The unemployment rate dropped from 7.6 to 7.4% in July. That is good! Fewer people are applying for unemployment (UI) benefits. The reasons for the drop are not as encouraging. Job creation was less than expected. More people are dropping out of the ranks of those looking for work, or are among the long-term unemployed no longer eligible for UI benefits.

This article omits this as a reason to no longer be counted. So the “employment rate” remains about the same. Ezra Klein and Evan Soltas share a graph that could be scary.

The Urban Institute found that another reason for the decline in unemployment numbers is the increased number of young people who are just not entering the workforce. Some are returning to school; that’s a good thing. But, what about the others?

“The official unemployment rate only counts people actively looking for work. It’s dropped less because people have found work than because they’ve stopped looking. Ergo, there’s been no recovery — just a hardening of the post-recession labor market.” -Ezra Klein and Evan Soltas

Job growth continues to be stymied by federal budget cuts.  Again, this month, there were 12,000 job losses in the public sector (the way to “save” in cutting budgets is to eliminate workers). These were lost by men – although they gained 89,000 jobs in the private sector (in manufacturing and leisure/hospitality). Women did gain 3,000 public sector jobs in July, despite having lost 403,000 net public sector jobs since June of 2009.

When will some legislators learn that federal budget cuts increase unemployment, therefore reducing both state and federal revenue, and costing both in unemployment benefits?

NETWORK objects to large banks taking up a practiced being outlawed for “payday lenders” who have been charging up to 365% interest on small, short-term loans made available to people with poor credit ratings. We, with 250 organizations and advocates, support federal action to stop banks as well as payday lenders from engaging in these unethical practices.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau held a hearing in New York City.  Wells Fargo, a national bank, wants to bring its version of this (direct deposit advance) to New York.  The state has anti-usury laws which advocates see would be violated by this. Direct Deposit Advances are usually small loans, but the payments are taken directly out of the paycheck of the borrower. Evidence is that those who have relied on payday loans got caught in a cycle of loans due to inability to pay back on time. Loan built upon loan, with the interest accumulating with each additional loan. At least payday lenders were not able to take the payments by direct deposit. Borrowers would pay back the loan, but would lack money for other necessities, leading to another loan and so on.

A sign-on letter from the 250 organizations was hand-delivered to Director Cordray at the New York City meeting.

As I exited the building, I could still feel the emotionally charged atmosphere. On Monday, January 16, Interfaith Worker Justice hosted a service to honor Martin Luther King’s commitment to worker justice as part of their Faith Advocates for Jobs Campaign in Washington, D.C. The audience often joined in singing with the extremely talented Shiloh Baptist Church Choir and prayed with leaders from various religious denominations. Two individuals shared testimonials about their personal experiences as unemployed Americans, and overall, it was both a beautiful and inspiring service.

One of the most memorable segments of the service was the sermon given by Rev. Dr. James A. Forbes, Jr. I was surprised by how this small man, who began speaking in such a quiet, almost delicate voice, could give such a powerful sermon. Other persons who had previously heard Rev. Forbes speak gave me knowing smiles after I shared with them my awestruck reaction to his dynamic oration. He had the audience sitting on the edges of their seats for his entire message—one that could not be more timely.

I can’t speak for those who were alive during the 1963 March on Washington, but for those of us who have only heard about it, we think “Civil Rights,” “Integration,” “Equality,” “Racism.” In 2012, it is pertinent to remember the full title of this event in 1963: The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The original intent of the march was to go beyond racial equality, and to promote the basic right of people to have employment: that all may have a just wage; that all may have the opportunity to maintain a decent quality of life.

Civil rights are integrally connected with jobs. In order for people to achieve full dignity they need to have the means of earning a living and supporting their families. As Dr. King said on August 28, 1963, “Our emphasis must turn … to putting people to work … When they are placed in this position, they can then examine how to use their creative energies for the social good.”

When Rev. Forbes mentioned the parable of the lost sheep from the New Testament, I immediately thought of the Occupy movement and the increasing polarization between the “haves” and the “have-nots.” None of us can afford to be mentally “lost.” In order to make Martin Luther King’s vision a reality, we need 100% of Americans to be committed to promoting the common good. In this vein, let us not forget that freedom and responsibility are inseparable.

