[lit-ideas] Re: Deep Poverty at Record Levels, Where's That?

From: Andy Amago <aamago@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Sun, 25 Feb 2007 15:19:13 -0500 (EST)

-----Original Message-----
>From: Mike Geary <atlas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>Sent: Feb 25, 2007 2:19 PM
>To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: Deep Poverty at Record Levels, Where's That?
>
>
>
>>>I drove through a Jack in the Box near me a while back and the guy taking 
>>>my money said hello and it turns out he was one of the people who comes in 
>>>every week to clean my house.  I didn't have time to chat because there 
>>>was someone behind me who was probably hungry, but this guy, an Hispanic, 
>>>was obviously working two jobs.  He was probably doing poorly by American 
>>>standards, but doing pretty well in terms of the nation he came from or he 
>>>wouldn't be here. <<
>
>I'm not going to tell you how furious this "observation" makes me, because 
>you would never understand in a thousand years -- or unless you end up 
>living hand to mouth some day.  How insufferably smug and superior it all 
>strikes me.  But I know you have no clue how I could get that from what you 
>wrote, so I won't comment on it.  But yes, I agree, he's probably doing a 
>lot better financially working two menial jobs in the US than none at home.
>


Average Americans are going in this direction.  We're not yet working two jobs, 
but most households have two earners to keep them one step ahead of their debt, 
hoping one of them doesn't lose their job.  Out of control consumerism is to 
blame for some of it, and so are grossly inflated house prices driven by banks' 
new legislation authored by them.  One household earners often can't even keep 
up with their debt.  I'll side to some extent with Lawrence in that I believe 
all children need two parents, one of each sex, and I would penalize single 
parent households (don't ask) by giving the children benefits but none to the 
moron parent who chooses this lifestyle.  One kid, maybe that can be an 
accident; two is ridiculous.  Probably the religious right would fight it tooth 
and nail, so once again Lawrence and I would have to part ideological company 
...




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[lit-ideas] Re: Deep Poverty at Record Levels, Where's That?

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