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October 20, 2003
Economic Justice Will Strengthen American Families
A working mother of a young girl came into the unemployment office in Brooklyn one day as I was doing field research for the Food Stamp eligibility software my company Mission Research built this year. We were set up at a small gray table near the bathrooms, across from the line where you had to wait for half an hour just to get a number to go wait again somewhere deeper in the building. She looked very tired as she walked into the building and looked around, eyes adjusting to the dark entranceway. She saw us and came directly over and asked, “Is this where I get Food Stamps?” We answered no, we just do the screening. The “screening” software was about 10 years old—an old DOS program that didn’t really do any calculations, so the outreach worker carried a calculator to apply the USDA calculations to her info. She wasn’t eligible. At the end of every week she had $100 for food, or about $15 a day. Two people can live on $15 a day, but it’s very hard, especially in New York, where we were working. The working poor make up a large part of our country, and too often are denied a living wage, health coverage, and a decent shot at bringing their kids up right. “Right” starts with having enough time to care for your kids. When parents have to work two jobs each to pay the bills, cover the mortgage, and feed the family, the family suffers. The kids grow up without enough parental guidance. The stress and strain on the family can cause serious, long lasting problems. The working poor make up a large part of our country, and too often are refused a living wage, health coverage, and a decent shot at bringing their kids up right. “Right” starts with having enough time to care for your kids. When parents have to work two jobs each to pay the bills, cover the mortgage, and feed the family, the family suffers. The kids grow up without enough parental guidance. The stress and strain on the family can cause serious, long lasting problems. That’s why we need a living wage in this country. The janitors I rallied with on Friday morning in Pittsburgh deserve more than $8 an hour and no health benefits. How can you raise a family on that? If we are to strengthen our communities, we must strengthen our families. The best way to do that is to guarantee a living wage, good jobs, and adequate health coverage. Children need time with their parents. If we really, truly value families—and I believe we do--we will change the country’s economic policies to reflect that and give parents the money they deserve and the time their children need with their parents. It’s simply the right thing to do. Hey, I was surfin' for local sites and found my way here. Great looking site. Posted by: sex pussy at July 25, 2004 04:49 AMThank you for developing this very good site ! Posted by: lisa scat at July 21, 2004 11:13 PMI am honored to drop a line here and say thank you for keeping this great site online. Posted by: video's and dvd's at July 19, 2004 04:23 PMI am honored to drop a line here and say thank you for keeping this great site online. Posted by: video's and dvd's at July 19, 2004 04:23 PMI am honored to drop a line here and say thank you for keeping this great site online. Posted by: video's and dvd's at July 19, 2004 04:23 PMI am honored to drop a line here and say thank you for keeping this great site online. Posted by: video's and dvd's at July 19, 2004 04:22 PMgood job ! Posted by: Accra at July 19, 2004 10:00 AMgood job ! Posted by: Accra at July 19, 2004 10:00 AMgood job ! Posted by: Accra at July 19, 2004 10:00 AMgood job ! Posted by: Accra at July 19, 2004 10:00 AMGute Webseite! I'll tell my friends about it... )N Posted by: germania pils at July 18, 2004 02:47 PMGute Webseite! I'll tell my friends about it... )N Posted by: germania pils at July 18, 2004 02:47 PMGute Webseite! I'll tell my friends about it... )N Posted by: germania pils at July 18, 2004 02:46 PMGute Webseite! I'll tell my friends about it... )N Posted by: germania pils at July 18, 2004 02:46 PMHmmmmm interesting zapraszamy po czadowe gry java na gry java, dzwonki polifoniczne sony ericsson katalog artystów dzwonki Polyphonic Ringtones Monophonic Ringtones get
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