Sunday February 19, 2012, 6:06 pm
ty

Sunday February 19, 2012, 8:17 pm
Again, Thank You Kit.

Monday February 20, 2012, 1:07 pm
I remain optimistic!

Monday February 20, 2012, 1:50 pm
When & WHY is homelessness anything Close to NORMAL in America??? "Homeless, NYC: The New Normal?"
I was married in the 70's & we had Many years of fitful, sporadic jobs - into the mid-80's before he joined a Union & Finally we could BUY a mobile home & then a real home.. it was Always hard & Always scarey, especially with kids. But we had family - even when we were technically homeless we had Someone's home to go to. It was NOT fun, but I can't even imagine NOT taking in family if they had no place to live. I guess rural areas are different, but Politicians & city governments should be Ashamed for NOT making more housing
affordable (Or FREE) when people are destitute! ALL those abandonned buildings, etc. were what ACORN made available to Poor people & RepubliCONs screwed that up too!:(

Monday February 20, 2012, 3:56 pm
It seems like the Republicans in office are doing their VERY BEST to really SCREW UP THE COUNTRY.
They must REALLY HATE THE MIDDLE CLASS AND THE POOR. I just don't understand their warped thinking. It just boggles the mind.

Monday February 20, 2012, 5:02 pm
Thanks for sharing.

Monday February 20, 2012, 5:14 pm
I keep sunny and optimistic.

Monday February 20, 2012, 5:30 pm
Most distressing.

Monday February 20, 2012, 5:49 pm
Sad, if the developed nations of the world would stop engaging in war(s). Then,we could eradicate most of the poverty, hunger and unemployment throughout the world.

Monday February 20, 2012, 7:17 pm
Thanks Kit

Monday February 20, 2012, 8:08 pm
What is it with the GOP? Is it really possible that they can't understand the pain and indignity suffered by the hungry and the homeless? The frustration and fear of the unemployed? The struggles families face when living at or below the poverty level? Do they really believe that people who've lost their jobs and their health insurance and/or their homes, especially due to Wall Street's mortgage crisis fraud, deserve what happened to them? I don't know if it's callous indifference, an uncharitable nature, or ignorance --but whatever it is-- it's turning America into a very divided country, and I'm sure it's not looked upon kindly by the God they claim to be favored by.

Monday February 20, 2012, 8:16 pm
they don't care about long term jobless, they don't even include them in jobless numbers. you fall off the unemployment rolls and you are forgotten and don't count. obama and the rest say unemployment is 9%, wrong it's more than that. they just aren't counting people that can't find a job, can't get unemployment and are considered useless by all. how dare they do that to people. count the real numbers and quit acting like the long term unemployed don't exist. nobody in dc deserves to get re-elected. boot them all out.

Monday February 20, 2012, 9:28 pm
Yep, it's hard times for many,

Oddly enough, I've got better times than I've ever had in my life.

I am grateful.

Tuesday February 21, 2012, 12:44 am
Sad, but not surprising, thank you for the news.

Tuesday February 21, 2012, 3:14 am
Yragic,the four peole on average seeking for work for every one job available ids of course far worse for those trying to get work than this sounds as the jobs there are probably do match up to the skills there are-
The policy of cutting the elegibilty for benefits and also the time benefits can be recieved may not be even a short term saving as the crime and desease and mental instability generated by these measures could well cost the community more, The cost of processing the crime alone shoild be factored in and policing,court costs,damage to property and therefore to insurance companies,damage to those businessesses where the employees catch the diseases that are caused by these measures,and cannot report for work,the absebnteeism due to the larger family (if ione exists), trying to help their afflicted members.

The violence,juvenile delinquency,drug dealingand use that these measures will cause could well cost the community far mare than these measures save

Tuesday February 21, 2012, 6:56 am
The aggravating thing for me is that we could CREATE jobs simply by doing the very necessary work on the infrastructure - take a few bucks from the pentagon budget and use it to hire people to build roads, bridges, revamp the electrical system, update air traffic control, etc. etc. etc.

Tuesday February 21, 2012, 7:22 am
President Roosevelt took the view that the President as a "steward of the people" should take whatever action necessary for the public good unless expressly forbidden by law or the Constitution.

"...the moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; those who are in the shadows of life; the sick, the needy and the handicapped. " ~ Last Speech of Hubert H. Humphrey VP

Seems now all the Leadership can do is everything possible to make things worse for the people, kick them while they are down, blame the poor for being so, hate the disabled for being so, and rush the Elders to their graves for being so.

Tuesday February 21, 2012, 7:44 am
Sad, really! Let's hope politicians actually DO something for these people...

Tuesday February 21, 2012, 7:56 am
Noted, Thanks.

Tuesday February 21, 2012, 8:11 am
MAYBE IF THEY DIDN'T SHIP THE JOBS OVERSEAS WE WOULDN'T HAVE THIS!

Tuesday February 21, 2012, 10:25 am
Thanks Kit. I know a lot of people caught up in that perfect storm and are facing dire consequences as a result and it's really frightening. It's just too scary and upsetting to talk about.

Tuesday February 21, 2012, 2:17 pm
noted...

Tuesday February 21, 2012, 3:18 pm
Thanks Kit--it's bad enough in print, the reality must be soul destroying.

Tuesday February 21, 2012, 3:52 pm
Another problem is that many employers are only hiring part time workers at low wages. So if a person had a job that paid $40k a year with a 401k and health insurance, they might well have to settle for less than half that amount with no benefits and no healthcare....that's assuming they could find a job at all.

Wednesday February 22, 2012, 4:17 am
As they systematically cut off each and every avenue for survival they are driving our country back into the Dark Ages. All social safety nets fought for and won by our parents and grandparents are being destroyed one by one, while subsidies to the rich are left intact or increased. Yes, they are creating a storm; a storm of desperation. Eventually, their actions, if left unchecked, will lead to yet another Arab Spring or French Revolution.

Wednesday February 22, 2012, 8:15 am
I think you might be right Diane, there are likely to be political repercussions if this carries on too much longer. But i would caution those who long for sudden or violent revolution. Look at what "Arab Spring" has produced so far. Egypt is now in the throes of turmoil and i assume the other Arab countries will follow suit. In the end, i expect there will be new governments guided by Sharia Law....likely no better than the ones deposed. The French Revolution ended up with Napoleon....a military despot that had himself named emperor....not a good thing.

I think we have to be very careful that, in the process of reform we don't bring on anarchy. There are still more good things about America than bad. We also mustn't allow our Constitution to be hijacked by religious fanatics, homophobes and racists. The "Founding Fathers" never meant for that document to limit freedom or designate a state religion.

Wednesday February 22, 2012, 1:24 pm
thanks Kit, very scary what is going on, and don't see it changing anytime soon

Wednesday February 22, 2012, 3:19 pm
It's all in the plan - when we are homeless and starving with no clothes on our back we will beg the government to take us into their FEMA camps. Did I say we were in Nazi Germany?

Thursday February 23, 2012, 2:08 am
Thanks.

Thursday February 23, 2012, 3:05 am
Thank You

Friday February 24, 2012, 7:33 am
Scary the amount of competition for even the lowest paying jobs.

Saturday February 25, 2012, 3:44 am
thankyou