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Politicians need to stop bickering and get to work

Anyone who thought now the Great Recession is over and the good times are rolling in the state of Michigan got an ice cold dose of reality recently with the release of an mLive story on the Michigan economy and how residents are faring.

According to the report, about 40 percent of Michigan families in the state of Michigan are struggling to the point that there is insufficient money in the budget to meet basic needs. Put another way, that’s 1.54 million across the state that cannot pay for five basic necessities; housing, child care, food, transportation and health care, according to the mLive report.

These numbers should give everyone and anyone in state-government leadership pause. While everyone agrees that progress has been made, clearly there is much to do.

Compiled by the United Way, the report measures the state’s ALICE households, which is an acronym for Asset Limited, Income Constrained and Employed, said mLive, noting United Way created a new measure – the ALICE Threshold – based on the estimated minimal costs of the five basic areas cited.

Here are some other numbers compiled by mLive:

– In Michigan, 63 percent of jobs pay less than $20 per hour.

– In 73 percent of towns, more than 30 percent of households cannot afford basic necessities.

– Despite working and receiving financial support, ALICE households are 13 percent short of having enough money to reach the basic survival threshold in Michigan.

With both parties all but patting themselves on their backs for beating the Great Recession, these numbers are profoundly troubling. A great many Michigan families are against the wall and, bluntly speaking, the parties are still finding too much time to bicker over partisan issues.

Stop the bickering. Get back to work for the people that need it the most: the residents of the state of Michigan.

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