When you guys cheered about the recent job numbers, you probably didn't know that those are the jobs that bring a life of poverty. * People have to decide to get food or to get gas or medicine * Nearly 40% of working-age poor people were employed and the percentage working full time all year increased 45% from 1978 to 2002. * Workers today who earn minimum wage have less buying power than in years before; The inflation-adjusted value of the $5.15-an-hour minimum wage is at least 24% lower today than it was in 1979 Let's see what Republicans would say about this?
Let's not ignore the fact here, people: 35 million Americans lived in poverty in 2002, which is 1.7 million MORE people than in 2001, according to Census data.
And do what? Shut up and work? Sounds like what the son of upper management would say. Not saying you are the son of upper management, but if you are, not surprising.
Or they could just auction off their ugly-assed FAS kids to the highest bidding gay couple. Pow Pow- two birds with one stone!
I have an MA and I'm temping right now. I'm struggling to pay my bills. Now, the fact that my degree is in History probably doesn't help, so maybe I can't really complain. Still, I might actually consider myself one of the "working poor" with the crap amount of money I make right now. I actually made much better money bartending while I was in grad school. What are we talking about?
the whole issue of wages would be a moot point if it weren't for the worthless tree huggers holding the hands of every chicano who is able to hop the border. these are the people responsible for holding down the minimum wage, not us republicans. and in terms of overall jobs, 132.5 million jobs is the peak in US history, back in March 2001 (during Bush's reign mind you). The economy now has 131.2 million jobs. So where does this # of 3.5 million jobs lost come from? Praise to Reagan. If it weren't for him, we'd still be taxed at 70% so all these illegals can have free health care. Oh that is right, they already receive free health care and I have to pay for it.
Companies in the construction/agricultural/tourism,etc. industries take on illegal people....Corporations tend to contribute a bigger share of money to.....you are right, that's a tough call Inaction comes from both sides....No one should try playing innocent here....And they receive health care for free? Maybe i should renounce citizenship to get those things too! You must mean emergency care, which is not the same....After all, we are above letting someone bleed to death, or die of something preventable/curable , aren't we?
See, there's this principle that you kind of lose track of here: Being poor sucks. Being poor is SUPPOSED to suck. If it didn't, people would be content to stay that way. There'd be no oncentive to try and improve your life. But because it does, people work hard to get out of it. And frankly, most people who try really, really hard to raise themselves out of poverty actually manage to do so. What your statistics fail to acknowledge is that raw numbers don't tell the real story, which is that while 40 million people may live in a household whose total earnings put them under the Federally designated poverty line, it's NOT THE SAME 40 MILLION PEOPLE YEAR IN AND YEAR OUT. People lose jobs. People have to start over sometimes. I've had to do it more than once. It sucks. So you have to start over at the bottom. Crappy job, crappy pay, can barely make ends meet. If you've never been through it, you're the exception. This is not a permanent underclass. This is a snapshot of a populace, most of whom move up and out because, again, being poor blows and so people work their asses off to get out of it. You seem to feel, judging by the title of this thread, that it's a real scandal (and probably some kind of plot by our corporate overlords and/or the Republican party) that people who don't make a lot of money have trouble paying their bills. Gosh, stop the presses.
Do you have statistics to back up this assertion? Because it doesn't correlate with what I've observed personally.
Can you possibly explain how immigrants are forcing the minimum wage down? Do you even understand what a minimum wage is?
On behalf of the working poor of this country (Myself, not being one of them... but a voice for the voiceless) ... I'd buy the pull yourself up by your bootstraps crap, if we didn't initiate policy that continues to shift the burden on the middle class and continually create a large gap between rich and poor, essentially enslaving all those working families to a cyclical debt, just to live a decent lifestyle... Not only that but I guess when it comes to the mantra of Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Property/Happiness, the poor should consider 2/3 ain't bad, pick and choose whichever you want to toss out of the equation. Not only that it makes you more the idiot if you're not of extreme indenpendent wealth and you take a classist attitude. You are proof positive of the slogan... Smart Republicans are wealthy Republicans, the dumb ones are all the rest... WHERE'S THE COMPASSION GEORGE!???????????? WHERE THE FVCK IS THE COMPASSION DUMBYA?????????
Question for Bill Archer: Gardner holds a full time job and she still couldn't make enough money to cover her bills and the rent. And she is not young any more. So what's your solution for her?
Why? don't you see the population is declining? Why punish people who extending the human race? And the rich hate kids, but the poor don't.