Bootstraps, My Ass
From
Krugman:
But the fact of the matter is that Horatio Alger stories are rare, and stories of people trapped by their parents' poverty are all too common. According to one recent estimate, American children born to parents in the bottom fourth of the income distribution have almost a 50 percent chance of staying there -- and almost a two-thirds chance of remaining stuck if they're black.
That's not surprising. Growing up in poverty puts you at a disadvantage at every step. I'd bracket those new studies on brain development in early childhood with a study from the National Center for Education Statistics, which tracked a group of students who were in eighth grade in 1988. The study found, roughly speaking, that in modern America parental status trumps ability: students who did very well on a standardized test but came from low-status families were slightly less likely to get through college than students who tested poorly but had well-off parents.Labels: Economy, Politics, Poverty
The Candidates on Poverty
Obama's website on poverty:
Poverty Rising: There are nearly 37 million poor Americans. Most Americans living in poverty work, but still cannot afford to make ends meet. Minimum Wage is Not Enough: Even when a parent works full-time earning minimum wage and EITC and food stamps are factored into their income, families are still $1,550 below the federal poverty line because of the flat-lined minimum wage.Hillary's website on poverty:
.........Nothing.
That's not going to go over well with me...
Labels: 2008 Election, 2008 Primaries, Barack Obama, Democratic Party, Economy, Hillary Clinton, Politics, Poverty
New York, NY -- Why Don't You Give a F**k? The Homeless Don't Have Yachts
From
Saturday's LA Times:
Making good on a promise to trim the state budget, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger eliminated a $55-million program Friday that advocates say has helped thousands of mentally ill homeless people break the costly cycle of hospitalization, jails and street life.Counties across the state, however, are facing the slow erosion of their traditional mental health budgets; state Sen. Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento), who created the just-eliminated program in 1999, called the cut "unconscionable."
He noted that despite the allegedly strapped conditions of the state, legislators managed to preserve a tax break for some purchasers of yachts, planes and recreational vehicles -- a measure that could cost the state as much as $45 million.
"A $45-million tax break for yacht owners stays in the budget," Steinberg said. "And a nationally recognized, incredibly effective program to end homelessness for those living with mental illness gets thrown under the bus."
The program served as the blueprint for Proposition 63, the 1% "millionaires' tax" established to overhaul the mental health system. It is known as Integrated Services for Homeless Adults with Serious Mental Illness or "AB 2034," after the bill that created it.
Built to expand services beyond traditional outpatient care, the program incorporates job training, housing assistance, even, at times, grocery-buying skills and dental care Schwarzenegger praised the program three years ago for creating "significant savings at the local level."Bad enough, right? But try this on for size:
Several lawmakers at the center of the budget dispute did not return phone calls or could not be reached. They included Senate Republican Leader Dick Ackerman of Irvine -- a yacht owner who pushed to ease the tax burden on owners of yachts, planes and RVs.Cutting benefits for the poor to create tax cuts for the rich is not only the M.O. for Republicans these days, it's one of their top goals. That ticks me off enough, but in this case, the fact that an elected official is not only doing it on behalf of himself and his "peers," but that the tax cuts are for a group that's so tritely symbolically wealthy -- yacht owners!!! - that geez, you think that there'd be some sort of major public uproar. But there isn't. So this sort of thing keeps happening. Why? Because no one gives a f**k. Why don't you?
(hat tip to
mbair on DKos)
Labels: Poverty, Republican Party, Why Don't You Give a F**k
