*Let's Get Shonda and Bob Back to Work*   
      
    /By Paul Sherry*   
      
       
      
    Several days ago I attended a forum on "The Jobs Crisis-Moving   
    to Action: A dialogue Between Workers and Policymakers" at the   
    Washington DC office of the AFL-CIO.  Two unemployed workers   
    from Ohio, Shonda Sheen and Bob Stein, participated in that   
    dialogue and told us their stories.   
      
    Shonda Sheen was laid off in December, 2009, and is about to   
    run out of unemployment benefits. Further, recent state budget   
    cuts may cause her to lose the services of the health care nurse   
    who helps care for her mother who has dementia.  She desperately   
    wants to work so she can care for herself and her family. Yet,   
    at the last job she applied for, she was told 450 others had   
    applied for the same position.   
      
    She said: "All I want is a decent job. I want to work. I love   
    to work. I'm scared. I don't know what's going to happen to my   
    mother.  I have a home to pay off."   
      
    Bob Stein is a 60 year old, former salesman who has been out of   
    work since May, 2010.   
      
    He said to us, "I was set to lose unemployment as of the second   
    or third week of December, and (politicians) were fighting back   
    and forth and it was predicated on the Bush tax cuts. I was   
    caught right in the middle of that. The thing that was so   
    upsetting is when you heard about the number of people about to   
    lose their unemployment check. I thought, "OK, I understand that   
    you're adamant about this Bush tax cut thing, but you're holding   
    us all hostage. You're playing politics with people's lives.   
    People use their unemployment. This will stimulate and help the   
    economy.""   
      
    Shonda and Bob, in their struggle to survive, are not only   
    reminding us of the plight of so many of our unemployed and   
    underemployed; they are also pointing us toward the way out of   
    the crisis we face. They are speaking truth to power and it is   
    time the powers that be start to listen, lest the dire situation   
    so many face worsens and our nation's economy continues its   
    downward spiral: "All I want is a decent job." "People use their   
    unemployment. This will stimulate and help the economy."   
      
    It is time, long past time, to shift the primary focus of our   
    attention from deficit reduction to job creation. This is not to   
    say that deficits are not a problem.  Deficits do need to be   
    reduced over the long term but not at this moment and not on the   
    backs of those most at risk. At this moment, with so many people   
    out of work already, we dare not exacerbate the situation by   
    enacting policies that will destroy more jobs rather than   
    shaping policies to create new ones.  To do so is both morally   
    questionable and economically wrong.   
      
    Shonda Sheen, Bob Stein and millions more like them need good   
    jobs so that they can support themselves and their families.   
    They need good jobs so that the taxes they pay with the money   
    they earn can help restore the economy of this nation. If we   
    want to reduce the deficit, if we want to address the budget   
    crisis, one sure way is to create good jobs. Private jobs and,   
    when needed, public jobs.   
      
    There is a concrete way for you to help create a job for Shonda   
    Sheen and Bob Stein. You can urge your congregation or other   
    faith-based body to join Faith Advocates for Jobs, a campaign   
    composed of over 40 faith-based national and regional   
    organizations committed to support the unemployed and the   
    underemployed and their families and to advocate for policies   
    that will put people back to work and transform our nation's   
    economy. Faith Advocates for Jobs believes that by putting our   
    faith into action we can enlist 1000 congregations - Christian,   
    Jewish, Muslim and others - in this so sorely needed effort.   
    Please join with us.   
      
    You can receive full information about Faith Advocates for Jobs   
    and how to join with us on our newly created website:   
    www.faithadvocatesforjobs.wordpress.com   
    .  I also will   
    be happy to respond to any questions you might have about FAJ.   
    My email address is: PSherry@iwj.org.   
      
    The most significant way to resolve the budget crisis, the best   
    way to relieve the severe suffering of millions of our nation's   
    people, is by putting people back to work.  So, together, let's   
    do it.   
      
    ----------------------------------------------------------------   
      
    Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good is a lay Catholic   
    organization that promotes public policies and effective   
    programs that enhance the inherent dignity of all, especially   
    the poor and most vulnerable. Our work is inspired by Gospel   
    values and the rich history of Catholic social teaching as they   
    inform pressing moral issues of our time. We accomplish these   
    goals through public policy analysis and advocacy, strategic   
    media outreach, and engaging citizens in the service of the   
    common good.   
      
    http://www.catholicsinalliance.org   
      
      
   BOB KLAHN bob.klahn@sev.org   http://home.toltbbs.com/bobklahn   
      
   ... True Christianity-If anyone anywhere is hungry, it's your fault.   
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