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carbonhoots
old hand
Registered: 09/11/01
Posts: 1,351
Loc: BC Canada
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There is enormous suffering in America...
#2204555 - 12/27/03 07:05 PM (20 years, 3 months ago) |
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-------------------- -I'd rather have a frontal lobotomy than a bottle in front of me CANADIAN CENTER FOR POLICY ALTERNATIVES
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Annapurna1
liberal pussy
Registered: 05/21/02
Posts: 5,646
Loc: innsmouth..MA
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Re: There is enormous suffering in America... [Re: carbonhoots]
#2204628 - 12/27/03 07:47 PM (20 years, 3 months ago) |
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World Socialist Web Site www.wsws.org
Behind the economic ?recovery? Hunger and homelessness in US continue to rise in 2003 By Jamie Chapman 27 December 2003
link to original article
Hunger and homelessness in the United States continue to rise at double-digit rates in 2003, according to a December 18 report released by the US Conference of Mayors (USCM). In the 25 cities that responded to its survey, requests for emergency food assistance were up 17 percent over last year, while requests for emergency shelter increased by 13 percent on average.
The report cites unemployment and other employment-related problems as the leading cause of hunger, giving the lie to Bush administration claims that an economic recovery is lifting workers out of poverty. While there has been an increase in corporate profits, productivity and stock prices this year, millions of workers remain mired in long-term unemployment and underemployment, with savings and other resources long since exhausted.
Other causes of hunger listed in the report include low-paying jobs, the high cost of housing, medical care costs, substance abuse and mental health problems, reduced public benefits, childcare costs, and transportation expenses.
The leading cause of homelessness is the lack of affordable housing, followed by the lack of needed services for mental health and substance abuse problems, low-paying jobs, unemployment, domestic violence, poverty and prison release.
Continuing the trend of recent years, more families with children as well as the working poor are seeking emergency assistance. Fully 59 percent of those turning to soup kitchens and food pantries this year were children and their parents, while 39 percent of the adults seeking food were employed.
The number of homeless families seeking shelter increased 15 percent in 2003, constituting 40 percent of the overall homeless population. In 15 of the 25 cities surveyed, families may have to break up to be sheltered, while in 12 cities, families usually have to spend the day outside of the shelter they use at night.
Seventeen percent of homeless people work, down slightly from recent years. Five percent are unaccompanied youth, and 10 percent are veterans. Fourteen percent of the shelter population consists of single women, but advocacy groups point out that many of these women are ?single? only because they have managed to leave their children with a relative or a close friend.
The average stay in shelters was five months this year. The length of the average stay increased over 2002 in 60 percent of the cities surveyed.
While demand for emergency food and shelter is increasing, the supply in both categories has failed to keep up. Over half of the cities reported having to cut back on the number of bags of food provided, and to limit the number of times people are allowed to receive food. In every city surveyed, families and individuals relied on food assistance both in emergencies and as a steady source of food over long periods. Fourteen percent of those asking for food were denied due to short supply.
The report also documents the lack of sufficient emergency shelter. Thirty percent of applicants for emergency shelter overall, and 33 percent of homeless families were turned away, leaving them to fend for themselves on the streets overnight.
Applications for subsidized housing by low-income families increased this year in 83 percent of the cities surveyed. The average wait for public housing units is 24 months, while the wait for Section 8 vouchers, a federal housing subsidy for approved private rentals, is 27 months. In nearly half the cities, officials had stopped accepting applications for at least one form of subsidized housing because the waiting list is too long.
According to city estimates, low-income households are forced to pay an average of 46 percent of their income on housing, down slightly from 49 percent in last year?s survey. The percentage is much higher in cities with the highest housing costs.
Most US cities with populations of over 1 million are included in the survey, with the prominent exception of the nation?s largest, New York City, and the southwestern metropolises of Houston, Dallas and San Diego. A number of smaller and medium-sized cities also responded to the survey, ranging from Burlington, Vermont, to Salt Lake City, Utah.
