At a moment when the media is focused on the drama surrounding the failed bailout legislation, too little attention is being paid to the real struggles of ordinary people and the human costs of our inequitable economy. The bailout's fate shouldn't stand in the way of the broader economic stimulus package that is desperately needed. Though there was an effort by Democrats to make sure that at least a few of the biggest challenges people are facing are addressed before Congress recesses this week, an obstructionist GOP makes that now seem out of reach and sight. highly.

As Congressman David Obey put it, "We are trying to find discreet ways of making life a little less miserable for people who have been hit hard by the consequences of the economic chaos that has swept over the country."

On Friday, at the request of Senator Edward Kennedy, the US Congress Joint Economic Committee held a hearing on the fight against poverty in America – or, some might say, the need for a renewed fight against poverty in America.

There is a strong connection between this bailout and any progressive proposals such as cutting poverty in half over the next ten years. As panel witness Angela Glover Blackwell, founder of PolicyLink and co-chair of the Center for American Progress Task Force on Poverty said following the hearing, "I know that we have to deal with this meltdown… but I do worry that it's going to cut right into the money that we've been trying to get to focus on dealing with poverty and other urgent issues… As we are thinking about how to save Wall Street, we need to think about how to put in … requirements – that we deal with the foreclosure crisis, that we deal with the issue of poverty in America, and that we don't take from a needy source in order to give to an irresponsible source. I am very worried that without an outcry from the American people that we are just going to see this money go without the safeguards that are needed…."

There was broad agreement on the panel that the priorities of the past 8 years have increased the urgency of a long-term commitment and new vision to reduce the number of people in poverty and help people cope with current economic distresstoo. David Cicilline, Mayor of Providence, said: "We are seeing as a result of reductions in investments in education, and in childcare, and in community development block grants – in all the things that support strong communities, strong neighbors, strong families – the consequences, frankly of the past number of years…. The challenges that American families are facing in cities all across this nation need to be addressed, particularly in the areas of housing, healthcare, and educational opportunity."

But those long-term challenges are taking a back seat to the immediate crisis: more and more people who can't afford food, heat, or shelter; people who find themselves living in poverty ($19,971 for a family of four) – or on the brink of poverty – for the first time in their lives.

In the short-run, the panelists said there is an urgent need for infrastructure investment – creating jobs immediately while also beginning to address the reprehensible neglect of our roads, bridges and mass transit, schools and levees, drinking water and wastewater systems. Also, an increase in funding for food stamps – which go to those in greatest need and are pumped directly into the economy. The witnesses argued for full-funding of the Low Income Heating Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) to avert a potential catastrophe this winter as people can no longer afford to heat their homes or are forced to choose between fuel, medicine, and other necessities. There was a consensus on the need for an increase in the community development block grant program which has been cut under the Bush Administration, and which would immediately be put into job training, after-school and other programs that are vital to struggling cities and families. Tax reforms are needed to expand the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit to reward work and help lift working people out of poverty. Finally, unemployment insurance needs to be extended. New York Congressman and leading Progressive Caucus member, Maurice Hinchey, spoke eloquently on the impact of 600,000 jobs lost thus far in 2008 – including 61,000 manufacturing jobs out of a total 84,000 jobs lost in August; 9.4 million Americans are unemployed, with almost 2 million no longer eligible for unemployment insurance.

So what is Congress doing to address those who are struggling the most today?

LIHEAP funding was approved on Saturday because it was attached to the Continuing Resolution bill – a $600 billion appropriation bill that keeps the government operating through March 2008. Also, a child tax credit was approved in separate Senate and House tax legislation that would benefit 13 million low-income children by lowering the threshold for credit from $12,050 to $8,500, and increasing the amount of credit available from the current maximum of $1000 per child. However, there are no assurances that the Senate and House will iron-out their differences in the bills. Already, it is reported that there are discussions of delaying the child tax credit provision until 2010. So, while we've seen ferocious debates about out a trillion dollars for Wall Street, and Republicans and John McCain work to make Bush tax cuts to the wealthy permanent and even expand them, low-income families in a down economy can't even count on this minimal relief.

And the picture gets worse from there. Beyond LIHEAP and the child tax credit – the latter of which is no sure thing – who knows?

