The Colbert Report.
Re: this.
“Many legal Hispanic workers are fleeing the state because their family and friends don’t have the proper papers and they fear they will be jailed” in response to the Alabama Workers Immigration Law. The region is losing vital workers and the political agenda is backfiring into the already volatile situation of the US economy. The targeted Hispanic population is being further alienated and many are convinced that the law must be repealed to provide a viable economic future and improved setting for social justice.
All that stuff you’ve been hearing about college grads falling behind, and student loans killing the middle class? Yeah, that shit’s for real.
Not too bad, according to one heretical economist.
Cops watching a man drown because they can no longer afford water-rescue training? Actually happening. That’s just what happens when one political party openly declares it wants to shrink the size of government until its small enough to drown in a bath tub. Our November/December cover story is up, and it’s a must-read.
In our national desperation to create jobs, we’ve forgotten that quantity doesn’t necessarily mean quality. For instance, Rick Perry boasts of creating jobs in Texas, but Texas is tied with Mississippi for the highest percentage of minimum wage jobs in the nation. According to the latest jobs numbers, the United States gained 58,000 jobs in September, with an additional 45,000 communication workers returning to work after a strike. But as any busboy cleaning up after a Wall Street banker can tell you, not all jobs are created equal.
Of course, the 9.1% of unemployed Americans in our country would gladly take even the worst of jobs to put food on their tables. But as recent Census data reveals, 46.2 million Americans lived in poverty in 2010 — many of whom have jobs, just not jobs that are good enough. In fact, for all American workers, the Census Bureau found that media household incomes (adjusted for inflation) declined by 2.3% in 2010 over the previous year — even as worker productivity and corporate profits rose.
America needs an economic recovery not just on paper but on principle — where the quality of life for workers rises as the quantity of jobs and our overall economy grows. Which is why it’s deeply troubling that so many in our government are trying to undermine the quality of current jobs, let alone create more and better jobs for the future.
1. Corporations are not persons.
2. Money is not speech
3. Tax Financial Transactions
4. Tax all income as ordinary income
5. Declare a moratorium on foreclosures
The Wall Street occupiers have taken a stand against monied democracy and corporate power. We would do well to join them. Make your voices heard. And demand new rules that will honor the 99% and restore democracy to the nation.
A Must-Read Publication: Girls Grow: A Vital Force in Rural Economies
“I want to help people who are suffering, especially those in my home area. The doctors and nurses who treat us are people we don’t know from the cities. I want to work to change this so we can help ourselves in our community.”—Mary, Malawi
I hope you’re joining Occupy Wall Street here in NYC at 4:30pm.
I previously mentioned that students at my school (The New School) are planning a 4pm walk-out to join Occupy Wall Street. I emailed my professor for class that night to tell him I would be missing class because of Occupy Wall street and the walk-out, and he said it was not a problem. In fact, he canceled class for tomorrow.
If you’re not in NYC, the Occupy movement has spread elsewhere. Find your local occupation and join in. We’re the 99%.
