Is America Now Officially a "Sh*thole" Country?
By Thom Hartmann A...
Newsweek is reporting that the United Nations investigation of developed countries around the world finds that poverty in the United States is now so widespread and severe, with over 40 million Americans below the poverty level and many of them living without basic sanitation or enough food and without any access to healthcare, that large parts of America are functionally as bad as or worse than many Third World countries.Republican policies and 40 years of Reaganomics have turned America into a "shithole country." Americans know this, and the vast majority of them think that wages should be increased, healthcare should be expanded, education should be free, and the federal government should undo Reagan and Clinton's destruction of LBJ's safety net. But the media continues to support Republican candidates and highlight Republican issues like increasing military spending and cheerleading for more tax cuts.
-Thom
Comments
#2
I heard in an interview recently from a population expert that the reason behind the minimum wage increase was NOT for providing more money for low income earners but more money for Social Security. Boy, we sure don't have very creative leaders given such "reactive" solutions. What we need is a different economic system than the dated one we now have. One that doesn't needs to overflow the planet with more people and can keep the cost living down rather than to benefit the cash flow of a few rich.
#3
America is careening toward third world status. Proposed changes to the social security disability certification process, a repeat of the fiasco during the Reagan administration, threaten to swell the ranks of the impoverished. In the 1980s, 200,000 disabled persons lost their social security benefits. What will become of the disabled who depend on a social security check for minimal subsistence. Some disabled persons are so impaired that it's obvious to even the untrained eye. On the other hand, people with brain-related disabilities are not always easy to detect, and I fear that they are going to become the primary victims of the purge of the disabled. There are 6.5 million intellectually disabled persons and 11.2 million seriously mentally ill in the U.S. The latter group is of most concern, because those with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are not easily identified as unable to work. How can the disabled be treated fairly? Some questions need answers. 1. What are the criteria used to determine whether someone is disabled? 2. What will be the qualifications of the professionals who will decide that a disabled person is capable of employment? 3. What support will be provided to help the disabled succeed in the workplace? 4. How will the newly-employed, disabled person in a low-pay, no benefits job obtain health care? 5. What inducement will there be for employers to hire the disabled persons who enter the workforce? 6. What assistance will be provided to those who are applying for disability aid, so that they don't give up and join the ranks of the homeless? Please let Washington know about your concerns about the potential consequences of these proposed changes to Social Security Administration regulations.
Thom's Blog Is On the Move
By webmaster
Hello All
Thom's blog in this space and moving to a new home.
Please follow us across to hartmannreport.com - this will be the only place going forward to read Thom's blog posts and articles.
Images of Thom
From The Thom Hartmann Reader:
"Thom is a national treasure. Read him, embrace him, learn from him, and follow him as we all work for social change."
From The Thom Hartmann Reader:
"In an age rife with media-inspired confusion and political cowardice, we yearn for a decent, caring, deeply human soul whose grasp of the problems confronting us provides a light by which we can make our way through the quagmire of lies, distortions, pandering, and hollow self-puffery that strips the American Dream of its promise. How lucky we are, then, to have access to the wit, wisdom, and willingness of Thom Hartmann, who shares with us here that very light, grown out of his own life experience."
From Screwed:
"Once again, Thom Hartmann hits the bull’s eye with a much needed exposé of the so-called ‘free market.’ Anyone concerned about the future of our nation needs to read Screwed now."
Worldwide over population does not get near the attention that it needs. It is a large part of Climate Change. Huge numbers are born into poverty every year with no way out. This website is very good for looking at the true problem. Just in my lifetime the world population has gone fro 2 billion to 7.75 billion. https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/