The Republicans filibustered the $56 billion economic stimulus package in the Senate on Friday. It would have provided a temporary increase in food stamps by 10 percent at a time when rising food costs are hitting lower-income people harder than anyone, formerly middle-class people are relying on them for the first time, and food banks are facing record demand and shortages; extended unemployment by 7 or13 weeks – depending on a state's unemployment rate – at a cost of $6 billion over 10 years; spent $10.8 billion on infrastructure, including building and repairing highways, bridges, mass transit, airports, and Amtrak, creating 384,000 jobs; $500 million for the COPS program to hire 6,500 police officers; $600 million for clean water systems that would create 24,000 jobs; $2 billion for school construction that would create 32,300 jobs; $500 million to address some of the construction backlog for the Corps of Engineers for flood control, navigation, shore protection, and environmental restoration projects – providing construction jobs around the nation. Additionally, the package included $19.6 billion to increase the Federal share of Medicaid costs by four percent, helping twenty-nine states that currently face a $52 billion shortfall in their FY 2009 budgets, resulting in cuts in needed health care, education, and other programs.

After the GOP filibuster in the Senate, the House passed its $60.7 billion stimulus package. It was similar to the Senate bill but "more focused on spending that would have an immediate impact on job creation," according to the Washington Post. CongressDaily reported that the Bush Administration would veto it and was particularly critical of the infrastructure investment spending, saying it wouldn't create jobs in the short-term because the projects need years of planning. But Democrats argued that the projects are ready to go, creating high-paying jobs immediately and benefiting the economy in the long-term as well.

There were reports that the Senate might take up the House package but that looks really doubtful. ABC News reported that Democrats might – though it's highly unlikely at this stage– attach it to a renegotiated bailout bill and pick-up the votes needed for approval by the House from within the Democratic party.

What is most alarming about the difficulty of getting these spending proposals approved is that the resources – which address some of the most urgent needs at this moment – are a drop in the bucket compared to what is truly required over the long haul to rebuild our infrastructure, invest in green jobs and technology, make quality healthcare affordable and accessible, provide educational opportunities and childcare, and make sure people who work are paid a decent wage and benefits. For example, according to the Federal Highway Administration, $131.7 billion and $9.4 billion are needed every year over the next 20 years just to repair deficient roads and bridges, respectively.

So where does that leave 37 million people living below the poverty line? Or 90 million – 1 out of 3 Americans – living with incomes below 200 percent of the poverty line? Or 47 million Americans lacking health insurance? Without a serious shift in priorities, or a more equitable way to pay for the Wall Street bailout such as Senator Bernie Sanders' proposal for a 10 percent surtax on couples with an income over $1 million a year or $500,000 for single taxpayers, raising $300 billion in revenues over 5 years, it leaves the most desperate citizens and progressive advocates like Blackwell extremely worried. It's also clear that real change will not happen without a filibuster-proof Democratic majority in the Senate – because no benefit for lower-income and the middle-class is too important to get by the Grand Obstructionist Party.

This article was co-authored by Greg Kaufmann, a freelance writer residing in his disenfranchised hometown of Washington, DC.

Comments (41)

1. Yeah .. the Repugs will never fight poverty. There's so little profit in it.

   I see the documentation of the Bush Legacy is starting to be seen - as interpreted by Oliver Stone.

   http://www.wthefilm.com/

   Posted by leftofcenter at 09/30/2008 @ 7:42pm

2. Yeah .. the Repugs will never fight poverty. There's so little profit in it.-----Posted by leftofcenter at 09/30/2008 @ 7:42pm

   That's actually pretty funny, LOC.

   Posted by Maskdelta at 09/30/2008 @ 7:51pm

3. *That's actually pretty funny, LOC.