In New York City, the situation is no better than elsewhere. The number of people housed in the shelters set a record of 38,638 in one night this month. The number of homeless families stands at 9,211?more than double the number five years ago?and is climbing. This does not count the thousands of people, who, due to the horrible conditions in the shelters, prefer to sleep out in the open, even in winter.
The authors of the USCM report neither draw any conclusions about nor make any recommendations to ameliorate, let alone abolish, the injustice of rising hunger and homelessness in the world?s richest nation. The report does include, however, a number of comments from the surveys. While couched in the carefully worded language of city bureaucrats, these remarks nonetheless point to ways in which today?s starvation conditions are being imposed on the broader sections of workers.
In discussing the poor prospects for next year, a Boston official cites the ?termination of unemployment benefits for longer-term unemployed,? referring to the recent refusal of Congress to renew a 13-week federal extension of unemployment benefits that formerly kicked in after the basic 26-week state benefits expired.
A Cleveland respondent points to the reduction every month over the last three years in benefits for welfare recipients, a function of the strict two- and five-year time limits imposed by the Clinton administration?s 1996 welfare ?reform.?
A Portland, Oregon, official expects ?more people will be in lines and on waiting lists? due to state and local budget cuts. ?Mainstream social service systems have faced severe declines in funding and have had to make cuts in services even as the needs have grown,? he writes, continuing: ?Local sources of revenue to develop and fund truly affordable housing for the poorest are now almost non-existent. The homeless systems and emergency shelters will feel the pressures of these cuts.?
Among other factors, the San Antonio survey response cites ?demolition and non-replacement of public housing, zero tolerance housing policies, and low-wage jobs? as fueling further homelessness. (The zero tolerance policies refer to the practice of evicting whole families from public housing whose children may be charged with minor drug offenses.) The San Antonio response also points to the illegal and usurious lending practices plaguing the poor: ?The financial inability to access conventional services forces an already exploited population to utilize payday loans, pawn shops, rent-to-own and other predatory vendors.?
Under these circumstances, the outlook for ?those on the margins? in America remains bleak. Some 90 percent of the cities surveyed expect both homelessness and hunger to get only worse in 2004.
-------------------- "anchor blocks counteract the process of pontiprobation..while omalean globes regulize the pressure"...
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downforpot
Stranger
Registered: 06/25/01
Posts: 5,715
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Re: There is enormous suffering in America... [Re: Annapurna1]
#2204658 - 12/27/03 08:01 PM (20 years, 3 months ago) |
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damn, what the hell is going in this country. whos fault is this?
-------------------- http://www.myspace.com/4th25 "And I don't care if he was handcuffed Then shot in his head All I know is dead bodies Can't fuck with me again"
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Baby_Hitler
Errorist
Registered: 03/06/02
Posts: 27,634
Loc: To the limit!
Last seen: 2 minutes, 11 seconds
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Re: There is enormous suffering in America... [Re: downforpot]
#2204697 - 12/27/03 08:24 PM (20 years, 3 months ago) |
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Hoes.
-------------------- "America: Fuck yeah!" -- Alexthegreat “Nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper. Truth itself becomes suspicious by being put into that polluted vehicle. The real extent of this state of misinformation is known only to those who are in situations to confront facts within their knowledge with the lies of the day.” -- Thomas Jefferson The greatest sin of mankind is ignorance. The press takes [Trump] literally, but not seriously; his supporters take him seriously, but not literally. --Salena Zeto (9/23/16)
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luvdemshrooms
Two inch dick..but it spins!?
Registered: 11/29/01
Posts: 34,247
Loc: Lost In Space
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Re: There is enormous suffering in America... [Re: downforpot]
#2204719 - 12/27/03 08:41 PM (20 years, 3 months ago) |
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Quote:
downforpot said: damn, what the hell is going in this country. whos fault is this?
Mine. I'm a hoe.
