The recession has seen an increase in the number of homeless people in this country. With so many Americans out of work or employed in low paying positions, rent is an expense that eats away at a large chunk of whatever income they bring in. Without these government subsidies, we’ll see more and more families forced into the streets. Similarly, foreclosure counseling has helped a great number of people stay in their homes. Without access to this service, more people will lose their greatest asset. Of all the programs the Republicans could look to cut, housing is the one area they should leave alone. It’s inconceivable that a political party would fight so hard to extend tax cuts for the rich while working equally hard to keep the poor down and to move the middle class into poverty and homelessness.

Congress has gone back and forth, arguing on a budget that would carry the federal government through the remainder of this fiscal year. There is a sense of urgency; if no agreement can be reached, the government will shut down and any ‘non essential’ government business would cease. Federal workers would be out of work and the services they provide no longer available, creating frustration for all of us. Recently, the President approved a temporary budget that will keep the government running through March 18. But, he and Congress need to decide on a longer term budget, one that will keep the government funded through September 30. Already, there is some dissatisfaction with the $4 billion in cuts in the temporary measure. Indeed, America has to make some tough decisions about how it spends its money if the nation is to reduce the deficit. Intellectually, most Americans understand and accept that truth. The progressive thinkers among us just don’t want those cuts to come at the expense of the poor and working class.

Call your Congressman and express outrage over the Republican budget proposal. Tell them to keep their hands off housing programs. Demand that they stand up for the average American. Not sure how to get in touch with your legislator? Visit www.usa.gov to find out how.

Union employees, including teachers and others, from around the Midwest (some even came in from New York) flocked to the Wisconsin state capital en masse to protest and continue to do so. The state legislature’s 14 Democrats oppose the plan and don’t want to vote on it. Instead of staying in Wisconsin and simply not showing up for the vote, which would have been in violation of the law, they left the state to prevent the state legislator from having the necessary number of members needed to vote on the legislation.

Wisconsin definitely has a big mess on its hands. Soon, Tennessee, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio – all of which have similar legislation in the works – may be dealing with their protests and stonewalling from state Democrats.

Supporters of the proposals in all the states say these types of cuts are necessary to reduce state deficits. Yet, Governor Walker, a Tea Party backed Republican, has proposed tax breaks for corporations. If Walker is truly interested in sorting out Wisconsin’s finance, why would he, on one hand, give away revenue by cutting corporate taxes and then, on the other, jeopardize the job and financial security of union employees, all of whom are tax paying citizens? Something here doesn’t compute.

Also interesting is the fact that Walker received more than $40,000 in campaign contributions last year from a political group run by David and Charles Koch. The two Koch brothers run a booming gas and oil business and have been uncovered to be major financial supporters of the Tea Party movement. Is Walker, and other politicians like him, doing his own bidding, or is he paying back the Tea Party for its support by moving their agenda forward?

We may never know for certain. But we do know this: balancing the budget, whether it be at the state or federal level, on the backs of public employees who provide the services we all need to maintain and enjoy our quality of life is unfair. Especially when rich corporations are being given tax breaks. Walker’s attempt is an old maneuver from the Republican playbook of the past and the Tea Party of new. Opponents of union busting legislation must stand strong and reject these modern day union busting efforts.

Over the last several years, bridges across the U.S. have collapsed, gas lines have exploded and streets have deteriorated to unsafe levels. The President proposes that we shore up our infrastructure and put Americans to work at the same time. How? By spending just over $50 billion to build a high-speed rail system and by investing slightly more than $330 billion in our nation’s highways. Obama’s advisors estimate the plan would create more than five million construction jobs and 10 million additional jobs in related industries.

Yes, this is a lot of money. However, investing in America and its infrastructure is the smart thing – the right thing – to do. Americans will be able to travel from place to place, knowing that bridges and roads are sound. High-speed rail will connect towns and cities and, over the long term, improve our environment since there will be fewer cars on the road. Lastly, the new jobs this investment will help create will bring the unemployment rate down from its record high levels.

Of course, the proposal has its critics. They say there’s no way the government can pay for it. The President thought of that, too. Currently, the gasoline tax raises about $35 billion a year. That money is used to pay for highway projects. The President wants to use that fund to offset the infrastructure projects and raise additional revenue through various other taxes and tolls.

There is no doubt that the President’s plan is a strong one, with past success to back it up. The 2009 stimulus package included over $130 billion in infrastructure spending; this spending created 8 million jobs. So we know this is the right way to go. Money spent now, would improve the economy – and our bridges and roads – and position the country for a more prosperous future.

Write your Congress men and women; tell them to support the President’s plan to create jobs by improving our nation’s infrastructure. Visit www.usa.gov if you need help locating your elected official’s contact information.

Data released by The U.S. Conference of Mayors shows that the nation’s food banks saw a 24-percent increase in visits. And nearly 43 million Americans – a record – were using food stamps this past fall. The reality of our economy – and the effect it has had our citizens – is sobering. 56-percent of those seeking help getting food were families, while 19-percent were seniors. Before you think that only the poorest of the poor are struggling with hunger, consider this: 30-percent of those in need of help are employed.

We hear elected officials talk more and more about reducing our nation’s debt. Unfortunately, many want to reduce it by hurting the poor. They believe that cutting aid to heavily funded government programs – Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare, three programs that support the poor, among them – is the only way to bring down the nation’s debt. While this approach may seem logical, it’s not the correct one. And the news from the Conference of Mayors confirms that.