   Posted by Maskdelta at 09/30/2008 @ 7:51pm*

   "IT'S FUNNY CAUSE IT'S TRUE!!!" - Homer Simpson

   Posted by yutsano at 09/30/2008 @ 7:56pm

4. Harold Kuester Horrified at what I believe to be unwholesome economic and political trends in our country, I wrote my novel, REMEDY: D.E.T.O.X.X. AMERICA, because I realized that novels have a far wider audience than scholarly journals or the college classrooms where I spent my professional career teaching philosophy. The novel is a vehicle for consideration of contemporary United States economics and politics, using the culture of an alien planet to highlight what seem to me to be unwholesome conditions in the United States, such as the present economic crises that are causing so much individual suffering and governmental concern. The five action-packed days of the book center on the Living Wage Movement and our country‘s growing income disparities. The Movement has organized a bus caravan from Iowa to a huge Labor Day rally in Washington, D.C. The rally's organizers plan to demonstrate support for raising the national minimum wage to a living wage and for detoxifying our economy and corporate power structures. Through ballot initiatives and legislative action, the LWM has already succeeded in raising the minimum wage in its Iowa hometown and in neighboring towns and states. In doing so, it has had to contend with opposition from corporate power structures, most notably that of MegaSmartMart, the country's retail superpower. Factor in a sabotaged space station, the cutthroat clash of media empires, collapse of our country's financial institutions, and intrusion of humanoid aliens from the planet Pisces II. Result: the didactic thrust of REMEDY: D.E.T.O.X.X. AMERICA is subordinate to a fast-paced, complex plot which tests the insight and capabilities of all its characters to save Washington and our country. Available online. Published by PublishAmerica

   Posted by HaroldKuester at 09/30/2008 @ 8:15pm

5. Posted by HaroldKuester at 09/30/2008 @ 8:15pm |

   I wish some of these "one-timer plugging my thing" folks would learn....

   spacing....

   if just a bit!

   Posted by Maskdelta at 09/30/2008 @ 9:09pm

6. Too bad a Henry George isn't around to talk some sense into these legislators. Unearned wealth through restriction & monopoly of land & natural resources. Something is & has been terribly wrong. And no, I'm not talking about Paulson & Bush.

   Posted by Sorelish at 09/30/2008 @ 10:46pm

7. Wow, Obama community organizer supports coopertae welfare! Of course he's decent guy (clean as Biden would praise), but when needed he would stray.

   -----------

   Obama calls on Americans to support rescue plan

   Sep 30 01:22 PM US/Eastern RENO, Nev. (AP) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is calling for Americans to get behind attempts to salvage a $700 billion rescue plan for the financial sector. Obama told a crowd at the University of Nevada at Reno on Tuesday that if Wall Street fails, ordinary people will be hurt, too.

   Posted by HelenDAO at 09/30/2008 @ 11:27pm

8. my head hurts...

   Posted by frosty zoom at 09/30/2008 @ 11:33pm

9. Posted by HelenDAO at 09/30/2008 @ 11:27pm

   No Helen, don't include George's screwed ideas on immigration. 19th century nativism.

   Posted by Sorelish at 09/30/2008 @ 11:34pm

10. "If I were Dictator, which I always aspire to be"

    John McCain – about 36 seconds into the following video entitled "Economic Bill Failure":

    http://tinyurl.com/47q938

    See, he really is the embodiment of a third Bush term!

    http://tinyurl.com/2v4zse

    "Calling Dr. Freud to the Emergency Room, STAT!"

    Posted by plunger at 10/01/2008 @ 06:20am

11. Robon Hoods solution to the economic crisis:

    "Steal from the Rich and Give to the Poor."

    A simple elegant solutuion that won't make Frosty's head hurt.

    It's also a fair solution since for about the last 26 years the mantra has been. "Steal from the Poor and give to the Rich."

    Posted by chaoszen at 10/01/2008 @ 07:40am

12. See if any of this sounds familiar to the neocons. Most of them posting here don't know where their ideology comes from... "in his first popular book, Capitalism and Freedom, laid out what would become the global free-market rulebook and, in the U.S., would form the economic agenda of the neoconservative movement. First, the governments must remove all rules and regulations standing in the way of the accumlation of profits. Second, they should sell offf any assets they own that corporations could be running at a profit. And third, they should dramatically cut back funding of social programs. Within the three-part formula of deregulation, privatization and cutbacks, Friedman had plenty of specifics.

    This passage was taken from pages 68 an 69 of the Shock Doctrine written by Naomi Klein.

    You neocon idiots want to see how we got into this mess? Look no further than your messiahs Ronald Reagan, Friedman and the rest of the believers in crushing the workers of the world so that a few could profit heavily. If there is evil in the world, it's these assholes.

