What does the new American reality mean for the overlooked in society - women, minorities, and the poor? What is the new American reality you ask? It’s a reality that parents are facing when they finally admit they cannot afford to send their straight A honor student children to college. It is a reality that seniors are facing when health care costs are creeping into their grocery budgets. It is the reality that those striving to get back to work are facing when they keep emailing resumes and attending every job fair possible to no avail. It is not coincidental that as resources become more scarce, women, minorities, and the poor are the groups most harshly affected. Compare the national unemployment rates and the unemployment rates of minorities. The national unemployment rate is currently 9.6%, while the rate of African Americans is at 15.5% and for Hispanics it is at 12.4%. The unemployment rate has jumped by 4.7% for African Americans while falling from 8.6% to 8.3% for White America. Kinda hard not to miss the discrepancies there. Now after hearing the draconian cuts the leaders of the Budget Commission want to make, I shudder for the future. Of course the cuts look to slash into everyone but the absurdly rich and their corporate hounds. Of course they are going after Social Security, but amazingly they want to also go after the healthcare of our veterans. Yes, they ask for cuts in the Defense department and the Pentagon, yet no mention of killing the Bush tax cuts for the rich or ending the wars that are bleeding us all dry. If there has ever been a time for the Obama administration to put bipartisanship on the shelf, it is now. I hope Barry becomes President Veto in order to protect the 98% of the American public that is not rich or tied to a multinational conglomerate.
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