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There are at least 46 million people without health insurance, even though a large percentage of those people are employed. The overall percentage of people covered by employer-based insurance declined from 2003 to 2004.
There were 37.0 million people in poverty in 2004, up from 35.9 million in 2003.
There were 7.9 million families in poverty in 2004, up from 7.6 million in 2003. The average poverty threshold for a family of four in 2004 was an income of $19,307; for a family of three, $15,067; for a family of two, $12,334; and for unrelated individuals, $9,645.
13 million children live in poverty.
In 2004, requests for emergency food assistance increased by an average of 14 percent during the year. In addition, an average of 20 percent of requests for emergency food assistance have gone unmet in 2004.
Over 80% of the population has aligned with a particular organized religion which is now threatening to take over government public policies.
The religious population advocates a submissive role for all the nation's women, demanding women first gain approval from husbands or fathers before seeking medical treatment.
Roughly 50% of all state-sponsored marriages (across religious lines) end in divorce, which escalates the poverty rate.
The current governmental power spends $355 BILLION annually (increases to over $400 BILLION next year, and top $500 BILLION by 2010) on weapons and defense. That figure is five times that of the next closest country. This spending is done at citizen expense and most is spent to increase military might abroad (not to ensure citizens' security at home).
If you add up all the military spending (current, veteran's benefits, administrative, etc.) this country spends more than $2,000 BILLION each year.
The country has nuclear capability and, at last estimate, held over 15,000 strategic and non-strategic weapons.
This nation, formerly a powerful manufacturer, now sees its own corporations moving factories and plants to other nations... and getting tax breaks from the government for doing so.
Workers were previously re-trained for new employment when their existing jobs were sent overseas or became obsolete. With fewer and fewer jobs available, however, this practice has become close to non-existant.
Workers who have been removed from their jobs (due to overseas manufacturing or plant closure) who have found new jobs, take an average of 31% cut in pay.
Almost 8 million people go to work each day but fall within the poverty guidelines and must rely on government assistance and/or charitable contributions in order to survive. The number of such workers in this classification has increased steadily since 2000.
When faced with government deficits, those in power chose to cut programs which benefit those in poverty, the elderly and the nation's children in lieu of cutting any military or defense spending... in fact, the military budget was increased.
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If we are to take the GOP at their word: that citizens throughout the world should not have to live under an authorative system which hurts the population; that we should be afraid of those who amass weapons of mass destruction; and that we should fear those nations who set out to form a theological-form of government, then we must do something about the nation outlined above.
It is imperative that we come together and use whatever force be necessary in order to remedy this nation's ills least we have our future generations bear the burden of our own lack of foresight.
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