    Posted by Wolfgang1 at 10/01/2008 @ 08:02am

13. This passage was taken from pages 68 an 69 of the Shock Doctrine written by Naomi Klein. Posted by Wolfgang1 at 10/01/2008 @ 08:02am

    I have a standing Proposal of Marriage to Naomi Klein. No response yet. From: Heartbroken in Des Moines.

    Posted by chaoszen at 10/01/2008 @ 09:35am

14. I have a standing Proposal of Marriage to Naomi Klein. No response yet. From: Heartbroken in Des Moines.

    Posted by chaoszen at 10/01/2008 @ 09:35am

    Obama should have picked Naomi as his VP candidate. 1) She's smart and would kick ass in debates and actually knows what the hell is going on. 2) She's better looking than Palin. Good luck in your chase after Naomi chaos!!!

    Posted by Wolfgang1 at 10/01/2008 @ 09:49am

15. http://www.efinancialnews.com/homepage/content/2452026834

    paulson has made the most money of any short fund ever and yet has audacity to stop short trading, get rid of competition, and give bailout to his own company Goldman Sachs where he was CEO....this is wrong...

    he made almost 600% on one of his short funds...and then turns around and asks ordinary americans trying to put on the table to give up even more...

    STOP THE BAILOUT!!!!!

    Posted by jrs112 at 10/01/2008 @ 09:52am

16. Posted by chaoszen at 10/01/2008 @ 07:40am

    Well, chaos in the post-19th Century versions of Robin Hood, he was stealing from the CROWN (in the form of burdensome taxes levied by King John and enforced by the Sheriff of Nottingham)....and returning it to the peasantry.

    This varient is most commonly known in the 1930s Errol Flynn classic.

    Note: Pre-19th Century tales of Robin Hood were not often flattering, painting him as a common thief who stole from EVERYBODY.

    Posted by Maskdelta at 10/01/2008 @ 09:55am

17. here is a link to the real reason paulson wants bailout (i.e. to save goldman sachs, where he was CEO before becoming treasury secretary), save his own wealth, he made 600% on some of his own paulson short funds last year even while trying to stop everybody else from shorting stocks....he blackmailed everybody by getting rid of all his competition i.e. WM, WB, so only goldman and morgan stanley remain....now he would use our own money against us eliminating competition while enriching himself.....all on our dollar....and it may still happen today...it is good to put pressure on congress, but ultimately politics will prevail, basically raising FDIC insurance to 250,000 will ensure that every single congressperson now has something at stake in their own district and will get blackmailed into eventually voting for bailout...please email your congressperson, senator, etc...TODAY to stop this massive fraud....BEFORE it is too late....for REGULAR people......

    http://www.stopthebailout.org/

    Posted by jrs112 at 10/01/2008 @ 10:01am

18. http://www.stopthebailout.org/

    here is real reason paulson wants bailout, to protect the 600% return he made on his own short funds last year...as well as to protect his former employer goldman sachs, where he was CEO before becoming treasury secretary...I particularly like how he purposely made WM and WB go under, hurting a lot of ordinary people for his own benefit and used us as pawns in his blackmail attempt....he needs to go now as he clearly has conflicts of interest which are hurting all americans....please write your congressperson/senator today and VOTE NO on bailout vote today.....in senate and then tomorrow back in house....I dont care how it is revised such as raising fdic to 250,000 in order to blackmail everybody...as long politics wins, then WE ALL LOSE!!!!

    STOP THE BAILOUT!!!!

    Posted by jrs112 at 10/01/2008 @ 10:04am

19. Note: Pre-19th Century tales of Robin Hood were not often flattering, painting him as a common thief who stole from EVERYBODY.

    Posted by Maskdelta at 10/01/2008 @ 09:55am

    I was making use of a commonly held belief to make a point. But since you brought up the historical truth. Let's explore it.

    A thief is a thief. And most thieves have no qualms regarding who they steal from. In the case of Robin Hood we are looking at a feudal system (much as we have today). A smart thief realizes two things. (1) He needs protection from retaliation by the feudal lords. So giving the poverty stricken local population a share of the booty ensures him some protection from retaliation. (2) A smart thief knows where the real money is and is not likely to pilfer small change from the local population wherein he is attempting to engender trust.

