Working and Poor in the USA [View All]

I agree with this article completely . . . the issue that the Democrats should be jumping on is the inability of decent, hard-working, everyday Americans to support themselves, even while working a full-time job . . . some families can't even do it working two full-time jobs . . . this issue is a winner if ever I saw one . . .

Working and Poor in the USA
A vast impoverished population languishes in the midst of our economy.

by Beth Shulman
The Nation
February 9, 2004

http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20040209&s=shulman

For generations, Americans shared a tacit understanding that if you worked hard, you could earn a livable income and provide basic security for yourself and your family. That promise has been broken. More than 30 million Americans--one in four workers--are stuck in low-wage jobs that do not provide the basics for a decent life.

As we celebrate the fortieth anniversary of President Johnson's declaration of the War on Poverty, we are reminded that economic growth alone is not sufficient to combat the problem. Today, the war on poverty must be fought not on the margins but in the very mainstream of our economy. It must be a war to restore the promise of work.

While the Democratic presidential contenders are vocal about general economic conditions, ill-advised tax cuts and continuing unemployment, they have only recently begun to point out a fundamental economic failure--the failure of work to meet people's needs.

Finding ways to make sure that people who work hard can take care of their families would put the Democrats on the offensive instead of their customary defensive position on family values. It would have broad appeal to working Americans, as millions of middle-income jobs take on the characteristics of the low-wage economy--layoffs, outsourcing, unaffordable healthcare and vanishing pension benefits. And it would have great potential to help those suffering in low-wage jobs--workers like Cynthia Porter.

- more . . . and worth the read . . .

http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20040209&s=shulman