If Rick Perry is an Economic Miracle Worker, Why Are So Many Texans Going Hungry?

[kpete]

If Rick Perry is an Economic Miracle Worker, Why Are So Many Texans Going Hungry?
Simple: because so much of his job creation is minimum wage


http://inourownbackyard.us/states/texas

by John Turner

One of the questions I'm constantly asked here at the food bank in Austin, Texas is: "I don't understand why there are so many people who are hungry: why is that?" They say things like, "I heard that thanks to Governor Rick Perry, the Texas economy is booming, isn't it? Texas's unemployment rate is lower than the national average; companies are relocating here in droves. Aren't these just homeless or lazy people in line for food handouts?"

My answer is simple. Many individuals and families here are just not earning enough money to put food on the table. In fact there is much more to the vaunted Texas "economic miracle" than meets the eye. It is an enticing mirage with a grim human story shimmering in the heat of this scorching Texas summer.

While it is true that the Texas unemployment rate of 8.4% is below the national average of 9.1%, it is also true that according to the bureau of labour statistics, of the 211,000 jobs created last year, 37% of these new jobs paid at or below minimum wage.

To place it in perspective, the minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, or $14,500 per year. This type of wage and job creation doesn't create a living, much less long-term prosperity. According to the Centre for Public Policy Priorities, an average family without employer sponsored health insurance living in the Austin area, must earn $53,080 at a minimum to make ends meet.

more:
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/09/04-5

[rfranklin]

1. Just lazy parasites...

That's what I heard at the country club.

[MannyGoldstein]

2. Apparently, God wants it that way.

Pass the foie gras, suckers.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. Perry is a common criminal...

So this is his economic miracle?

Yeah, it's a miracle we're letting him get away with this.

I don't want this man anywhere near our White House. He must not be allowed to foist this miracle on our entire country...

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[Trajan]

4. If conservative economic philosophy were so superior ....

Why has it usually proven to have disastrous results for regular families ?

Name an era when conservatives held sway, implemented their system, and watched as the whole or part of the lower and middle classes rose in any significant manner ...

GOP policies are degenerate ... they KILL economic activity because they kill the buying power of the many citizens who exist on the lower rungs ....