    I think Robin Hood was probably a smart thief. Perhaps some of his "Merry Men" would from time to time get liquored up and "freelance" a bit of change from the locals. And where probably diciplined for their indiscretions.

    Posted by chaoszen at 10/01/2008 @ 10:56am

20. I think Robin Hood was probably a smart thief.

    Posted by chaoszen at 10/01/2008 @ 10:56am | ignore this person | warn this person

    Hush money is generally smart. Take a look at our politicians and the culture of corruption.....

    Posted by OneVote at 10/01/2008 @ 11:17am

21. Instead of using $700,000,000,000 to buy up bad debt, would it possible to use that money to simply pay the debt off? It seems to me if the problem goes down to individual mortgages, then the ultimate risk is that homebuyers will default on those loans. Instead of giving the money to the crooks who created the problem, why can't we use it to pay off people's mortgages on a case by case basis? Obviously, I'm no economist, so I guess I'd like to ask if that is a really stupid idea or not.

    Posted by wadeshaffer at 10/01/2008 @ 11:19am

22. Obviously, I'm no economist, so I guess I'd like to ask if that is a really stupid idea or not.

    Posted by wadeshaffer at 10/01/2008 @ 11:19am | ignore this person | warn this person

    Not at all. This is part of the "bottom up" proposal that many anti-bailout folks are talking about.

    Posted by OneVote at 10/01/2008 @ 11:24am

23. I'm no economist, so I guess I'd like to ask if that is a really stupid idea or not.

    Posted by wadeshaffer at 10/01/2008 @ 11:19am

    No it is not a stupid idea. It actually has a lot of merit. But it has problems from the top to the bottom. At the top there is no profit in it for the greedy bastards who want to get their hands on 700 billion.

    At the bottom. What about the rest of us who don't have mortgages to pay for and are renting or living on the street? Those who are working two or three jobs and still can't pay the bills and have no health insurance. Are you suggesting that those people who pay taxes like everyone else subsidise and rescue others who actually enjoy home ownership no matter how tenuous?

    I think not.

    Posted by chaoszen at 10/01/2008 @ 11:52am

24. why can't we use it to pay off people's mortgages on a case by case basis?

    Posted by wadeshaffer at 10/01/2008 @ 11:19am |

    There is a very good op-ed in the Washington Post today that makes a case for that idea-- "The Trickle Up Bailout" (for some reason I get a message that the url is too long when I try to post it here.)

    Posted by italiano at 10/01/2008 @ 11:55am

25. Every American should be guaranteed a job (if they can work), a place to live, food to eat, medical care and a free education. Without these things guaranteed to every American citizen we will always have poverty, crime, overcrowded prisons, despair, mental illness, disease, drug abuse, domestic violence and a host of other maladies.

    Given what we as a country currently pay to deal with these problems, it would actually save us money in the long run. But the simple solutions are often overlooked due to greed and our reluctance to live together peaceably. Pity.

    Posted by chaoszen at 10/01/2008 @ 12:18pm

26. It took 40 years to get into this mess. I seriously doubt we are going to solve the problem overnight.

    US dollar's abandonement of the gold standard in the 70's combined with the policy of de-regulation created a market ripe for fraud and swindle. To add injury to the insult, predatory lending laws were loosened making the taxpayer a perfect target for market wheelers and dealers.

    Now they are holding the public at gun point demanding a bailout, rather, an extortion in exchange for making credit available. Where did all that money go? Did it disappear through thin air? No it just changed hands. Spreading unnecessary panic about the economy is the latest tactic for milking US treasury coffers.

    We need to prosecute crooks for fraud and extortion in this country, not bail them out.

    Posted by diogenes2 at 10/01/2008 @ 12:35pm

27. Obama should have picked Naomi as his VP candidate. 1) She's smart and would kick ass in debates and actually knows what the hell is going on. 2) She's better looking than Palin.

    Posted by Wolfgang1 at 10/01/2008 @ 09:49am

    3) she's canadian! always a plus. except for mr. harper.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 10/01/2008 @ 12:40pm

28. One symptom of these times: a surge in the number of million-dollar foreclosures. According to RealtyTrac, the number of homes valued at more than $1 million that are in some stage of foreclosure has swelled to 7,968 between January and August. That compares with 4,214 during the same period last year.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 10/01/2008 @ 12:48pm

29. US dollar's abandonement of the gold standard

    Posted by diogenes2 at 10/01/2008 @ 12:35pm

    and really, really started cooking the planet....

