Help us speak out! (We need your ideas.)

[GreenPartyVoter]

After having heard a replay of the Bill Press show, a fellow DUer came to the conclusion that although he gave lots of airtime to the issue of poverty, his solution of "JOBS, JOBS, JOBS" was off the mark. We also need to address our safety net that helps protect people, and how many of our most vulnerable are slipping through it as it becomes more and more shredded. (And many times our "progressive" representation are part of the problem, failing to stand up for actual progressive ideals and programs.)

If we can start a campaign of speaking out on left-leaning political programs or in newspapers and so forth, we can help raise awareness of the problem. Can we come up with a concise plan of action that we can recommend for use by the DU Activist Corps, and also invite other DUers to participate in on their own?

For example, in the case of Bill Press, here is his contact page. If you are able to call in during his show, that would be great!
http://www.billpressshow.com/contact-us /

Here are some points to get across: choose the ones you like and write something simple and brief. Just get the point across.

*The COLA has been frozen for at least 2 years, so the very poor are even poorer.

*He says a family of four can't live on $22,000 a year.. what about those on SSI who are living on $674 a month, which comes to $7077 a year, or $4.21 an hour?

*Food stamps have been cut drastically.

*Medicaid has been cut for reimbursements, so doctors are accepting fewer poor patients.

*Section 8 has been cut, so there is less housing, more homeless people.

*There is a purge of people on Disability.

*If for every Federal dollar spent on food stamps, $1.74 is returned to the economy, then surely the same principle applies to a livable income, from whatever source. Subsidized housing would surely return more to the economy.

We have one more point that needs some fleshing out and hope that clever DUers can take it where it should go, ergo "Jobs, jobs, jobs" _only_ is a Right-Wing market-based solution to poverty, and no more effective than the trickle down theory. Please comment in this thread with any suggestions you might have.

Thank you!

[Warpy]

1. I'm a capitalist parasite these days, living on interest and dividends

and I know that nothing will save this economy but CUSTOMERS, CUSTOMERS, CUSTOMERS, which means creating the jobs that pay people more than mere subsistence. Likely it will need to be jump started by infrastructure jobs that create the next generation of industrial power from mostly renewable sources while upgrading transportation nationwide, especially passenger and freight rail transportation, the most energy efficient way to move people and goods.

Every large government investment in infrastructure has produced a boom in some area; Eisenhower's interstate highways providing booms in perishable agriculture and trucking, Gore's backing the creation of the internet providing the basis for the computer revolution as only two examples. Both investments produced incredible return and created a lot more jobs once the construction phase was over.

Obama was on the right track in his campaign speeches about creating infrastructure as the first step to economic recovery. However, equal attention will have to be paid to keeping the jobs here once they're created. He's also going to have to be clear on who's going to pay for it: the people who are likely to draw the most benefit once it's in place, our sainted rich.

The economy can not and will not recover without the demand side of the equation. Dead end, underpaid service jobs are simply not going to provide the customer base to drive any recovery. Those are the jobs that lead to serfdom, a stagnant economy that doesn't please even the wealthy.

That rising tide is not going to lift any boats unless it starts at the bottom.

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. Interesting thread about being unemployed over 50

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=9167391&mesg_id=9167391

[GreenPartyVoter]

3. Link to the GD thread discussing this

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=9170470&mesg_id=9170470

[GreenPartyVoter]

4. Ok, here's my shot at the letter. If it can be tweaked for future mailings to

other pundits, let me know:

Dear Mr. Press,

Thank you for pointing out what a dire issue poverty in America is becoming (and has been all along,) but I wanted to remind you that "jobs, jobs, jobs" is not the answer alone. It’s actually the right-wing market-based "solution" if it’s the only variable in the equation.

We hear all the time about the struggling middle class. Somewhat less often we hear about the working poor and the recently unemployed. But very rarely do we hear about the extremely poor who are not employed and who will not be employed in the future due to age, disability, or some other circumstance. So while getting more jobs _can_ be helpful by bolstering our economy and creating extra funds to be put into the social safety net, the people and their representatives have to agree to actually _do_ that for those jobs to be of any benefit to our most vulnerable members of society.

Instead, our safety net has taken a real battering for a very long time and now that so many people are facing hardship it's letting us down. Medicaid and food stamps are being slashed when more people than ever require them. But why should it be this way when we know that food stamps can actually boost the economy? Every dollar spent in food stamps returns $1.74 into the system. That seems like a smart way to get the economy rolling while at the same time making sure that people who need help buying food are receiving it. It’s a win-win, so why aren’t we doing it?

Please continue speaking out for the return of jobs, but please also speak out as loudly as you can for those Americans who have less than nothing, and who more and more frequently have nowhere to turn for desperately needed help.

Sincerely,

GPV