January 23, 2004
The Other America.
Writing in the NY Times, columnist Bob Herbert addresses the problems of
The Other America, and openly acknowledges that perhaps these serious and ongoing economic problems are not temporary, but represent a fundamental breaking down of the American economic system. And that far from there being a recovery, things are in fact getting worse.
When millions of families are suffering in the midst of what is billed as a robust recovery, we should start looking closely at the possibility that the system itself is breaking down.
This goes far beyond the issue of employment. The Times ran a front-page article on Wednesday about Gov. George Pataki's proposed state budget. The ominous subheadline read: "Plan Relies on Gambling to Aid Poorest Schools."
I wrote a story last week about the tens of thousands of low-income youngsters in Florida who are eligible for a children's health insurance program but are being put on waiting lists. State officials say they can't afford to insure the kids now. In California, an estimated 300,000 eligible children are being shunted to similar waiting lists. No one knows when they might get coverage.
President Bush got at least one thing right on Tuesday night, when he said, "Americans are proving once again to be the hardest-working people in the world." Those who are fortunate enough to be employed often have to work long hours, or string together two and three jobs to make ends meet. They are working harder and harder just to keep from falling behind.
He quotes presidential candidate John Edwards.
In his "Two Americas" speech, Senator Edwards says there is: "One America that does the work, another America that reaps the reward. One America that pays the taxes, another America that gets the tax breaks. . . . One America — middle-class America — whose needs Washington has long forgotten. Another America — narrow-interest America — whose every wish is Washington's command."
But Edwards himself is a multi-millionaire lawyer. Is he really prepared to seriously address these problems, any real solution to which would inevitably impact upon his own financial situation? It's time to acknowledge that rich Democratic Senators are as much part of the problem as they are part of the solution. Especially the ones that are lawyers, such as Edwards, or the possessors of vast corporate wealth, such as Kerry, who is married to the heiress to the Heinz fortunes. They may mean well, but it is human nature not to cut your own throat.
