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;void(0)) The new Congress will have its hands full over the next few years if the new Speaker is able to make good on what she proposes. Representative Nancy Pelosi said that she would be an advocate “on behalf of American children”. A recent study by the Center for WorkLife Law at the University of California Hastings College of the Law revealed that “workplace inflexibility, the lack of family supports and workplace bias” are forcing American mothers out of the work force – whether they can really afford to “opt out” or not. Other studies have been showing how working parents have been putting their health and marriages at risk to avoid the costs and anxieties of day care. There are bills out there that have been languishing about for years, that call for a wide variety of measures to reduce the stressors on working families. Senator Hillary Clinton introduced one this past summer to provide low-income parents with subsidies to stay at home and care for their infant children themselves. Ms. Pelosi, reminds us that she is not merely a forceful leader but first and foremost, “a mother and a grandmother”. She promises to raise the minimum wage, cut the interest rates on student loans and make some college tuition tax deductible. These are all very noble efforts in the interest of American working families whose needs have been increasingly ignored since the early ‘80s. Having been a single parent throughout the period of the ‘80s and the ‘90s I, for one, truly am hopeful that the new Speaker is successful in her efforts. American working families deserve a lot more than what they have been getting from their representatives over the past 20 years. There is nothing radical about the proferred democratic agenda. As a matter of fact, it may serve as the beginning of an antidote to the selfish individualism and empty materialism that has been corrupting our culture. Perhaps it is this type of political action that will allow us to get a true dose of the “family values” that we have been hearing so much about, yet have had so little opportunity to realize over the past several years. Oh yeah, don't forget your autographed copy of “The Ackee Chronicles”. Tony VanSluytman - the Author  Newsletter Directory The Aton Project - Home Page Tony VanSluytman info Tony VanSluytman - the Author | Return Home | The BOOK DOCTOR | The BANYON NETWORK | The Banyon Buzz Newsletters | The Aton Project Newsletters | Contact Us | |
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