With unemployment holding at nearly 10-percent, more Americans are slipping into poverty. Now, more than ever, the poor needs the government to support the, not reduce the services available. The safety net that is supposed to cradle the needy during difficult times must not only be preserved, it must be extended.

As we enter a New Year, it’s time that America gets its priorities in check. Of course, we must continue to strengthen those industries that drive our economy. But, more importantly, we must also hold up those individuals and families that make up the fabric of our nation.

Historically, women have always earned less than men. When women first went to work outside of the home, they typically took on ‘pink collar’ jobs that, for many reasons, paid a lower salary. However, as women began to become more educated and branch into different fields, even those dominated by men, they found that their salaries remained lower than that of their male counterparts…even if they were doing the same jobs.

That is changing. According to newly released statistics, women earned just less than 83 percent of the weekly wage men did in the second quarter of this year; 10 years ago, women earned around 76 percent of what men did. African American women, especially, have seen the income gap widen: the weekly salary for black women increased by nearly 9 percent, while that of black men dropped more than 2 percent.

Now, for the bad news. Women are earning more but men, typically employed in industries hit hardest by the recession, are increasingly finding themselves out of work. This is disturbing because it makes one wonder what will happen to the pay gap when the economy rebounds and the men who are currently unemployed go back to work. Will it continue to shrink or will it widen?

The fact remains that women, who make up nearly half of the workforce, earn less than their male peers at every education level. It is not a positive sign when a woman’s financial success is tied to the financial hardships of her male counterparts. The income gap should be closed not because men are being locked out of the workplace but because employers pay equal money for equal work.

It’s been announced that the government has nearly 25,000 job openings…these open positions are those responsible for monitoring government grants and contracts and to make sure money isn’t used fraudulently. Without the required staff in place, distribution of funds slows down and mistakes – expensive ones – are bound to happen.

Government spending on personnel to fill these positions increased more than 140 percent from 2001 to 2008 while the staff only increased 12 percent. These numbers don’t add up: for the amount of money spent, one would expect more personnel. Additionally, government officials say there is a lack of qualified workers who can fill the jobs. If this is true, perhaps a government sponsored training program for those who display certain technical and critical thinking skills is needed. There are more than enough educated Americans, currently unemployed, to fill the open positions.

There are some who say the shortage isn’t a problem. In fact, officials say that the stimulus funding is right on track. If that’s the case, why has The Energy Department blamed the fact that it has only spent less than 10 percent of the $3 billion at its disposal on the staffing shortage? Officials in that department say the lack of staff has caused a backlog of administrative work.

Thankfully, the President does recognize that the staffing shortage is an issue. As such, his budget for next year includes more than $150 million that will be used to grow the contracting staffers by 5 percent. With adequate staff in place, the stimulus program can proceed as planned, the economy can begin to recover and Americans can begin to feel secure again.

There should be no excuses for why the intended funds didn’t trickle down to the American people; after all, when Wall Street needed its bail out, the money was distributed quickly. That should not change now that the average person is in need.

Thankfully, President Obama sits on the right side of this debate and has advocated for and signed into law legislation that increases these public support programs.

If you were lucky enough to not have suffered a lay off or home loss during this recession, it’s easy to overlook just how many have fallen victim to the decline in the economy. According to USA Today, government funded programs designed to reduce poverty have grown during the recession; such programs now one in six Americans – a record. Experts predict those numbers will continue to grow. Currently, close to 10 million Americans receive unemployment benefits, while the Medicaid rolls have grown 17 percent since the recession began. That number, too, will rise as the new health care law is predicted to add another 16 million recipients to the list in the next few years. The number who receive food stamps has grown over the last couple of years as well, nearly 40 million Americans – a 50 percent increase since the start of the recession – currently receive food stamp benefits.

These numbers are sobering. It’s easy for Republicans and others to talk about ‘small government’ and cry that anti-poverty spending jeopardizes the future health of our economy.  The reality is that our present economy is in shambles and we have no real idea of when it will rebound. Americans are suffering and it is the government’s duty to provide for its people until the economy gets to a point where they can then provide for themselves.

We are entering a critical mid-term election period and many offices across the country are up for grabs. As a voter, you can support anti-poverty programs by supporting those lawmakers who not only agree that government should provide economic safety nets but fight to make sure that it does.

Unfortunately, federal prosecutors are not in sync with the thoughts of the American public; the deals they’re striking with these bad behaving banks amount to little more than slaps on the wrists. Prosecutors aren’t, for the most part, seeking to press criminal charges against banking executives who knowingly hid or misinterpreted information from investors and the public. Instead, they’re agreeing to let the banks publicly admit to wrongdoing and allowing them to walk away with a fine.

Thank God for judges!  A few smart, call it as they see it federal judges are shocked and outraged by the surprisingly lenient penances these banks are being allowed to negotiate. And they’re expressing their displeasure to prosecutors, instructing them to go back to the drawing board and return to court with punishments that somehow reflect the seriousness of the crimes.

These judges are acting as the eyes and ears of the American people, representing our desire to see justice served. They should continue to do just that. The financial sector is the last one that deserves a break. Families and small business owners drive our economy yet they’ve received very few breaks. Instead, they’ve lost their homes and had to close their businesses when it became obvious that the government had not created a bail out plan for them. Thankfully, the judges hearing these cases are able to break away from the tradition of agreeing with whatever deal the prosecutor recommends and, instead, forces justice to be served.