Since the recession, unemployment, while getting better, has remained a problem. But unemployed folks aren’t the only ones suffering. Many of the 99% have jobs without enough hours or enough pay to make ends meet, according to this June 18th NY Times article, Lost in Recession, Toll on Underemployed and Underpaid.

But in spite of evidence that the solution for Americans is more good, middle-class jobs, Republicans continue to line the pockets of the 1% while placing the economic burden on the middle and working-class. Slashing state aid had a devastating effect on Rhode Island’s struggling city of Woonsocket thanks to the influence of ALEC (The American Legislative Exchange Council), a conservative group with the goal of shrinking government spending. As Michael Cooper points out in this Times article, When ALEC Takes Over Your Town, this emphasis on cuts rather than jobs left the city’s working people in dire straits.