Rev. Forbes drew a tangible connection between the abstract vision that Dr. King had for our society and the concrete action that we can take to achieve this vision. We are God’s hands in putting our nation on the right track.

I will end by sharing a little food for thought from Rev. Forbes—What if each place of worship in the United States (e.g. church, mosque, synagogue, etc.) decided to take up a collection to hire someone to help with their community’s work, to pay a year’s worth of living wages for one person? Imagine the ripple effect that would occur. There would be one less unemployed individual, then 10 less, then 100 less, and if this happened across the nation…

Occupy Wall Street began with a few hundred people protesting the greed of Wall Street in Zuccotti Park in New York City. It has now grown into a movement of tens of thousands of people across the globe. The 99% have made their voices heard on every continent, including Antarctica. Some have mocked the Occupy protesters. Others believe the movement will simply fade away over time. However, the reality is the underlying concerns driving the movement will not fade away. If the top 1% of earners continues to increase their share of the nation’s income like they have over the last three decades, the Occupy movement will increase in numbers.

I was able to participate in the beginning stages of Occupy DC on Oct. 6 with four other NETWORK staff members. What I saw were people simply trying to achieve the American Dream by ending the horrendous wealth gap in the United States.

Watch what Andrea from Atlantic City had to say about the movement.

We must remember that Americans participating in these protests are individuals with their own stories. Dispersing them with flash grenades and tear gas, like police in Oakland California did, will not disperse their message. And most importantly, it will not resolve the very real and disturbing wealth gap our country is faced with.

Yesterday afternoon, I headed out of the NETWORK office with Matt, Eric, and Maggie to #occupyDC. Armed with Mind the Gap! info sheets, petitions, and stickers, we ventured into the crowd of people rallying at Freedom Plaza. At one entrance to the plaza, I traded a Mind the Gap! sticker for a flyer that read, “We are citizens, professionals, students, activists, parents, unemployed workers, voters, and the underrepresented who represent the 99%. We are interested in separating money from politics and improving the country’s infrastructure to fix healthcare, education, environment and the economy. We are a nonviolent, peaceful solidarity movement with Occupy Wall Street, and other Occupy Together events around the world. Together, we can shift power away from the top 1% and back to the people.”

It seemed as though Mind the Gap! had stepped out of this blog and into the streets of DC through the hearts of some very passionate people. The crowd was diverse in age and agenda, even the speakers – from a stage cloaked in a giant Constitution – covered topics from the tar sands pipeline, to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, to racism, the national budget, and corporate greed. Winding through the plaza to read signs, we stumbled across many messages, a man dressed as a “Corporate Hog” (complete with suit and snout) and a shantytown of cardboard boxes that passersby were personalizing with painted windows and flowers. The painted boxes had each been stamped with the word “FORECLOSED”.

I decided to engage someone sitting on the perimeter wall; he wore a few buttons indicating that he might be interested in hearing our Mind the Gap! message. He took the sticker I offered, but when I tried to hand him a Connection magazine about Mind the Gap! He said, “Oh, I don’t need that. I’ve been on NETWORK’s mailing list for years!” He had traveled from Minneapolis to be a part of the Occupy DC rally. A pair of women wandered by, and after my initial sticker, they asked if NETWORK was religious. Explaining that we were founded by Catholic nuns, they exclaimed, “Oh! We are the product of Catholic nuns! . . . I mean, they weren’t our mothers. They were our teachers!” Dorothy Day quotes and Pax Christi signs and t-shirts sprinkled the plaza. I felt energized, and proud of the people of our church.

On my metro ride home after dinner, a man sat down across from me, next to a women who was quietly working on a crossword puzzle. He grinned as he peeled off a sticker from his coat and explained to both of us, “That’s from the rally!” He had traveled from his home in Vermont to the march in New York on Wednesday, and from there decided to join the DC crowd for a day. Curious, I asked him what this movement meant to him. “This is about taking back our government, and our rights,” he began. He felt that people had the right to gather and express their opinions, and the violence of the police against protestors in New York had moved him to action. The women next to him nodded earnestly. He talked about the military budget, and the difficult economic situation we face. I told him about Mind the Gap! and he asked for information so he could find us online. He turned to the other woman. “What about you?” he asked. “Who do you work for?”

