America's poor speak, but who will listen?

[MrScorpio]

Jessica Brown / Guest Columnist

As the United States engages in conflicts around the world, there is a hidden but deadly war going on within U.S. borders. This unreported war has left millions of poor and working families in the United States without basic economic human rights to food, housing, healthcare, education, and living-wage jobs.

The poor of the United States are the ones paying for this war in the form of cruel budget cuts at city, state and federal levels. Funding to education, healthcare, housing, social assistance, drug rehabilitation, and benefits for vets and active duty soldiers have been slashed.

We are living in a time when record numbers of people in our rich country are falling into permanent unemployment, homelessness and abject poverty, and where 46 million are currently without health care in the United States, and 71 million have been without coverage in the past two years.
The Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign (PPEHRC) is committed to unite the poor across all color lines as the leadership base for a broad movement to abolish poverty. We work to accomplish this through advancing economic human rights as named in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, including the right to food, housing, health, education and a living-wage job.

I have helped to spearhead a local branch of PPEHRC as part of the Tompkins County Workers' Center (formerly Living Wage Coalition). For the past seven months, we have worked to establish several food pantries in the county as a way to build leadership among low-income people to run their own food pantries.

From July 15-17, PPEHRC held a National Truth Commission in Cleveland, Ohio to unveil the realities of poverty in the United States. This Truth Commission brought together hundreds of poor people and allies from throughout the country and world. Four representatives from the Tompkins County Workers' Center attended the Truth Commission to testify about our experiences here in Central New York. (For more information on the Truth Commission, the international commissioners, or PPEHRC, visit www.economichumanrights.org).

http://www.theithacajournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060731/OPINION02/607310312/1014

This is very close to my heart. And frankly, as progressives, I think that this is where our focus should be... Outreach. But we should take it further, not just economic outreach, but political as well. Focusing on political organization and voter registration.

The poor and disenfranchised are being ignored at record levels. Despite, all that's happening in the world, I think that we should do our best at building a power base. Bringing in as many of poor and impoverished as possible.

We have to regain power, and the best way to do that is to garner overwhelming numbers.

The horrible policies of the Republicans have made those numbers swell over the years. I think best that this is an opportunity, that they themselves have handed to us.

[mmonk]

1. The poor should join

AIPAC or maybe the pharmaceutical lobby.

[MrScorpio]

3. Only if they want to be on the losing side

The pendululum is due to swing back to the other side.

ANd We must take the opportunity to swing it.

As far as I'm concerned, power is something to be taken

ANd we need the numbers to back us up

[babylonsister]

2. And then there's the poor Americans who are starving:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x1786400

[MrScorpio]

4. Another shameful aspect of the world's richest country

These things fall hand in hand

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[MrScorpio]

6. And thank you for posting you very first post here

Welcome back.

All in all, I think that the key is humility and empathy. Our goal should be to raise ALL boats.

And the best way to do that is by makeing life livable for the least of us.

And thanks for the kind words!

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Melody Watson]

8. PS I wish more people cared about the poor

anyone that claims moral superiority has no right ignoring topics like this.

[mntleo2]

9. Thanks For Posting, MrScorpio

I am a supporter of Welfare Rights Organizing Coalition (http://www.wroc.org). It is true nobody wants to hear about the plight of the poor, a population that is only growing in numbers in America every day, thanks to the draconian laws and policies being passed while the well fed look away. As a poor person myself, I struggle with the realities every day this summit addresses and I would think I might be someone is is somewhat of an "expert" about the issues at hand.

But no, our governor (an elitist Dem who has no clue and thinks she does) recently hired a panel to make recommendations about people on welfare who were not complying and not going to work. The statistics of DSHS' own people say that over 70% of the people not going to work have the issues of either or both transportation and/or childcare, which prevents them from working for a wage. See, being a parent of a child after the age of 3 months is "doing nothing." Raising the nextgeneration is "doing nothing."

Here is the kicker: Not one of the panel members was a TANF recipient themselves, every single one of them were suits who had little idea about the people they were making decisions about! Their recommended "solution"? Give full sanctions to all family members, children included. This means that all services, including medical would be removed from the mother and her children so the family is left with nothing. And they prefer to believe she would "choose" this. I actually heard one the DSHS heads use that term in a meeting ~ a mother "chooses" to lose everything! Oh sure a good mom WANTS to be on the street with her children and that's why she is not complying....what is wrong with this picture?????

And worse, this governor is going along with it. This from a so-called Democrat. Then they wonder why the poor feel disenfranchised, do not vote, and do not speak. It is because they don't want to hear us and could care less if we vote ~ they are bought off anyway. They would rather pretend that everything is hunky-dory and that Lala Land is "over there" (with the poor) rather than where they live. And other Dems wonder why people like me gave up on the Democratic party and why we are so critical of it. Until Democrats begin to actually represent ALL of us, well take it from me, the poor will be skeptical.

I am also speaking, writing, talking with my representatives, and I get polite nods and then the door slams shut. I keep thinking, "When will I meet you at the welfare office?" And sometimes I do. Then they are all surprised and wonder why the System is so f'd up. This does not shut me up, mind you, but it does make me angry and that anger motivates me to keep speaking no matter what.

I hate to say it but, if the neocons get what they want, soon we may have no middle class ~ they all will be down here with me, if they don't start listening to the poor because they need to know what is coming and join with us to stop this madness.

My 2 cents

Cat In Seattle