No Permanent Majorities In America
Cartoony Politics in Canada
Being President 101
Failure To Blow Election Stuns Democratic Party Faithful Mourn End To Losing Tradition
Hope Is On The Way
The Future Is Upon Us
Illinois Outdoes Itself
Environmentalists Disregard Public Safety
There's Something About Harry
The White Collar Lament
What Good Can Come Of This?
Dummies
If The Shoe Fits Hurl It
Obama The Magic Negro-Gate
How Can Obama Fix So Much That Went Wrong?
Happy New Year ...
Out With The Old
Remember The Empty Chairs At Holiday Tables
Who Are The Real Nazis?
The Gaza Rules
Harper's Weekly
The Mortgage Thieves Return
Bullet Points For Assessing The Bush Years
Bye-Bye 2008: Things I Want To Forget
The Fierce Urgency Of Now
How Many Government Workers Does It Take To Change A Light Bulb?
The Perils And Joys Of Self-Esteem
The Future Of Civilization
'Hunk' Obama Can Help Nation Fight Obesity Epidemic
Moral Clarity In Gaza
Obama's Tax Cuts Leave Logic Behind
Talking About Sex-Ed That Works
The Time Is Now
Et Al Ad Nauseam: 2008 And All That
The Generational Theft Act Of 2009
Pay Rod Gives Democrats Fits With Senate Choice
'Tis The Season To Be Jolly. Or At least Try
Hey, Caroline -- You'Re Not Entitled
Hamas Rockets Blew Away Gaza Opportunity
Season's Readings
Old Acquaintances
A Social Trauma For Obama: Youth Crime
Sensitivity And 'Gran Torino'
A Question For My Friend Alan Dershowitz
The Unsung Hero Of Obama'S Victory
Red Ink Did Me Good
Barack in Limbo
A Hard Year Ahead
Ask Not For Plum Political Appointments
Eric Holder And All Political Prisoners
Mideast Overshadows Obama's Prospects
Enough About My Hair Already
Year-End Odds And Ends
Curing The New Year's Eve Hangover
The Gamble in Gaza -- Interview With Aaron David Miller
Cal Thomas-Bonus
A Respite From Reality
One Nation, One People-God Bless Us Everyone
Dr. Leavitt's Scary Diagnosis
Teaching Economics
Richardson's Exit And The Vetting Process



The Least Of These
Jesse Jackson 12/1/2008
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We got trouble. Unemployment is rising. Factories are closing. Construction is shutting down. Stores are laying off folks at the height of the holiday season. Soup kitchens are overwhelmed. No one doubts now that the U.S. is headed into a severe downturn, one likely to be the worst since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

In hard times, the worries are very concrete. Will my job go? Will my daughter lose her health care? Can I keep my child in college? I can't afford to sell my house and can't afford to live in it. The troubles are real, hard and widespread.

But it is in these times that we must remember the "least of these," for it is the poorest Americans who are most at risk. That will be particularly true in this recession because, over the last 30 years, we've unraveled much of what used to be known as the "safety net."

As unemployment rises, so does poverty. Goldman Sachs now projects that unemployment will soar above 9 percent over the next year. That means roughly another 7 to 10 million Americans in poverty, another 3 million children in poverty -- and 2 million more children in "deep poverty," living in families with incomes less than one-half of what is considered poverty level. These are families at the edge of survival itself, struggling to find food to eat and shelter from
the cold. Every religious tradition teaches that we will be judged by how we treat those most in need.

And if nothing is done, we are likely to be judged harshly.

Unemployment among workers without a high school diploma -- the poorest workers -- has already soared to over 10 percent. Yet these workers are the least likely to be eligible for unemployment insurance, which in many states excludes part-time workers or workers who don't earn enough to qualify, the very ones who need help the most.

Worse, basic cash assistance reaches far fewer people in distress than it did in the last major recession, in 1980. Today, according to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, only about 40 percent of families eligible for aid under the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program actually receive it. Welfare as we knew it was severely restricted at the federal level under the Reagan and Clinton administrations.

Worse still, those who are impoverished but no longer raising children increasingly get no cash assistance of any kind. State general assistance programs were largely eliminated in the 1980s and early 1990s. Many of these folks -- poor workers now laid off -- aren't even eligible for food stamps. This is the very population that will soar in the next few months.

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Help for the Little Ones -- COLOR
By Arcadio Esquivel - Cagle Cartoons, La Prensa, Panama * Posted 6/16/2008 12:00:00 AM
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Help for the Little Ones -- COLOR
© Copyright 2008  Arcadio Esquivel - All Rights Reserved.
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