mothers on the verge

Hey a new post on TwitterMoms on this -- which I've posted below as well. ....................... President Obama's mandate to provide health insurance for nearly all Americans is going to come with a hefty price tag — and many of us are going to be paying for it. Right now, health insurance is not a right for all Americans. In fact, it’s a pricey privilege. The average American family of four pays $3,354 a year for coverage — double what they paid nine years ago. And the reason it's even that low? Because most American now take out high deductible plans. Add in deductibles, and doctors that sometimes just won’t take your insurance — and health care is a slow leak from our bottom lines. For those who earn just minimum wage, now $7.25 an hour , even that amount can seem impossible. So many are hoping to see some kind of reigning in of the health insurance industry so that we can continue to have coverage — and maybe keep a little bit more in our pocketbooks. Or, frankly, s...

Dear Kate, Stories like this are starting to trickle through the U.S. too. Today on the front page of The New York Times was another piece about tent communities growing. Featured, were two - one in Sacramento, Ca. and another in Fresno, Ca. But they're popping up in Nashville, Tenn., Olympia, Wa. and St. Peterburg, Fl. as well. I spent a summer in St. Petersburg years ago working for the local paper and I'm trying to imagine a "Hooverville" there. (That was the name given to homeless encampments during the depression in the 1930s - for President Hoover.) While there aren't any tent cities in Manhattan, it's still coming close to home. I'm hearing stories within my community- about the single mom who has lost her job, certainly belt-tightening by almost all. Empty storefronts are growing — even within a block or two of my apartment. The Rabbit asked me a few weeks ago if we might lose our home. I realized even at 6, she's still too young for me to ha...