By: Team Sherrod

Last month’s jobs numbers may paint a promising picture of the state of our country, but reality looks a little different.

According to various studies from the past year, millions of Americans are living in poverty, unable to cover an unexpected expense, or can’t afford the basics to live. And the GOP’s tax bill, along with this administration’s relentless attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, aren’t making life any easier for families struggling to make ends meet.

No matter what the numbers say, this isn’t the direction we should be going. We should be working towards a country where all Americans have a fair chance to succeed. That’s what Sherrod believes. If you do too, say you’re in:

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Washington Post: The economic numbers are cheery, but don’t believe the hype

Katrina vanden Heuvel – June 5, 2018

Key points:

• May’s jobs report had some good news: more than 220,000 new jobs, and unemployment down to 3.8 percent, the lowest in 18 years.
• The cheery numbers, however, should not blind us to the harsh reality facing most Americans.
• According to the official “Report of the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights on his mission to the United States of America,” on behalf of the U.N. Human Rights Council, about 40 million Americans live in poverty, 18.5 million in extreme poverty, and 5.3 million live in absolute poverty.
• The report states that the U.S. has the highest youth poverty rate in the industrialized world and the highest infant mortality rates. It also has the highest rate of income inequality among Western countries.
• And, the report notes, the situation is worsening, given the “policies pursued over the past year, [which] seem deliberately designed to remove basic protections from the poorest, punish those who are not in employment and make even basic healthcare into a privilege to be earned rather than a right of citizenship.”
• Other recent studies have concluded that four in ten adults can’t cover an unexpected expense of $400, and that 43 out of 100 households cannot afford the basics to live.
• At the same time, this administration’s tax bill, budgets, and efforts to roll back regulations undermine protections for U.S. consumers, workers and communities. And President Trump’s forays into the healthcare system will leave millions more without care.

Read more here.