It's been news, so you probably already know that Senate Republicans--and one incredible arse of a Democrat-- defeated a measure to keep extended benefits in place for jobless Americans last Thursday. In real numbers, this will mean over 1 million Americans (closer to home, an estimated 1200 jobless Minnesotans per week by September) will be losing unemployment benefits-their sole source of income. It means unemployed Minnesotans can now only qualify for a maximum of 39 weeks of benefits instead of 86 weeks-in a job market so bleak it is taking a record number of job-seekers nearly two years to find quality replacement employment.
Have you ever stopped for a moment to consider that these aren't just statistics? These are realities that will, in some cases, eventually take people's lives. It is an empirically-shown reality that poverty kills, and our Congress just voted to let a fair number of Americans expire. Believing anything else is a just a denial game we are playing with ourselves.
The British Medical Journal reported Friday
Radical cuts in social welfare spending by governments intent on reducing budget deficits can cost lives as well as cause economic pain. Researchers found that levels of social spending are strongly associated with risks of premature death, particularly from diseases linked to wealth and social circumstances such as heart attacks and alcohol-related illness.
This report reveals that ordinary people may be paying the ultimate price for budget cuts to social programs -- potentially costing them their lives. These included programs to provide support to families and children, to help the unemployed get jobs, and support for people with disabilities -- all of which could plausibly affect health.
Analyzing trends in the data, it was found that when social spending was high, death rates fell, but when they were low, death rates rose substantially.
Health and social welfare programs appear to be a key determinant of future population health that should be taken into account in ongoing economic debates.
If this doesn't give you pause, it should. What we have been hearing from conservatives, deficit hawks, Religious Righters, Tea Partiers-whomever you want to call the gang of social-program-slash-and-burn fanatics-is that in this time of economic turmoil,the very life of those individuals hardest hit by the this freak financial storm are not worth trying to save. Separate the wheat from the chaff.
The negative impact of joblessness on all apects of life is showing up more and more in the news as well. It's not just jobs unemployed Minnesotans are desperate to get. According to Pioneer Press interviews with County Work Force Centers, counselors there are reporting floods of inquiries about other forms of aid, including cash, health care and food assistance. And statistics from the MN legislature show that poverty in our state(defined as "how many Minnesotans are not financially able to maintain a minimum standard of living. Incomes must be well above the poverty level in order to be considered adequate") has been steadily on the rise since 2007, and is now nearing 10%.
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