaving tens of millions of Americans economically disadvantaged while mere dozens of Americans forge financially so far ahead of 99.9 percent of us.

Forget, for the moment, those who callously led many Americans into a bankrupted poverty with foolish, deceitful decisions about lending money for home mortgages a few years ago, amplifying the ranks of those in poverty.

Forget, for the moment, the decisions to be “globally competitive” by corporations at the expense of those American jobs they’re all suddenly saying they want to create.

Forget, for the moment, the social, political, and economic decisions taken by so many that have created a permanent underclass with no significant voice in Congress. Forget, for the moment, that too many of us have chosen not to listen to the voice of those in poverty. They may be unheard, but they are not invisible.

Forget, for the moment, the folly of members of Congress and the president in fighting each other while claiming to “love America” — and forgetting to love Americans one by one, especially those whose American dream has been yanked from underneath them — or was never there in the first place.

Focus on someone you know. You’ll realize you know someone who lives in poverty — and probably more than one.

Now begin remembering. Find a way to speak for those people you know who live in poverty. Don’t waver because of self-assumed guilt. Act. Demand better from your member of Congress. Demand that a living wage become a reality. Demand creation of meaningful jobs.

And be selfish — the American economy will not recover with one-sixth of Americans unable to be the avid consumers and irritated taxpayers the rest of us have become. If you want your economic circumstance to improve, attack the root causes that place your neighbor in poverty.

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The US unemployment rate: European levels without the European safety net Posted: 10 Jul 2011 05:37 PM PDT Jobs growth is a lagging indicator of economic activity, so the June report confirms that the US economy has been in a deep rut (Marshall Auerback calls it a 'fully-fledged New York City style pot hole'). Yes, the US economy is growing; but sub-2% really 'feels' like stagnation, if not recession for many. As always, Spencer provides a fantastic summary of the employment report here on AB: 'bad news', he says. I call it abysmal, both relative to history and on a cross section. The chart below illustrates the unemployment rates across the G7 spanning 1995 to 2011. Across the G7 economies, the level of the US unemployment rate is second only to France. This is true on a harmonized basis as well. READ MORE AFTER THE JUMP! The speed at which the US unemployment rate reached European levels was abrupt. Only the UK has seen such a swift deterioration in labor market conditions. The chart above illustrates the same time series as in the first unemployment chart, but the rates are indexed to 2005 for comparability. France's high level of unemployment is structural. In contrast, the US level of unemployment is NOT, not even close. The chart above illustrates the components of the OECD's indicators of employment protection. Also, see a short note by the Dallas Fed highlighting the differences between the French and US labor markets (and the 1994 OECD jobs study). The French labor market is quite rigid, which leads to a structurally elevated unemployment rate and expansive unemployment compensation (see this follow up to the OECD 1994 jobs strategy report). The US Labor markets is much more fluid, which is why the unemployment rate has surged relative to comparable economies in Europe (see second chart). European levels of unemployment without the European safety net. The chart illustrates the maximum number of months that a worker can claim unemployment insurance for the year 2007. In normal times, French workers can collect benefits for up to 23 months by law, where the US worker collects for just 6 months. The tax and benefit policies data are updated infrequently, and listed on the OECD's website (excel file link). Seriously, shouldn't Congress be focused on the depressed state of the US labor market, rather than a 'scaled back' version of deficit cutting? Addressing one will clearly impact the other - it goes both ways. Unfortunately, the government's pushing in the wrong direction (cutting deficits brings further unemployment rather reducing unemployment drops the deficits). Rebecca Wilder

Austerity Psychosis Gripts Washington DC: Webster Tarpley

http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2011/04/24/webster-tarpley-austerity-psychosis-grips-washington-d-c/

with Webster Tarpley
Bonnie Faulkner
Guns and Butter
April 20, 2011
Obama’s budget speech at George Washington University on April 13th, 2011; the Fiscal 2011 Budget Resolution causes a revolt in Washington, D.C.; the Independent Payment Advisory Board as a death panel; House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s genocidal Budget Resolution for the year 2012; Medicare and Medicaid under bipartisan attack; PIMCO sells the US short; and speculators drive up the price of oil.


Guns and Butter
The link will take you there

April 20, 2011
see
What You Need To Know To Save Your Ass – Part 2 by Mark A. Goldman
Who Really Benefits from the “American Dream”? by Marie Owens
Stripmining America-Unpatriotically by Ralph Nader
What You Need to Know to Save Your Ass by Mark A. Goldman
Inflation Hits Money and Lies by Joel S. Hirschhorn
The Economy Sucks and or Collapse 2
Inequality on Dandelion Salad
http://vodpod.com/dandelionsalad/tag/economy
Obama Delivers Republican Arguments