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Princess Máxima of the Netherlands, special advisor to the United Nations Secretary-General on financial access, has reiterated her plea to allow people in poor countries easier access to financial services, which she said would play a vital role in changing their economic lives.

If he'd said it of Jews, he would still be apologizing. If he'd said it of blacks, he'd be on BET, begging absolution. If he'd said it of women, the National Organization for Women would have his carcass turning slowly on a spit over an open flame. But he said it of the poor, so he got away with it. "He" is South Carolina Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer, running for governor on the GOP ticket. Speaking of those who receive public assistance, he recently told an audience, "My grandmother was not a highly educated woman, but she told me as...

Oregon should get a initiative to stop all funding to people who don’t work or make less than what is considered the middle class, I am sure it would get a majority. seems like class warfare so why not fire some shots back at the poor. if you can get people to vote themselves a raise and take it from someone it seems like if a majority wanted to they could vote to end all low income funding works both ways right?

"There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land." Deuteronomy 15:11 (NIV) Who cares about the poor? God, for one. And he's pretty serious about it. The passage from Deuteronomy is just one of many bold declarations of God's concern for the poor found throughout both the Old and New Testaments. John Stapleford, in his book Bulls, Bear and Golden Calves (2009, Intervarsity Press), goes so far as to say, "Other than warnings about idolatry, no other theme receives as much...

On Thursday’s Countdown with Keith Olbermann, MSNBC’s wunderkind Keith Olbermann ratcheted up his political attacks to a level rarely seen on cable news. This week has been rough on Olbermann as Republican Scott Brown was swept to victory by a resurgent conservative movement and the Supreme Court struck down long-standing campaign finance regulations for corporations widely supported by liberals and Democrats. The stress showed throughout the week as Olbermann launched vicious attacks on Brown that even liberal comedian Jon Stewart found to be tenuous. On Thursday night Olbermann continued his slide, seemingly unaware of the crassness of his remarks, or...

Rising unemployment and sinking wages have pushed record numbers of Ohioans into poverty. The State of Poverty in Ohio -- unveiled four days before Gov. Ted Strickland's official State of the State speech -- was released today by the Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies. It provides some startling statistics and reveals what many Ohioans know firsthand. Simply put, things have gotten worse. Since 2002, the state's population has increased by 1.2 percent while the number of persons living in poverty has grown by 41.7 percent. Ohio is now home to 1.5 million people -- 13.7 percent of its population...

England is about to—it hurts to type this—Unleash Aspiration! According to the Daily Mail: Labour will declare war on the benefits of a middle class childhood today as Gordon Brown spells out the latest steps in the government’s equality crusade. Top lawyers, accountants, bankers and doctors will be ordered to draw up plans to make sure that their professions become less elitist – so they employ fewer middle class children. Professionals will be told that poor children must be helped into the top jobs, at the expense of those who have benefited from their personal connections or education. Universities will...

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Today in America we have two different classes of poor: 1) the American Indigent Poor; and 2) the Capable Poor or the “New American Poor” (i.e., “The Subjective Socially Dependent”). The American Indigent Poor are those individuals who are truly helpless and indigent. These were born with physical infirmities and birth defects who suffer physical traumas or mental issues and are unable to survive through this life without help from society. Some are our valiant veterans of foreign wars and others are rejected outcasts of society. These individuals need and deserve our charity and help, and most of all we...

A clergyman has been criticised as 'highly irresponsible' after advising his congregation to shoplift following his Nativity sermon. Father Tim Jones, 41, broke off from his traditional annual sermon yesterday to tell his flock that stealing from large chains is sometimes the best option for vulnerable people. It is far better for people desperate during the recession to shoplift than turn to 'prostitution, mugging or burglary', he said. The married father-of-two insisted his unusual advice did not break the Bible commandment 'Thou shalt not steal' - because God's love for the poor Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1237470/Priest-advises-congregation-shoplift.html#ixzz0aMLEepVv

Gartman: Blame Democratic Mayors For Nationwide Poverty Vince VenezianiDec. 21, 2009, 10:24 AM In this morning The Gartman Letter, analyst Dennis Gartman segues off his usual topic of markets to focus on poverty levels and the political front: The Gartman Letter: Finally, we came across the following list over the weekend as we were going through e-mails and cleaning things up. We checked out the data, and it is correct, so the “correlation” seems reasonably to hold. Now, what do all of these cities have in common beyond their egregious poverty level rates? They all have had since 1989 and...

