Erin DeRosa
From Prada to Payless

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When trying hard isn't enough

"The divide between the rich and the poor, between those who have a social safety net so intact they never even think about it and those who have none is too great. The divide between those who are able to enjoy their lives, those who live in luxury and those who cannot keep up no matter how hard they try, is a great tragedy for all of humanity.

"It doesn't need to be this way. It is possible to design economic systems that are more fair that reward hard work that provide a real safety net for all.

"It is possible for us to live with compassion, justice and empathy, but as long as wealth insulates greed and distorts reality, we will see radical inequality maintained.

"We will see billions of people living as modern day slaves working for the elite capitalist class until the day they die. This is barbaric. A better world should matter to ALL."

— Tangerine Bolen, founder of Revolution Truth.

I read those words yesterday and literally got chills.

I find in particular the sentence about those who cannot keep up no matter how hard they try to be the story of too many people.

Way too many families. Way too many hard-working Americans. Not the "lazy" people that many uninformed people seem to group all those struggling.

That whole mindset of "lazy" is antiquated and ignorant. Let's face it, if minimum wage is so below the standard of living, how can anybody living on it ever get out of their situation?

Answer: They can't.

Last week, my electricity was shut off. Yes, we received the notices. We knew it was going to happen. But sometimes it comes down to tough decisions.

Like do we repair the car that takes David to his job or have no transportation? You fix the car and tell the kids "It's like we're camping!"

My electricity is back on thanks to the On-Track program that we applied for months ago.

And it seems back to business around here for the girls. But trust me, I worry about the next catastrophe. The next bill or repair, and now having less income than ever, how the heck we will deal with it.

But you see it isn't a lack of hard work that got us here. That would be impossible. If I were sitting on the couch eating cheese doodles all day, it wouldn't surprise me at all if the electric company showed up in my driveway. In fact, I would be expecting it.

It's just the opposite. It's knowing how very hard we are working and never moving forward.

Corporate profits are at record highs. Banks are stronger than ever. The whole notion of wealth and jobs trickling down for all of us down below — it's a bunch of malarkey.

Hard work SHOULD be rewarded.

A better world should matter to ALL.

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