One third of working families in US struggling to meet basic needs

[Hannah Bell]

Nearly one in three working families in the United States are struggling to meet their most basic needs, according to a new analysis of US Census data by the Working Poor Families Project. Between 2007 and 2009, the share of working families that were low-income—earning less than 200 percent of the official threshold—increased from 28 percent to 30 percent.

The new report was issued as the Obama administration and Congressional Republicans agreed to a range of tax cuts that will further enrich the wealthiest two percent of the American population. In the face of staggering levels of unemployment, poverty and social need, the politicians of both corporate-backed parties in Washington have pledged that 2012 will be the year for making “tough choices” to slash vitally necessary social programs.

The ranks of the working poor swelled by another 1.7 million as corporations used the economic downturn to wipe out full-time positions and force ever-larger numbers of workers to take part-time, temporary and low-paying jobs.

The authors of the new report note, “The plight of these families now challenges a fundamental assumption in America, work pays.”

In 2009—the last year looked at by the study—there were more than 10 million low-income working families in the US, affecting about 45 million people, including 22 million children. In just one year, from 2008 to 2009, the number of children in low-income working families increased by more than 700,000.

More than one out of every three children in working families is low income.

Citing the recent findings by the Pew Research Center, the report says more than half of the US labor force (55 percent) has “suffered a spell of unemployment, a cut in pay, a reduction in hours or have become involuntary part-time workers” since the recession began in December 2007.

The misery for millions of working class families coincides with record corporate profits, a year-end bonus orgy on Wall Street and more tax breaks for the wealthy.

The campaign to repeal the estate tax altogether was spearheaded by a “small band of the richest Americans have acted as their own secret Santas,” the magazine reported. The push was led by 18 families—whose net worth was at least $185 billion—including the Gallos (E&J Gallo Winery), the Kochs (Koch Industries), the Mars family (Mars Inc.), the Waltons (Wal-Mart), and the Wegmans (Wegmans Food Markets).

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2010/dec2010/pove-d22.shtml

[TheKentuckian]

1. Quickly, lets get the top 20% some tax relief! That will save us!

[bobburgster]

2. Ahhh, trickle down economics at its best! n/t

[Starry Messenger]

3. recommend.

[Trajan]

4. STOP telling me all this shit about working families !

How are the Billionaires doing ? .... Are they happy ? ...

Is there anything we can get them ? ... I would hate for any of them to want of anything ....

[demandTheGoodLife.co]

5. the fix is simple

The solution is income redistribution. Tax everyone equally on all of their income. And use that tax revenue to pay everyone a $20k yearly dividend and an additional $30k yearly dividend to every worker, or every post-secondary school student, or every person who is interested in volunteering (such as those who are unemployed) at an approved civic or charitable organization.

The problems of poverty, unemployment and financial struggle will then be permanently relegated to the trash bin of history.

The people who would benefit from income redistribution outnumber everyone else 50-1. It could easily be voted in if people were given this option.

[blindpig]

8. Let's just nail it down...

Expropriate the means of production.

[Sherman A1]

6. K&R

:kick:

[JDPriestly]

7. And this is just going to get worse and worse.

The rich are literally robbing the middle class. This country was built on a strong, land-owning middle class. That is being methodically destroyed. I cannot state the quote precisely, but I believe that Jefferson said something about the fact that what would guarantee our freedom and our democracy was the fact that we were a country of landowners. If you look at European history, you will understand that the wealth and power of the aristocracies arose from their ownership of the land and their right to require peasants to work or pay tribute and also the taxes on the land.

Here, the land was made available for sale. Of course, now everything is being done to take land and even home ownership away from those of us who are not rich. This trend started in the depression of the 1930s possibly before. This time, we face a situation that could lead to the establishment of an aristocracy. The abolition of the estate tax on the largest estates is a huge step in the direction of establishing and aristocracy. What an insult to our Constitution and to the Declaration of Independence.