-------------------- You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity. What one person receives without working for another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for that my dear friend is the beginning of the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it. ~ Adrian Rogers
Edited by luvdemshrooms (12/27/03 08:43 PM)
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carbonhoots
old hand
Registered: 09/11/01
Posts: 1,351
Loc: BC Canada
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Re: There is enormous suffering in America... [Re: downforpot]
#2205215 - 12/28/03 04:00 AM (20 years, 3 months ago) |
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Quote:
damn, what the hell is going in this country. whos fault is this?
Rhetorical question?
Typical right wing conservative economic agenda. Conserving and entrenching and enriching the position of the upper class at the expense of their slaves. The social vision is about domination/exploitation, not justice for all.
Who's fault is it? Anyone who understands this but promotes it anyways.
Here's more on the underbelly of America's system...
From CNN.com
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Despite the nation's struggle with obesity, the Agriculture Department says more and more American families are hungry or unsure whether they can afford to buy food.
Some 12 million families last year worried they didn't have enough money to buy food, and 32 percent of them actually experienced someone going hungry at one time or another, said a USDA report released Friday.
Nearly 3.8 million families were hungry last year to the point where someone in the household skipped meals because they couldn't afford them. That's 8.6 percent more families than in 2001, when 3.5 million were hungry, and a 13 percent increase from 2000.
The report was based on a Census Bureau survey of 50,000 households. It marks the third year in a row the department found a rise in the number of people who are hungry or uncertain of whether they can afford their next meal.
The survey also found more families are unsure if they can buy food or don't have enough food in their cupboards.
Last year, 11 percent of 108 million families were in that situation. That's up 5 percent from 2001 and 8 percent from 2000.
Most poor families struggling with hunger tried to ensure their children were fed, the report said. Nonetheless, one or more children in an estimated 265,000 families occasionally missed meals last year because the families either couldn't afford to eat or didn't have enough food at home. The report estimated there were 567,000 hungry children in all.
Margaret Andrews, a UDSA economist and an author of the annual survey, said the prevalence of hunger and food insecurity is clearly tied to the poverty rate.
The survey "was a confirmation that the series of data over the years are behaving as you might expect, in a similar manner that poverty is," she said, noting that the latest estimates by the Census Bureau show more people are poor.
Some 34.6 million Americans were living in poverty last year -- 1.7 million more than in 2001, according to the Census Bureau.
Hunger seems like an unlikely problem in a country where nearly 65 percent of adults and 13 percent of children are overweight, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Barbara Laraia, an associate professor of nutrition at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, said hunger and obesity can coexist because many hungry families buy high-calorie foods that are low in nutrients.
"They're dependent on foods that are going to make their bellies feel full, rather than on nutrients," Laraia said. "The diet is compromised."
Many families will spend their incomes on fixed expenses before buying food.
"Food is the most elastic part of the budget, meaning that's what households will compromise on when they have fixed payments such as their rent and their utilities," Laraia said.
-------------------- -I'd rather have a frontal lobotomy than a bottle in front of me CANADIAN CENTER FOR POLICY ALTERNATIVES
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Baby_Hitler
Errorist
Registered: 03/06/02
Posts: 27,634
Loc: To the limit!
Last seen: 2 minutes, 11 seconds
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Re: There is enormous suffering in America... [Re: carbonhoots]
#2206002 - 12/28/03 04:28 PM (20 years, 3 months ago) |
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I used to live on $1.00 a day for food. That's enough to buy a dozen hush puppies at Long John Silvers.
You don't see me complaining.
-------------------- "America: Fuck yeah!" -- Alexthegreat “Nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper. Truth itself becomes suspicious by being put into that polluted vehicle. The real extent of this state of misinformation is known only to those who are in situations to confront facts within their knowledge with the lies of the day.” -- Thomas Jefferson The greatest sin of mankind is ignorance. The press takes [Trump] literally, but not seriously; his supporters take him seriously, but not literally. --Salena Zeto (9/23/16)
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Hanky
wiffle bat.
Registered: 08/30/03
Posts: 56,993
Loc: Great Southern Land.
