(Cross-posted at The Free Speech Zone)
CHARLOTTE — Charlotte-Mecklenburg police are reporting a significant rise in the number of suicide attempts and threats compared to this time last year, and mental health advocates say effects of the economy are to blame.
In just the first 18 days of April, CMPD answered 81 reports of a suicide attempt or threat, that’s up 55 percent from the 52 reports in that time last year.
_______________Mental health advocates say they’ve seen the same spike in patients with suicidal thoughts. With most of the calls recently to counselors with the Mecklenburg County Mobile Crisis Team, the feelings of hopelessness and the effects of the economy go hand-in-hand.
“(They tell us that) that they’ve lost their health care, their unemployment benefits are about to run out,” said Bill Cook, of the mobile crisis team.
NEW YORK, April 28 — The number of confirmed and suspected swine flu cases spread today beyond the Queens high school that has been its epicenter here, with new cases now suspected at a Queens public school for autistic children and a Catholic school in Manhattan, and additional scattered cases in Brooklyn and the Bronx.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama asked Congress on Tuesday for an additional $1.5 billion to fight swine flu as the confirmed caseload jumped to 65 people across six states in what doctors fear may become a pandemic.
http://www.reuters.com/article…
And he’ll get it real fast i’m sure.
Because it’s an emergency!
How about getting money that quick for the recently unemployed and foreclosed homeowners?
“Uh, well, that’s gonna take some time, you see, uh the, uh, legislative, err..”
Yeah, got it Mr. Senator, instead of pointing to the bailout and telling the banks that the people don’t owe them shit anymore, you’re gonna let those debts stand, but try to give federal judges the power to markdown the principal on people’s mortgages.
Let’s see how that’s going:
http://www.opencongress.org/bi…
Passed the House, but still waiting for approval in the Senate.
So, Senator Dick Durbin is asking the owners of the government if they will give mercy to the peasants they lord over:
So far, however, the main backer of the legislation, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., has yet to find any Republican votes after the measure passed the House of Representatives last month. Durbin has been in negotiations with JPMorgan Chase & Co. NYSE:JPM, Wells Fargo and Bank of America in seeking a compromise, The Hill said.
Yes, our government is “negotiating” legislative measures with fucking banks!
Instead of thinking about the interest of the people they govern they consult their money-holding overlords.
Nice, real fucking nice.
However, it apparently doesn’t look good anyway:
Cram-downs are kaput in Congress.
Legislation to give bankruptcy judges the power to reduce home mortgage debt-by “cramming down” the principal-doesn’t appear to have enough votes and will be stripped out of a broader housing bill in the Senate.
The cram-down effort is a major plank of President Barack Obama’s housing rescue, which also offers financial incentives to mortgage servicers to modify loans and allows some homeowners with little to no equity to refinance.
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