    Posted by frosty zoom at 10/01/2008 @ 12:51pm

30. Thanks italiano. The piece is awesome and it really outlines how that idea might work.

    Granted, it's not going to fix everything for everybody, but the trickle-up bailout does seem like a smarter way to deal with the crisis. There's no way we're going to solve the housing problem, the poverty problem, the <insert your favorite crisis here> problem in one day. But we have to start somewhere, and dealing with the Wall Street crisis by paying off the mortgages that started the problem in the first place is a lot better than what they're proposing now.

    Posted by wadeshaffer at 10/01/2008 @ 1:03pm

31. 3) she's canadian! always a plus. except for mr. harper.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 10/01/2008 @ 12:40pm

    Hey, we should be able to overlook that Frosty. Wasn't McCain born in Panama? Ya, I know, his daddy was an admiral in the Navy and he was born in a U.S. territory yadda yadda yadda. If the tables were turned and Obama had been born in Panama, the rethugs posting here would be yelling and screaming that he's not American....I always do find it funny that a lot of U.S. citizens don't realize that Canadians and South Americans are also citizens of America.

    Posted by Wolfgang1 at 10/01/2008 @ 1:11pm

32. well,

    america is just the name of some dead italian dude....

    Posted by frosty zoom at 10/01/2008 @ 3:09pm

33. I consider myself to be fairly non-ideological in world terms, but what I prefer about American progressives is that they are willing to discuss ideas first and resort to facile "labelling" later.

    I don't always agree with Katrina vanden Heuvel on economics but I definitely agree with a lot she's written here and I believe that Naomi Klein's SHOCK DOCTRINE is essential reading not for liberals who are prone to agree but for conservatives and Republicans of good conscience and at least a sense of pragmatism.

    The determining factor of a nation's economic strength is the strength of the majority, i.e., the strength of the working-class and the middle-class. "The market" does an excellent job of pricing certain forms of expected value and risk but completely deregulated markets do nothing for a nations's wealth or productive capacity.

    The accompanying social control mechanisms of drummed-up fear, nationalism and organized religion make for an obedient and weak working and middle class which is distracted from the indifference the ruling class shows them. How productive can a worker be if he or she has a stronger investment in the success of military contractors than in their own lives? How productive can a worker be if he or she is not planning for next week, next year, and their childrens' futures but instead are planning to live in heaven eternally?

    So, in the process of guaranteeing the perqusities of capital at the expense of labor, the current USA is squandering its one remaining global advantage: its magnificent labor productivity.

    I know I'll catch at lot of crap about this so I'll deal with economics and markets more specifically in response.

    Vayan con dios.

    Posted by DexterManley at 10/01/2008 @ 8:15pm

34. Hey, we should be able to overlook that Frosty. Wasn't McCain born in Panama? Ya, I know, his daddy was an admiral in the Navy and he was born in a U.S. territory yadda yadda yadda. If the tables were turned and Obama had been born in Panama, the rethugs posting here would be yelling and screaming that he's not American....I always do find it funny that a lot of U.S. citizens don't realize that Canadians and South Americans are also citizens of America.

    Posted by Wolfgang1 at 10/01/2008 @ 1:11pm

    Que hay, Wolfgang1? Como estas, pana?

    John McCain was not born in Panama nor lived there. He was born in an area built by the US military that looks like Anytown, USA, and at that time only had Panamanians around as servants.

    Barack Obama and our first post-liberation (by Clinton in 1999) president, Ernesto "Toro" Perez-Balladares, employ the same attorney, Gregory Craig.

    I know which candidate I trust more to understand what's happening in modern Panama!

    Posted by DexterManley at 10/01/2008 @ 8:22pm

35. Yes, tt's risky senators of high integrity, it's not for for double standard politicos.

    ----------

    Bailout as risky as Iraq vote For many lawmakers, the $700 billion bailout vote may be as risky as their Iraq war vote. A vote with unforeseen consequences? By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent Wed Oct 1, 7:02 PM ET

    WASHINGTON - Like the momentous 2002 decision authorizing the invasion of Iraq, Congress' vote on a $700 billion financial industry bailout figures to reverberate unpredictably, both for the economy and for the politicians vowing to protect it.