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Re: There is enormous suffering in America... [Re: Baby_Hitler]
#2206389 - 12/28/03 08:49 PM (20 years, 3 months ago) |
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would you also recommend a dozen hush puppies a day as a balanced,healthy diet for young children?
-------------------- Coaster is an idiot... [quote]Coaster said: but i thnk everything thats pure is white? [/quote]
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Baby_Hitler
Errorist
Registered: 03/06/02
Posts: 27,634
Loc: To the limit!
Last seen: 2 minutes, 11 seconds
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Re: There is enormous suffering in America... [Re: Hanky]
#2206394 - 12/28/03 08:53 PM (20 years, 3 months ago) |
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I would reccomend they call the food bank to hold them over until their food stamps come in.
Also Kudzu is quite nutritious.
-------------------- "America: Fuck yeah!" -- Alexthegreat “Nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper. Truth itself becomes suspicious by being put into that polluted vehicle. The real extent of this state of misinformation is known only to those who are in situations to confront facts within their knowledge with the lies of the day.” -- Thomas Jefferson The greatest sin of mankind is ignorance. The press takes [Trump] literally, but not seriously; his supporters take him seriously, but not literally. --Salena Zeto (9/23/16)
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Malachi
stereotype
Registered: 06/19/02
Posts: 1,294
Loc: Around Minneapolis.
Last seen: 14 years, 9 months
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Re: There is enormous suffering in America... [Re: carbonhoots]
#2206563 - 12/28/03 11:20 PM (20 years, 3 months ago) |
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can you feel the empathy?
I can't, which is why I advocate STEALING.
it's the only moral thing to do -> straight up robin the hood style.
-------------------- The ultimate meaning of our being can only be fulfilled in the paradoxical leap beyond the tragic-demonic frustration. It is a leap from our side, but it is the self-surrendering presence of the Ground of Being from the other side. - Paul Tillich
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Baby_Hitler
Errorist
Registered: 03/06/02
Posts: 27,634
Loc: To the limit!
Last seen: 2 minutes, 11 seconds
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Re: There is enormous suffering in America... [Re: Malachi]
#2206589 - 12/28/03 11:40 PM (20 years, 3 months ago) |
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Why steal when you can get it for free legally?
-------------------- "America: Fuck yeah!" -- Alexthegreat “Nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper. Truth itself becomes suspicious by being put into that polluted vehicle. The real extent of this state of misinformation is known only to those who are in situations to confront facts within their knowledge with the lies of the day.” -- Thomas Jefferson The greatest sin of mankind is ignorance. The press takes [Trump] literally, but not seriously; his supporters take him seriously, but not literally. --Salena Zeto (9/23/16)
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Malachi
stereotype
Registered: 06/19/02
Posts: 1,294
Loc: Around Minneapolis.
Last seen: 14 years, 9 months
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Re: There is enormous suffering in America... [Re: Baby_Hitler]
#2206605 - 12/28/03 11:57 PM (20 years, 3 months ago) |
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perhaps I misread - it's the point of this thread that they can't?
-------------------- The ultimate meaning of our being can only be fulfilled in the paradoxical leap beyond the tragic-demonic frustration. It is a leap from our side, but it is the self-surrendering presence of the Ground of Being from the other side. - Paul Tillich
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Baby_Hitler
Errorist
Registered: 03/06/02
Posts: 27,634
Loc: To the limit!
Last seen: 2 minutes, 11 seconds
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Re: There is enormous suffering in America... [Re: Malachi]
#2206617 - 12/29/03 12:10 AM (20 years, 3 months ago) |
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If so, then the point of this thread is mistaken.
-------------------- "America: Fuck yeah!" -- Alexthegreat “Nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper. Truth itself becomes suspicious by being put into that polluted vehicle. The real extent of this state of misinformation is known only to those who are in situations to confront facts within their knowledge with the lies of the day.” -- Thomas Jefferson The greatest sin of mankind is ignorance. The press takes [Trump] literally, but not seriously; his supporters take him seriously, but not literally. --Salena Zeto (9/23/16)
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Azmodeus
Seeker
Registered: 11/27/02
Posts: 3,392
Loc: Lotus Land!! B.C.
