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Hardworking Americans should not be living in poverty
From CNN
When the U.S. economy collapsed, millions of us lost our homes, our jobs, our retirement savings and our faith in the American dream. What we gained was a very clear view of the vast -- and growing -- divide between the rich and the rest of us. Like many hardworking Americans earning minimum wage, Margaret Lewis knows firsthand what it's like to live on the edge. She works as a transporter for passengers with disabilities at O'Hare International Airport. She wakes up at 1 a.m. to go to work, and spends the early morning hours pushing wheelchairs to gates and helping travelers on and off planes.
Arizona sheriff known for immigration crackdowns takes stand, shows none of typical swagger
From Washington Post
There were no TV cameras, no scrum of reporters, no protesters — and there was no swagger inside the courtroom when the typically brash Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio took the stand to face critics who say he and his deputies racially profile Hispanics. Under questioning from lawyers representing a group Latinos who are suing him and his department, Arpaio spoke in a hush, offering that he was suffering from the flu. He was asked: Why did you call illegal immigrants “dirty?” The Maricopa County sheriff responded quietly, clearing his throat often, and saying the statement was taken out of context. He added that if a person were to cross the U.S.-Mexico border on foot over four days in the desert that person “could be dirty.”
Million Dollar Donors are Half of GOP Super PAC Funding
From The Washington Post
Recently the Obama Administration took a common sense step in reforming a program that has long been in need of repair -- the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. Through a recent rule change, the Administration will now allow states to apply for waivers that could grant them some flexibility in implementing their TANF programs. The new guidance will bolster the law and allow states to tailor their TANF programs to meet their specific needs, while making a renewed commitment to move people off welfare and into good jobs. Governors from both political parties across the nation have requested flexibility in implementing welfare reform time and time again and it is past time that we heed their call. While TANF, or "Welfare Reform," has been celebrated by both Republicans and Democrats, there are many flaws that currently exist in this program that is supposed to provide a pathway out of poverty for Americans. Unfortunately, welfare recipients have been ill-served by this program, often finding themselves trapped in an endless cycle that keeps them impoverished through rigid guidelines, red tape and lack of access to opportunity.
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