“A writer’s notebook is not a diary. Writers react. Writers need a place to record these reactions. That’s what a writer’s notebook is for. It gives you a place to write down what makes you angry or sad or amazed, to write down what you noticed and don’t want to forget. A writer’s notebook gives you a place to live like a writer.” - Ralph Fletcher
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
Poverty in the U.S. is approaching its highest level since the 1960s. Economists predict that the percentage of Americans who lived below the poverty line in 2011 might be as high as 15.7%, up from 15.1% in 2010. About one in six Americans lives below the poverty line. For a family of four, that means earning less than $22,314 per year.
Joanna Laine
(Source: policymic.com)
The Government’s idea of poverty is $22,350 a year for a family of four.
$22,350 a year to sustain four people in the United States for one year—that’s where poverty starts, according to the government. $5,587.50 per person, per year, for housing, food, medicine, and gas—the essentials in our country. $465.62 a month, for one person: roof, food, medicine, transportation. That’s poverty, according to the government. So, one person surviving on $12,500 a year—my UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR salary—that’s not poverty? Seriously? And I live in New Jersey, by the way. So, my “cheap” apartment is $1050 a month or $12,600 a year. These poverty lines and statistics are as out of touch with reality as the unemployment numbers. It’s laughable.
[Wiki]
(Source: charlesbivona.com)
United States Police State in Full Focus via @RTAmerica 1/8/11 | dedicated to Occupy Boston
(Source: occupywallst.org)
Last week, the Census Bureau released new figures showing that nearly one in six Americans lives in poverty.
We spurn real teachers—those with the capacity to inspire children to think, those who help the young discover their gifts and potential—and replace them with instructors who teach to narrow, standardized tests. These instructors obey. They teach children to obey. And that is the point.
Chris Hedges
(Source: commondreams.org)
There is also a financial cost. The federal government makes about $250 billion in interest payments a year. So even a small increase in the rates demanded by investors in United States debt could add tens of billions of dollars to those payments.
(Source: The New York Times)
The downgrade reflects our opinion that the fiscal consolidation plan that Congress and the Administration recently agreed to falls short of what, in our view, would be necessary to stabilize the government’s medium-term debt dynamics,” S&P said in a statement.
(Reuters)
(Source: reuters.com)
