“Our projections show that virtually all the progress made in family economic well-being since 1975 will be wiped out,”

via Recession threatens U.S. progress in child wellbeing | U.S. | Reuters.

From the Washington Post: Appalled by instances of what federal prosecutors have described as slavery, executives of one of the nation’s largest food service companies promise to boycott Florida tomatoes if growers do not agree to improve conditions and increase pay for farmworkers.

via Putting the Squeeze on Tomato Growers to Improve Conditions for Farm Workers – washingtonpost.com.

From Huffington Post: While the Fox News-fueled coverage of the “tea parties” has hoodwinked major media outlets into believing it’s just a spontaneous protest against high taxes, it’s actually been a well-orchestrated campaign driven by lobbyists and right-wing corporate front groups that are seeking to keep taxes low and preserve loopholes for wealthy CEOs and corporations. Both sets of tax breaks for the ultra-rich are targeted in President Obama’s budget and tax reform plans, while the “Tea Party” activists ignored the real threats posed by a tax system geared to benefiting the rich. Energy would be better focused here: http://tiny.cc/4aZIO

Art Levine: Faux-Populist “Tea Parties” Ignore Tax Breaks for Overpaid CEOs.

From Alternet: Chomsky notes that while the recent bank bailouts have brought a great deal of attention to the disconnect between public investment and private profit, it has become routine for the taxpaying public to foot the bill for important research that eventually creates big corporate profits. To ensure that we all reap the benefits of our investments, it is essential to make institutions accountable to their communities, rather than exclusively dedicated to maximizing shareholder returns.

Noam Chomsky: Workers Will Build the Recovery, Not Wall Street | Corporate Accountability and WorkPlace | AlterNet.

An encampment is made up of over a hundred pink tents and is named to protest Seattle Mayor Greg Nickel’s policies around the homeless.

Nickelsville: Seattle’s Homeless Name New Tent City After City’s Mayor | Rights and Liberties | AlterNet

 ACORN member Donna Hanks re-took her home.Foreclosed on last Fall, the house has stood empty since then, a stark reminder of the failure of the system. But Donna joined with 30 ACORN Home Defenders to liberate her home from the bank. Her act of civil disobedience was covered by 2 radio stations, 2 TV stations, the Baltimore Sun, and the Huffington Post. 

Donna used bolt cutters to break the lock to the door and re-enter the home. Unfortunately, in the six short months since the home was seized, it has been extensively damaged, essentially partially gutted. The toilets are missing, and the upstairs ceiling is badly damaged. The greatest tragedy here is that Donna worked for months with ACORN sister organization ACORN Housing Corporation to try to get the bank to modify the loan so it could be affordable, but they refused, taking the home and now allowing it to be a haven for squatters and a target of looters.  

My Mother and I Dont Leave | Video | AlterNet

America needs a bold new housing policy as growing numbers of Americans sleep in shelters, surf friends’ couches and camp in their cars.

Homelessness Is at Record Highs: Lets Show Some Real Compassion | Corporate Accountability and WorkPlace | AlterNet

As if things weren’t bad enough, the depths of this financial crisis is taking its toll on our mental health. Pushed past their breaking points, people are robbing banks to pay the rent, setting homes on fire — even taking their own lives.

The Financial Crisis Is Driving Hordes of Americans to Suicide | Corporate Accountability and WorkPlace | AlterNet

huffingtonpost.com — The extent of the 2008 economic collapse surprised and shocked the conventional wisdom in Washington and on Wall Street. But in hindsight, a good case can be made that the massive globalization of labor and financial markets, coupled with “free markets über alles” policies, formed a toxic mixture that made the collapse inevitable.

Robert Creamer: How Globalization Set the Stage for the 2008 Economic Collapse

Across the country, authorities are becoming concerned that the nation’s financial woes could turn increasingly violent, and they are urging people to get help. In some places, mental-health hot lines are jammed, counseling services are in high demand and domestic-violence shelters are full. With nowhere else to turn, many people are calling suicide-prevention hot lines. The Samaritans of New York have seen calls rise more than 16 percent in the past year, many of them money-related. The Switchboard of Miami has recorded more than 500 foreclosure-related calls this year.

As economy sinks, officials fear violent solutions – CNN.com

Our economic system has always caused immense stress for those on the bottom of the food chain. And we can trace most individual suffering back to social determinants such as inequality. Now the weight is heavier and hitting more people. The natural reaction will be to build more counseling centers and shelters to help people cope. We need to resist that urge. We need to keep the pressure on the decision-makes to re-work our economic system so that fewer people have to endure the constant stress of not having enough. We can’t treat, counsel and comfort our way out of this mess.