McCain’s advisor needs to take a step down from his ivory tower
Gramm: We need more leadership, less whining - CNN.com
(CNN) — Phil Gramm, a top adviser to Sen. John McCain, on Thursday stood by his comment that the country is in a “mental recession,” and said he was trying to say the nation’s leaders, not its people, were “whiners.”Democrats blasted Gramm, who advises presumed Republican nominee McCain on economic matters, for saying Americans who have named the economy as a top concern this campaign cycle were “a nation of whiners.”
Sorry, I don’t buy it. If he had been talking about the nation’s leaders that wouldn’t have been the quote.
The nerve of us for thinking we should be able to eat, drive to work and pay for health care all at once. The reason people say the economy is the most important thing to them isn’t because of negative news, as Gramm asserts, but because we know our dollar just isn’t going as far as it should.
Technorati Tags: John McCain, Phil Gramm
Filed under: 2008 election, John McCain
What??? People are losing their jobs left and right, home values have plummeted, gas and food prices are sky rocketing and this man says, “Thank God the economy is not as bad as you read in the newspaper every day.” What world is he living in? Obviously, the McCain crew is not in touch with the economy. McCain can back pedal all he wants saying, “”Phil Gramm does not speak for me, I speak for me” but the truth of the matter is, Gramm is one of McCain’s top advisers. America cannot afford OLD school any longer. Lil’ George has done significant damage to this country’s standing in the world. We MUST move forward and get fresh blood in the White House or we will lose more respect from the rest of the world than we already have.
I don’t know what you guys see every day, but we are a nation of whiners. There are NOT people starving on the streets, the average TV ownership for people earning under the poverty level is 2.5 per house hold.
Granted it stinks to have gas at 3.85+, food prices going up, the mortgage market going south, but its not the end of the world. Things have been and will be worse, as always occurs in economic cycles.
If one was a thoughtful person one would save for times such as these to accommodate the price fluctuation, but US people think in terms of the next fiscal quarter NOT the next quarter century as a prudent person would.
Maybe there aren’t people starving in the streets, but there are definitely children going to bed hungry. American Children. How do thoughtful people save for times such as these when they are not earning enough to save? My family is feeling the pinch of rising food costs - because we try to eat organic and healthy. And I have been whining. And I deserve to whine because I have a son with a brain tumor and we try, for all of our health but especially his, to avoid preservatives, pesticides, etc. However, as much as I deserve to whine - we are not living in poverty. I can’t afford to buy organic apples but nobody in my house ever goes to bed hungry. However, that is not true for all families. And as my grocery bills rise I worry very much about the families who were already barely making it. They certainly deserve to whine. And yet, they hardly do. They are so busy trying to survive they have very little time to read blogs, watch the news, write their congressmen….And they are Americans, too. Here are a few facts about hunger, provided by the San Antonio Food Bank:
Facts About Hunger
Over 38 million Americans are food insecure. Of those 38 million, more than 13 million are children and 4 million are seniors. Last year, over 27 million people used a Food Bank for emergency food assistance.
USDA Economic Research Service, America’s Second Harvest
The average rate of poverty for the San Antonio Food Bank’s 16 county area is 16.5%.
U.S. Census, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement 2005
In Bexar County, roughly one quarter of the population is potentially eligible to receive Food Stamp assistance, yet less than half actually participate in the program.
USDA Food and Nutrition Service, U.S. Census, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic supplement 2005
Texas is most food insecure state in the nation. Defined, food insecurity is when you are so limited in resources to buy food that you are running out of food, reducing the quality of food that your family eats, feeding your children unbalanced diets, or skipping meals so your children can eat. 16.4% of Texas’ population is food insecure.
“Household Food Security in the United States, 2004″, USDA/Economic Research Service
4.9% of Texas’ population experience hunger on a regular basis - more than one million people. “Household Food Security in the United States, 2004″, USDA/Economic Research Service
The rate of children living in poverty in Texas is 22.8%; the national rate is 17.6%. In Bexar County, the rate is 25.3% - that means that one in four children most likely struggle with food insecurity.
U.S. Census, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement 2005
12% of Texas seniors are living in poverty. That is more than one-quarter of a million seniors!
U.S. Census, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement 2005
Texas has nearly the worst record in the nation for children participating in the free USDA Summer Feeding Program. FOr every 100 eligible kids, only 7 participate.
Food Research Action Center, “State of the States 2006″
Each week, approximately 25,000 people receive emergency food assistance from an agency in the San Antonio Food Bank network.
Hunger in America 2006 - SAFB Local Report
More than 40% of the San Antonio Food Bank clients served report having to choose between paying for utilities or heating fuel and food; 29% had to choose between paying for rent or a mortgage and food; 36% report having to choose between paying for medical bills or food.
Hunger in America 2006 - SAFB Local Report