“A contractor for the Department of Defense,” she answered quickly, “I’m just an architect. And we do contract for other people, but mostly the DoD.” After a short pause she added, “But I would always support people’s right to gather nonviolently.”  We all smiled.

She asked about Vermont, and talked about bringing her Boy Scout troop up to hike and camp. He told a story about his nephew, an Eagle Scout. The door opened to my stop, and I thought for a moment about continuing the ride, and the conversation, but I needed to get home, so I thanked them for sharing some of their story with me and stepped off the train.

I was grateful for the chance, yesterday afternoon, to tell people what this movement meant to me and to Mind the Gap! I was grateful to find like-minds gathering on the square, to hear and see that other Catholics felt their faith called them to take action in shaping a just economy. But perhaps I am most grateful for the reminder that I got on the metro last night: that people at a rally or in a metro car are strangers with different stories who, despite our differences, have allies in each other. And together we can achieve something good.

P.S. The above photo appeared on the Washington Post’s online edition here. Can you spot our NETWORK banner and Associates Eric and Matt?

The Occupy Wall Street protests have expanded from a small group of alarmed citizens to a nationwide movement. In solidarity, over 800 events are occurring across the nation in all 50 states. Diverse groups of people are demanding serious government reforms across a wide spectrum of issues. Their concerns seem to range from growing income inequality, the burden seemingly endless wars abroad have put on our nation, and the attack on collective bargaining rights for workers.

The media have focused on the movement lacking a leader and a clear, solidified message. But the problems of 99 percent are just as diverse and complex as the people themselves. Two words can encompass their message: economic justice.

On Thursday, Oct. 6, members of the NETWORK staff went to Washington’s Freedom Plaza equipped with Mind the Gap! materials and Connection magazines eager to engage in conversations with the people of #occupyDC.

Andrea from Atlantic City, whose home was foreclosed on by the Bank of America after a bitter divorce, now finds herself a single mother struggling to make ends meet. She was able to find the time to voice her disgust with the out-of-control tax evasion schemes of the corporate elite and the toll our wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have taken on us as a nation.

“There are lots of messages here, but with one main, common goal,” Andrea said. “The ratio between the pay rates and the profits, they were more equal. Now pay rates haven’t gone up, but profits are skyrocketing. The corporate profits are just not in comparison to what the wages are.”

American’s can either continue to let income inequality rise to higher levels than in countries such as Ghana, Nicaragua, and Turkmenistan or we can speak out against corporate greed. Foreign Affairs, published by the Council on Foreign Relations, released a report today that reaffirms what we already know but puts it in a frightening perspective of where we could be heading.

• Unemployment remains at nearly ten percent, the highest level in almost 30 years; foreclosures have forced millions of Americans out of their homes; and real incomes have fallen faster and further than at any time since the Great Depression.
• In 2009, the average income of the top five percent of earners went up, while on average everyone else’s income went down.
• The share of total income going to the top one percent has increased from roughly eight percent in the 1960s to more than 20 percent today.
• Such a level of economic inequality, not seen in the United States since the eve of the Great Depression, bespeaks a political economy in which the financial rewards are increasingly concentrated among a tiny elite and whose risks are borne by an increasingly exposed and unprotected middle class.

Why is this happening? The report puts the blame squarely on tax cuts and deregulation.

Since the late 1970s, a number of important policy changes have tilted the economic playing field toward the rich. Congress has cut tax rates on high incomes repeatedly and has relaxed the tax treatment of capital gains and other investment income, resulting in windfall profits for the wealthiest Americans.

The wealth gap has grown so much that it has now rallied the 99 percent to Occupy cities across the nation. It is important that we engage in an honest conversation about how the wealth gap has exploited the most vulnerable in our society in favor of the superrich.

What can you do? Bring the Occupation of Wall Street to your congregation and discuss it in the context of your faith. You can also get involved in the movement in these ways:

• Attend a Direction Action march, rally or sit-in, organized in your city.
• Spread the word about the Occupy movement through social media, email, video and pictures.
• Build relationships and introduce yourself to others, share your story and ideas, and discuss your visions for the future of America.