Below we post a selection of recent letters about the social crisis in America.
I am an elderly citizen living in Massachusetts. I signed up for food stamps and qualified. I received 120 dollars a month, which covered almost all my needs, however I moved to an elderly complex and my rent was reduced. I received a letter from the office of Transitional Assistance saying that my allotment for food stamps was to be reduced to the minimum, which is ten dollars a month. I was appalled. I expected a drop but to establish a minimum of ten dollars a month or 33 cents a day I believe is ludicrous and asinine. One cannot even buy a candy bar for 33 cents.
PB
11 May 2002
Dear Sir:
Regarding your article on “Pensions benefits slashed for US workers,” all average workers will suffer further income inequality with the fall of the dollar along with massive increases of inflation. The concept of 401(k)s is nothing more than corporate fraud.
Thank you,
DJ
13 May 2002
Hi,
Our 44 year-old son lost his computer advertising firm job six weeks ago. His neighbor on one side of him lost his job last October. The other neighbor lost his job two months ago. My banker’s wife lost her job last week. My realtor’s husband just found a job after a long search. My friend’s husband found a job after eight months.
What the hell is going on? This should be a major concern for our government officials, but the way the news and they tell it, we are in recovery now. That is not true. We are out of work now. We are 70 and 72 and saw the Depression of our parents and all the wars, recessions, etc. This has been the most demoralizing time during our lives. Our young families have learned that their government is corrupt and blame our world politics and situations like Enron (and all the things we don’t know yet) on our corruption. A very sad time for the citizens of this once great country.
Thanks...
A
10 May 2002
If driving hours do go up I will be very concerned about public safety. My husband drives truck for a very large waste company. He gets up at 1:30 a.m. and is on the road by 3 a.m. He is driving anywhere from 12 to 16 hours a day. Not only am I concerned about the public’s safety, but my husband’s safety as well. He has had only one accident in 15 years and that was clearly not his fault. But by the time he is off duty and drives back home, he is physically and emotionally drained. These men and women are too tired to even drive home. I’m sure there are times they could fall asleep behind the wheel of their own vehicles. Something has to be done to stop the increase in hours truckers will be required to drive. How many more deaths will have to happen before these people realize it’s not safe to drive more than 10-12 hours a day?
T
13 May 2002
Dear Ms. Watson,
Thank you for providing documentation and background refuting Bush’s outrageous claim on his Saturday radio address (5/11/02) that welfare reform is reducing poverty in the US.
This article provides help in the grassroots effort to prevent the further rollbacks in welfare that Bush is advocating in the name of reform.
RC
New York
13 May 2002
One thing that has never been emphasized is that nothing Enron did in California and very probably everywhere was illegal. Nothing. These lords of American capitalism, Enron Tribe, will get off scot-free of criminal charges. Sure, some low level munchkin will take the heat but those who directly benefited from the shower of corrupt privileges provided by the Congress, etc., are exempt. That is why the laws were changed.
For an excellent introduction into the nature of the American oligarchy and its wholly owned political parties I recommend a book entitled “Indispensable Enemies” by Walter Karp. He outlines the history of a government in America that since the end of Reconstruction has given US citizens a government that ignores the needs of the people, substituting a policy which is actively engaged in doing harm to them.
EP
10 May 2002