OK, so #HCR is pretty much done--let's get back to the economy (the *reason* so many people have no insurance)

Via Bob Herbert's March 19, 2010 op-ed at nytimes.com:

OP-ED COLUMNIST
A Ruinous Meltdown
By BOB HERBERT
Published: March 19, 2010

A story that is not getting nearly enough attention is the ruinous fiscal meltdown occurring in state after state, all across the country.

Taxes are being raised. Draconian cuts in services are being made. Public employees are being fired. The tissue-thin national economic recovery is being undermined. And in many cases, the most vulnerable populations — the sick, the elderly, the young and the poor — are getting badly hurt.

...

In the first two months of this year, state and local governments across the U.S. cut 45,000 jobs. Additional layoffs are expected as states move ahead with their budgets for fiscal 2011. Increasingly these budgets, instead of helping people, are hurting them, undermining the quality of their lives, depriving them of educational opportunities, preventing them from accessing desperately needed medical care, and so on.

...

All states have been rocked by the Great Recession. And most have tried to cope with a reasonable mix of budget cuts and tax increases, or other revenue-raising measures. Those that rely too heavily on cuts are making guaranteed investments in human misery.

Speaking of the poor, here's a cutting from a March 19, 2010 article at NYTimes.com reporting on the homeless population of New York City rising dramatically since last year:

Number of People Living on New York Streets Soars

By JULIE BOSMAN
Published: March 19, 2010

The Bloomberg administration said Friday that the number of people living on New York’s streets and subways soared 34 percent in a year, signaling a setback in one of the city’s most intractable problems.

Appearing both startled and dismayed by the sharp increase, a year after a significant drop, administration officials attributed it to the recession, noting that city shelters for families and single adults had been inundated.

So when you hear anyone in a "leadership" role talking about how the recession is over or that things are getting better, don't believe the hype. That's all it is--like pleasant music played for the frog who is enjoying a bath that is slowly being brought to a boil.

MAN, I am having a hard time being subtle today!! :)

Posted via web from thepete's posterous