A chicken in every worthy pot…
August 1, 2008 by Angry Black Bitch
Let’s jump right on in, shall we?
A year ago most folks would have thought that the outcome of the presidential election was going to hinge on the war and that economic concerns would be left to state and local campaigns…but a lot can change in a very short time. Now that everyone and their dawg is waking up to the economic trauma that has been in the works for years (wince), campaigns are scrambling to develop messaging around the economy that they won’t turn into policies they’ll have to eat should they get elected.
This bitch is always concerned about the economy. I don’t know a lot of folks with a safety net and months of
savings…my circle is made up of working, hard working Americans (wink). When prices go up and income remains flat we all feel that shit and struggle to adjust. The same is true of the organizations that I volunteer with - money gets tight and folks are no longer able to make donations.
A recent news report on the increased use of gleaning by food pantries got a bitch thinking about those people who are feeling the squeeze for the first time. Many people now face hunger who never thought they’d be in that situation. The number of Americans receiving food stamps is at a record high as folks struggle to pay for housing, utilities and fuel only to find themselves unable to put a meal on the table. I would hope that this new economic reality would at least help bridge the gap of understanding that exists between the haves and have nots, but too often news reports center on the notion that hunger isn’t supposed to happen to “these people.”
You know who I’m talking about…educated, working, clean, articulate, solid people aren’t supposed to be on food stamps. Right? Those working, hard working Americans have kept their side of the bargain and they deserve better…they’ve earned a full stomach and a roof over their head…misery is the wages of sloth!
And who is hunger for…who deserves poverty? Oh yeah, those other people…those lazy people…those willfully ignorant people who aren’t happy unless they are asking for a hand out or getting a free ride.
Right?
Wrong.
Most of us could be at risk in a matter of weeks if not days. A job gets cut…a child gets sick…a car breaks down…a bill comes due…and suddenly you’re short the money for groceries with no available credit and no one to turn to. With so many of us are living paycheck to paycheck, slight shifts can have a huge impact on our lives and our ability to survive without some manner of assistance.
Yet even now…even with more Americans applying for food stamps or visiting food banks they use to donate to, losing their homes or having to adjust where they live to fit their new economic reality and cutting back on everything but the basics…even now the idea persists that hunger is what you get when you don’t do the right things and that poverty happens to those lazy people who deserve it.
Sigh.
I used to think that the trick to spinning economic policy was to make the masses believe in the possibility of there being a chicken in every pot.
But mayhap the actual trick is to make them believe that those with empty pots don’t deserve chicken…
Crossposted from The Angry Black Bitch.
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If money in banks is an analogy to chickens in pots, the pots are looking empty.
The city I live in has had a shitload of layoffs, or shut downs, severence packages, & pink slips. The busiest place in town??
The unemployment office. So busy, they say, people need to call ahead for an appointment.
I heard a blurb n the news tonight
Last month alone- July 2008– 51,000 jobs were lost. FIFITY ONE THOUSAND JOBS in one month.
1/2 million have lost jobs this year.
Unemployment is at 5.7 — or so they say– how can so many people lose jobs & the unemployment rate remain so low? the only thing I can figure is people are working 3 crappy low paying jobs just to survive.
The new corporate trick of the trade?
Part time employees.
3.7 million people’s jobs have been *downsized* to 1/2 time.
They can legally work employees up to 39.9 hours & give no benefits.
think of all that corporate profit if you can skip health insurance, 401k retirement plans- even paid holidays.
They are working people to death- literally.
It is true though… most folks are just a paycheck or 2 away from being homeless. People don’t really know what it is like to hit hard times.
Going through the social services bureaucray & red tape is no cake walk either.
frans last blog post..Thin Ice
I just wrote theis lengthy response & then it vanished into the ether. Damn!
The busiest place in my city is…..
The unemployment office! They say it is so busy, people need to call ahead & make appointments.
I heard on the news tonight last month alone- July 2008 51,000 people lost their jobs. FIFTY ONE THOUSAND PEOPLE!!! In ONE month.
Over 1/2 million have lost jobs this year– yet the claim unemployment is at 5.7%. I don;t know who is doing the math percentage calculations for thses statistics…. but the unemployment rate is a hell of a lot higher than 5.7%.
The biggest corporate trick is to shift people tp part time status- no benefits, no 401k…..
3.7 million people got downsized to part time & had to give up their benefits.
No health care insurance.
If banks with money are an analogy to chickens in pots…. the pots sure are looking empty.
People who looked down & thought living in poverty was the easy way– have one hell of a realtiy check coming their way.
frans last blog post..Thin Ice
You can say that again. ‘Specially the part about having to work 2 and 3 jobs per person. The always helpful Rep. Michelle Bachmann says that the reason Minnesota is such a great state is because so many of them are willing to work 2 and 3 jobs. Too bad she doesn’t stick with just trying to jam her tongue down Bush’s throat. You gotta know he’s in her prayers. Bible-thumpin’ boor.
She’s as much a caricature as the Jamaicans on Saturday Night Live.
trog69s last blog post..OK, Let’s Talk about Law and Order