Liberal Serving

1.1 More Fall Below the Poverty Line

The Times continues the bad news day with the announcement of new poverty stats:

While disappointed, the Bush administration -- which has not seen a decline in poverty numbers since the president took office -- said it was not surprised by the new statistics.

Well, no, it's kind of the point of their policies, no?  The right can go on and on about morality, but allowing so many people to live below the poverty level - and the absolute crime of allowing 45 million Americans live without health insurance - that's amoral.  That's a shame that each of us carries around each day, and instead of doing more on an institutional level to treat these social ills, bushite policies push more and more people to poverty in the bullshit name of individual responsibility.  If social security were reformed removed, these numbers would soar.  It's not right and it's not christian, however many converts poverty pushes into churches (and to the fundamentalist republicans who exploited them in the first place).

How We Gunna Pa-ay 10.5%?

Gothamist has all the details on the 10.5% increase greedy landlords are looking for on 2-year rent-stabilized leases.  I take solace in the promise my landlord made to me last week that he would NEVER raise my rent.  Just might take him up there if this is what rent-stabilized gets you.