Last seen: 19 years, 2 months
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Re: There is enormous suffering in America... [Re: carbonhoots]
#2207907 - 12/29/03 02:27 PM (20 years, 3 months ago) |
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wheres the husband and farthers to these poor families?!...action and reaction...choices and consequence, we all can make of it what we will.
-------------------- "Know your Body - Know your Mind - Know your Substance - Know your Source. Lest we forget. "
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Baby_Hitler
Errorist
Registered: 03/06/02
Posts: 27,634
Loc: To the limit!
Last seen: 2 minutes, 11 seconds
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Re: There is enormous suffering in America... [Re: Azmodeus]
#2208092 - 12/29/03 03:51 PM (20 years, 3 months ago) |
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People fall out of buildings.
It's the government's responsability to make sure that sidewalks are made out of feathers.
-------------------- "America: Fuck yeah!" -- Alexthegreat “Nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper. Truth itself becomes suspicious by being put into that polluted vehicle. The real extent of this state of misinformation is known only to those who are in situations to confront facts within their knowledge with the lies of the day.” -- Thomas Jefferson The greatest sin of mankind is ignorance. The press takes [Trump] literally, but not seriously; his supporters take him seriously, but not literally. --Salena Zeto (9/23/16)
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Azmodeus
Seeker
Registered: 11/27/02
Posts: 3,392
Loc: Lotus Land!! B.C.
Last seen: 19 years, 2 months
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Re: There is enormous suffering in America... [Re: Baby_Hitler]
#2208106 - 12/29/03 04:01 PM (20 years, 3 months ago) |
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current sidewalks were designed by terrorists.
-------------------- "Know your Body - Know your Mind - Know your Substance - Know your Source. Lest we forget. "
Edited by Azmodeus (12/29/03 04:01 PM)
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Anonymous
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Re: There is enormous suffering in America... [Re: Malachi]
#2208190 - 12/29/03 04:42 PM (20 years, 3 months ago) |
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I can't, which is why I advocate STEALING.
only as long is it isn't you that's being stolen from though, right?
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Azmodeus
Seeker
Registered: 11/27/02
Posts: 3,392
Loc: Lotus Land!! B.C.
Last seen: 19 years, 2 months
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Re: There is enormous suffering in America... [Re: ]
#2208213 - 12/29/03 04:58 PM (20 years, 3 months ago) |
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Can something be stolen from you if you've stolen everything you own? I would have no problem stealing something if i truly needed it, and asking didn't work.
-------------------- "Know your Body - Know your Mind - Know your Substance - Know your Source. Lest we forget. "
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afoaf
CEO DBK?
Registered: 11/08/02
Posts: 32,665
Loc: Ripple's Heart
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Re: There is enormous suffering in America... [Re: carbonhoots]
#2208250 - 12/29/03 05:12 PM (20 years, 3 months ago) |
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what you fail to realize is even the "extremely poor" in america have microwaves, two cars and a stereo.
so they're not all that bad off...are they?
-------------------- All I know is The Growery is a place where losers who get banned here go.
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enimatpyrt
addict
Registered: 11/05/03
Posts: 498
Last seen: 20 years, 2 months
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Re: There is enormous suffering in America... [Re: carbonhoots]
#2208315 - 12/29/03 05:47 PM (20 years, 3 months ago) |
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Quote:
carbonhoots said: Fully one-third of children of single mothers in the United States are not just poor but extremely poor. As the study data indicate, these mothers work more hours than do single mothers in any other wealthy nation, yet have higher poverty rates.
Here is a whacky idea, keep your legs closed till ya get out of, say, 10th grade ? Oh wait, I'm sorry, why would Ie ver want to change their behaviro that put them there when I can just tax the holy shit out of the EvilRIchPeople and make them pay! so much easier!
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