Unemployment Realities - 12/05/11

Last weeks news reported that employment in the US is lower. There are problems with this report. One is that there is an under-count in unemployment and also poverty.

The under-counts are in groups such as Chicanas and Chicanos, African Americans, Native Americans, and others. Elders are also under-counted. Importantly youth are under-counted. All of these people can be considered invisible Americans.

One thing that we don't talk about in the US is the health impact of unemployment. Being laid off is unhealthy, being under-employed is unhealthy, and being unemployed for a long time is unhealthy. Being a young person without work for a long time is also unhealthy. In England, Sir Marmot calls is a public health crisis.

10/24/11 Foreclosures

Foreclosures are obviously an economic issue. Prices of homes in neighborhoods drops, tax bases erode, and important community relationships are severed. There are also important health issues as well. In a NY Times article "Foreclosures Are Killing Us" there is some very disturbing news. Anxiety, depression, suicide attempts, heart disease, and diabetes all seem to be part of the problem. There have been studies on this and many La Raza Unida members are participating with (Un) Occupy Burque on STOP FORECLOSURE work.

Please get involved, even if it is just spreading the word!

Unemployment Kills

It has been known since the 1800s. Yet we allow government and corporations to promote the idea that there is a need for unemployment, that it - like poverty - is inevitable. Neither poverty nor unemployment is a natural phenomenon. They are created by policies and actions of those in power.

In the US we talk about nearing a 10% unemployment without talking about the people who have been hidden. In the 1980s President Reagan took out the "discouraged worker" (those who have given up looking for work) from the number of unemployed. Some estimates are that these workers are another 10%. So in reality close to 1 in 5 workers is unemployed.

That is why full employment policies are good for health. Full employment policies are good for families. And Full employment policies are good for the economy.

It is working people who drive the economy. They don't make enough to hoard money away like the rich, so their income goes into products and services that keep people working. That's a reality that our corporate news doesn't promote. Unemployment kills - literally.

Beyond Elections Part 8

Beyond Elections Part 3

This video is inspiring. What is most amazing is that some of the most "progressive" voices in the US do not ever discuss opening up democracy. Instead they usually talk about multiple parties acting as "spoilers." If they were truly progressive and truly democratic they would work toward widening and deepening our democratic foundations.

Breaking Ground

A group worked to create urban gardening guidelines for the International District in Burque.

Beyond Elections Part 2

It is amazing that they share this!





If only the supposedly "progressive politicians" would get us to this type of democracy. It is obvious that electoral representation only is not enough!

Albuquerque Youth Health Summit 12/4/10

The Albuquerque Youth Building Health Communities project held their Youth Health Summit today. Representatives of La Raza Unida, Young Women United, SWOP and other groups were there to discuss health from a youth perspective and also talk about solutions.

The group will continue to process the information and look for a project to follow through on. It was very exciting to discuss health from a social justice perspective. These youth may truly be the future!

Project HEALTH

We can support innovative models like Project HEALTH, which empowers doctors to remove the social barriers that prevent people from taking the actions they need to be healthy. They literally write prescriptions for food or heating assistance for struggling families, or stable housing for a single mom that does not exacerbate her son's asthma. A dedicated team of college volunteers then helps connect vulnerable patients to local resources that can immediately benefit their health.

We can apply new public health tools at our disposal to see the potential health benefits and consequences of new projects and policies. If Denver decided to expand its light rail system, for example, it would make sense to conduct a health impact assessment, an analysis that would consider questions like, "Will people walk more in getting to and from the rail stop?" This happened in Charlotte, N.C., where people who began to regularly ride the rails lost, on average, six to seven pounds.

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We need a fundamental change in how we think about health. A nationwide commitment in which each sector - transportation, business , education, housing - assesses the health effects of their plans and programs and creates ways to help people live healthier lives. The community development arm of the Federal Reserve Board is doing just that; its July conference focused squarely on the health implications of housing development.

Read more about Project HEALTH here and here.

