On February 27, 2014 Rep. Jackie Speier of California asked for and was granted permission to address the United States House of Representatives for a few minutes regarding poverty and homelessness in America. What she said was absolutely shocking:
“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about the hardworking Americans who are being left behind in this country. Some sectors of our economy are recovering from the great recession, but not all boats are rising, not even close.”
“I recently spent a night in a homeless shelter and was dismayed that it was filled with members of the middle class and that earning above the minimum wage did not protect them from having to share a dorm room with dozens of other people”, she said.
“The reality is a subclass of workers has emerged who do play by the rules and work hard, but find that they are literally only one step away from living on the streets by a single medical emergency or a slow day, if you are working for tips at $2.13 an hour. They work full time; but after putting in a full day, they go home to a homeless shelter”, she continued.
“We interact with these people every day. They take our food orders; they fix our cars and bag our groceries. They aren’t looking for handouts or begrudging the success of others, but are simply trying to meet their basic needs. They face huge obstacles in finding a home in housing markets where rental costs have escalated beyond their reach. Working 40 hours a week used to mean a minimum standard of living and a foothold on the first rung of the economic ladder to the middle class, but not anymore”, said Rep. Speier (source: Congressional Record http://thomas.loc.gov/).