    Which gives added emphasis to Wisconsin Republican Rep. Paul Ryan's heartfelt summation: "We're in this moment, and if we fail to do the right thing, heaven help us."

    Posted by HelenDAO at 10/02/2008 @ 12:30am

36. But Wolfie, not citizens of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

    Posted by DexterManley at 10/02/2008 @ 12:40am

37. But Wolfie, not citizens of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

    Posted by DexterManley at 10/02/2008 @ 12:40am

    DM, I understand. I was pointing out that there are people here "mostly on the rethug side of the ticket" that think the United States is America.

    There are adults living in the U.S., who are registered voters, who are completely clueless. They are spoon fed their news by Faux News, the AM conservative radio shows and what their pastors or ministers tell them.

    They don't even stop to think that they might be being fed straight propaganda. I used to be one of them. Then, I joined the A.F. and was stationed over seas. It was an eye opener to find out that people in other countries hated us and they had damn good reasons for it.

    Most people in this country think it's just natural for us to have bases in other countries. An old Greek guy asked me this question to which I had no come back. He said, "How would you like it if your city had Greek soldiers based there and patrolling your neighborhood and hitting on the girls in your hometown?" After that little statement, I realized that the old felos "friend" was right. I wouldn't like it and I could see why the Greeks didn't like it. Incidentally, that base has since been closed down and the U.S. is no longer there.

    Maybe we should take the hint in Iraq as well.

    Posted by Wolfgang1 at 10/02/2008 @ 07:10am

38. I just wrote to Nancy Pelosi that the Bailout Package approved by the Senate had some extremely important Problems-It did NOT address the continuing 10,000 Mortgage Foreclosures Monthly, It did NOT include Banking Rules and Regulations that would Stop Predatory Lending and open the way to Renegotiate Mortgage Loans, It did NOT Penalize either Financially or by Censure the Predatory lenders in any way, and finally did not cap the Bill at a Specified Amount! I told her that this was tantamount to Making the Congress of the United States and accomplice to the biggest crime of Fraud in American History and that the outcome will be known before Nov.4 if the House Weakens and will result in many new faces in Congress!

    Posted by RITEON at 10/02/2008 @ 08:30am

39. I just wrote to Nancy Pelosi that the Bailout Package approved by the Senate had some extremely important Problems-It did NOT address the continuing 10,000 Mortgage Foreclosures Monthly, It did NOT include Banking Rules and Regulations that would Stop Predatory Lending and open the way to Renegotiate Mortgage Loans, It did NOT Penalize either Financially or by Censure the Predatory lenders in any way, and finally did not cap the Bill at a Specified Amount! I told her that this was tantamount to Making the Congress of the United States and accomplice to the biggest crime of Fraud in American History and that the outcome will be known before Nov.4 if the House Weakens and will result in many new faces in Congress!

    Posted by RITEON at 10/02/2008 @ 08:33am

40. how can we talk about ending poverty, when we allow 15000 people to illegally enter our nation everyday? until we secure our boders and cut off the social services gravy train, we will have and endless supply of poverty stricken people.

    Posted by pubguy at 10/02/2008 @ 12:17pm

41. Posted by chaoszen at 10/01/2008 @ 12:18pm

    "Without these things guaranteed to every American citizen we will always have poverty, crime, overcrowded prisons, despair, mental illness, disease, drug abuse, domestic violence and a host of other maladies."

    Do you honestly believe that giving everyone a job, a place to live, food to eat, medical care and a free education would end any of the things you've mentioned above? If you do, you're either very naive or extremely idealistic. Or maybe both.

    We could also say if everyone worked hard, didn't covet what others have worked for, and committed themselves to being the best they could be we'd do away with most of the poverty in our country and charities would be able to take care of the rest (like mental illness and disease). But that is not realism, its idealism.

    As much as an idealist as I am at heart, I know no amount of money, education, or health care is going to solve the problems of alcholism, violence, greed, or self-indulgence.

    Posted by jayneslilsis at 10/02/2008 @ 3:37pm