Invisibility of Poverty in Diabetes Research

Chaufan and Weitz write an important article pointing out that poverty as a cause of disease is ignored in academic research. They also point out that there is at least a 200 year tradition showing this to be the case. Poverty is ignored because it would make academics and others have to deal with how we benefit from the power dynamics that create poverty.

Dealing with these dynamics would require academics and public health workers have to face their role in the maintenance of poverty and disenfranchisement. Or, in an attempt to appear more academic researches focus on individual cause and effects which can be easily manipulated in a manageable experiment. Either way this leads to what the authors state as "business as usual."

They also point out that working for changes is one possible option. They suggest that living wages, affordable housing, and health care as a right will have greater impact than attempting to change individual behaviors. They also suggest that researchers look at the role of poverty as a cause of disease and propose structural changes to society that make the population healthier.

Some of these health improving changes are electoral, others are economic. Either way, it is important to begin to look at poverty as a structure which makes people sick. Then we can look at politics as one of many methods to make people healthier!

Register! Vote! Organize Raza Unida!

Health Equity in the United States

On average, people in the United States die much younger and suffer worse health, as well as endure serious societal dysfunction, compared to people in other rich nations. The usual explanation is that we engage in too many adverse personal health behaviours and do not have access to the right medicines. Presenting the evidence that personal behaviours affect only a small fraction of our health status as a population leads to 'but....' responses. The idea that health care has limited impact on mortality measures in societies is not believable to most people, regardless of their level of education or even their experience or training in health care.

Read More on Health Equity in the United States

If You Are Hungy Are You Free?

That's the interesting question asked on the Thom Hartmann community blog. While we talk about people having television and cell phones as measures of the quality of life we often leave out other important issues such as nourishment.

More on Keeping the Net Free

Federal Communications Commissioner Michael Copps spoke to hundreds of supporters about the need for net neutrality Tuesday evening at the Albuquerque Journal Theater at the National Hispanic Cultural Center.

Net neutrality is the principle that all content on the internet should be treated equally, and that internet service providers cannot discriminate between different types of content.

"When broadcast came about the corporation said 'trust us.' When previous FCC commissions removed limits on media consolidation we were told 'trust us.' With this new medium they are saying 'trust us,'" Copps said.

Andrea Quijada, the Executive Director of the Media Literacy Project, served as the MC for the evening. She shared how an open internet is needed for the most basic of services.

"With 30 of our 33 counties being medically underserved, we know that the internet is not just about civic participation," Quijada said. "With a state poverty rate at 19 percent we know that the internet is not just about access."

Read More

Youth Food Action Project

This youth oriented project is important because access to healthy food has been interrupted by corporate food production. In order to build healthy communities we all need access to quality calories. Many of us only have empty calories or calories without nutrition because of our budgets. Check this project out - the Youth Food Action Project.

Everyone deserves the opportunity to access healthy food. With the growth of corporate, mass-produced food we will need to gain the skills to grow our own. We have a couple of members who are great growers and we will report on their home food production.

Personal Responsibility and Health

"People have a personal responsibility to take care of themselves and their health. But it isn’t right when things outside our control—like where we’re born or how much money we make—affect our health. In the entire city of Detroit—an area of nearly 150 square miles—there are dozens of “convenience stores” but only five grocery stores. An apple a day may keep the doctor away, but you have to be able to buy an apple. And it isn’t easy to get exercise if you have to work three jobs just to get by, or if you can’t easily get affordable day care for your kids. We’re not just talking about the rich versus the poor. On Average, middle class Americans live shorter lives than those who are wealthy, and that’s not right. Money can’t buy happiness, and it shouldn’t buy health. We have to take responsibility for our lives and decisions. But all Americans should have an equal opportunity to make the decisions that allow them to live a long, healthy life, regardless of their level of income, education, or ethnicity."

Social Justice is Good for Our Hearts

In many ways social justice is good for our hearts. What is great is having some science to support what many people know. That being treated poorly creates poor health. Whether it is the greedy concentration of resources in the hands of a few, or the exclusion of sexism, racism, classism, etc.

So read Social Justice is Good for Our Hearts and give some feedback!