Today in America we have two different classes of poor: 1) the American Indigent Poor; and 2) the Capable Poor or the “New American Poor” (i.e., “The Subjective Socially Dependent”). The American Indigent Poor are those individuals who are truly helpless and indigent. These were born with physical infirmities and birth defects who suffer physical traumas or mental issues and are unable to survive through this life without help from society. Some are our valiant veterans of foreign wars and others are rejected outcasts of society. These individuals need and deserve our charity and help, and most of all we...

Wishing Happy Christmas 'Could Be An Obscenity' Warns Bishop Wishing people a Happy Christmas could be seen as an "insult" or even an "obscenity" as not everyone is in a position to celebrate, a bishop has warned. By Stephen Adams 27 Nov 2009 Many can't share the manufactured bonhomie of Christmas, say bishop Y The Right Reverend Humphrey Southern, the Bishop of Repton, said it was a "hollow" greeting to make to those who were suffering. People should not "simply make a cocoon of happiness for ourselves and our loved ones" at Christmas, he said. Writing in the monthly Derby...

There is much talk and discussion today about helping the poor and downtrodden here in the USA. The only true way to help individuals break free from the tyrannical cycle of poverty, however, is a Conservatism that is rooted in Biblical, Judean/ Christian truths and absolutes. Such values bestow upon these individuals a sense of reality and purpose in what otherwise would be a meaningless, “burned out” existence. Historically, Judean/ Christian values have been the only true advocate and hope for the poor since the fall of man (see Genesis 3:17-19). The word charity - as taught in the Bible...

The left avers that many Americans are poverty-stricken, that we need to do more to alleviate their plight, and that the primary role of government is to help them. Let us examine these claims. 'Poverty' may be viewed as harsh deprivation, such as in Biafra or the Congo. Yet nobody in America starves to death. It is true that the standard of living of illegals from Mexico is far below ours, yet even they are far better off than the inhabitants of third-world countries. Nor do the poor in America suffer as did those during the Great Depression. Consider the...

Villagers step up and unload bags of dry goods to be distributed among them while Troop B, 6th Bn., 9th Cav. Regt. provides security during a recent humanitarian distribution in northern Iraq. Photo courtesy of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division. MOSUL — Iraqi villagers in Rabi'ah and its surrounding areas have come to welcome and enjoy the U.S. Soldiers that visit them regularly. Troop B, 6th Battalion, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd "Greywolf" Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division has spent the last three months building relationships with citizens in northern Iraqi through humanitarian assistance missions."These operations...

How many Freepers know about this program? It gives a free mobile phone to low-income households and free 68 minutes of airtime per month. Tracphone has this website: Safelink WirelessI tried to find what legislation established this, but cannot.

When 87-year-old Alice Jadwigia Armstrong looked up from her hospital bed and saw the smiling face of Sister Lourdes Miranda, she was visibly buoyed by the nun’s presence. Clasping the hand of the Little Sister of the Poor, the white-haired woman seemed transported to the security of her youth. “I like her because she reminds me of my mother,” Armstrong said with a laugh. “You can depend on her.” Sister Lourdes, one of 17 Little Sisters who minister at St. Martin’s Home for the Aged in Catonsville, laughed warmly. The Cuba native reached out and tenderly brushed Armstrong’s cheek with...

Hello my FReeper friends, I am trying to educate myself regarding Medicare and Medicaid to find out the reality of the state of healthcare in the USA. I went to Wikipedia and typed in MEDICAID and right there in the first paragraph, I read this : Medicaid is the United States health program for eligible individuals and families with low incomes and resources. It is a means-tested program that is jointly funded by the states and federal government, and is managed by the states.[1] Among the groups of people served by Medicaid are certain eligible U.S. citizens and resident aliens,...

There is much talk and discussion today about helping the poor and downtrodden here in the USA. The only true way to help individuals break free from the tyrannical cycle of poverty, however, is a Conservatism that is rooted in Biblical, Judean/ Christian truths and absolutes. Such values bestow upon these individuals a sense of reality and purpose in what otherwise would be a meaningless, “burned out” existence. Historically, Judean/ Christian values have been the only true advocate and hope for the poor since the fall of man (see Genesis 3:17-19). The word charity - as taught in the Bible...