republicanchick
New member
http://www.rubio.senate.gov/public/...s-address-on-middle-class-economic-challenges
This is a speech by Marco Rubio, which contains biographical information. I find it interesting 4 many reasons, partly b/c M Rubio was raised in a similar way as i was.. middle class (lower middle class? whatever).
He talks about a woman named Kristeen, a young single mother of two preschool-aged girls.
Kristeen lives in Florida and is the primary provider for her two daughters. She works at a pet boarding facility making $370 a week after taxes. Daycare for the girls costs $235 a week, which she says is about like signing over a paycheck every month.
She knows the key to a better job is acquiring new skills, so she started taking online courses in early childhood education. She hoped this would lead to a higher salary and more time with her daughters. But like millions of other Americans, our outdated higher education system left Kristeen unable to finish.
The online classes she had been taking cost her around $1200 per course. Even if she had received a scholarship or a Pell grant, she still felt like the time and resources required were too much given her responsibilities at home. So she dropped out.
She dedicated herself to earning more money any way she could. She sells nutrition supplements at a local farmers market on weekends. She makes costume accessories for girls’ birthday parties and sells them online.
She got rid of everything that wasn’t essential: cable, even her cell phone. She was determined to live independently. But nothing she tried was enough. No matter how hard she worked, her earnings were simply too little; her costs too great.
And so today, Kristeen – along with 42 million other women in America – finds herself on the edge of poverty and slipping over.
The solutions President Obama and his party offer single mothers have not worked. Their idea of helping is to spend more money on programs that do nothing to help Kristeen escape poverty.
Their idea of helping her get an education is a gimmick designed to win elections rather than reforms designed to bring higher education within her reach.
The result is that Americans like Kristeen are left feeling pessimistic about the future of our country. They are frustrated that no one in Washington seems to understand the challenges facing them. Worst of all, they hold little hope that their lives will improve. To restore the American Dream, we have to change that.
First, we need modern reforms to our anti-poverty programs. Reforms that would incentivize and reward the work Kristeen does now and help her acquire the skills she needs for a better job.
_
This is a speech by Marco Rubio, which contains biographical information. I find it interesting 4 many reasons, partly b/c M Rubio was raised in a similar way as i was.. middle class (lower middle class? whatever).
He talks about a woman named Kristeen, a young single mother of two preschool-aged girls.
Kristeen lives in Florida and is the primary provider for her two daughters. She works at a pet boarding facility making $370 a week after taxes. Daycare for the girls costs $235 a week, which she says is about like signing over a paycheck every month.
She knows the key to a better job is acquiring new skills, so she started taking online courses in early childhood education. She hoped this would lead to a higher salary and more time with her daughters. But like millions of other Americans, our outdated higher education system left Kristeen unable to finish.
The online classes she had been taking cost her around $1200 per course. Even if she had received a scholarship or a Pell grant, she still felt like the time and resources required were too much given her responsibilities at home. So she dropped out.
She dedicated herself to earning more money any way she could. She sells nutrition supplements at a local farmers market on weekends. She makes costume accessories for girls’ birthday parties and sells them online.
She got rid of everything that wasn’t essential: cable, even her cell phone. She was determined to live independently. But nothing she tried was enough. No matter how hard she worked, her earnings were simply too little; her costs too great.
And so today, Kristeen – along with 42 million other women in America – finds herself on the edge of poverty and slipping over.
The solutions President Obama and his party offer single mothers have not worked. Their idea of helping is to spend more money on programs that do nothing to help Kristeen escape poverty.
Their idea of helping her get an education is a gimmick designed to win elections rather than reforms designed to bring higher education within her reach.
The result is that Americans like Kristeen are left feeling pessimistic about the future of our country. They are frustrated that no one in Washington seems to understand the challenges facing them. Worst of all, they hold little hope that their lives will improve. To restore the American Dream, we have to change that.
First, we need modern reforms to our anti-poverty programs. Reforms that would incentivize and reward the work Kristeen does now and help her acquire the skills she needs for a better job.
_
