Susan Yuzna: Stuck on the Wrong Side of the Economic Divide

I read Susan Yuzna's article in the newspaper this morning (The Yomiuri Shimbun with The Washington Post) and believe that both John Kerry and GW Bush need to do more to address the problems of unemployment within the USA. I don't think politicians understand the feelings of the unemployed. In fact, I don't think they (the boys and girls on the Hill) "GET IT".

When was the last time you saw a politician having to wait in an ER for medical services? When was the last time you saw a politician counting pennies and hoping he or she had enough money to buy food for his child? When was the last time you saw a politician sticking his or her hand out asking for food to feed his family instead of taxpayers' money to feed his campaign war chest?? And when was the last time you saw a politician using public transportation?? Why should politicians be entitled to so much when the citizens are entitled to nothing??

The parts of her article that made me really think about how bad the US economy has become in the last decade are:

Yuzna's quote: "My 2002 income was 50 percent of my 2001 income. My 2003 income was 50 percent of 2002. This is not the way the American Dream is supposed to work."

Yuzna's quote: "Part of the reason for my wait, I learned from a nurse practitioner who examined me after six hours, was that SF General is the only trauma unit in the city, so when ambulances roll in, everything else stops."

Yuzna's quote: "I don't even worry about finding a job with benefits anymore. I just want a job. I'm angry. I feel ignored. I am terrified of homelessness. I want a change, a big change, in this country's priorities. I lie awake at night asking myself why we are spending money and American lives on a war that is beginning to resemble Vietnam, when our own economy is being referred to as a "jobless" recovery."

I hope people like Susan Yuzna gather enough support and force politicians to address the massive problems within the country as it pertains to unemployment.

The author has given out her e-mail address and so will I: [email protected]