We Need A Stimulus Package

It’s official, America is in a recession. Of course, if your under the age of 35 you’ve know that the economy has been messed up for a while. After all, how many of your friends from high school or college are unemployed or barely making ends meet? The pundits can say what they want about our generation, but the truth is we want to work.

That’s why we here at 99problems.org find it interesting that there are some politicians in the US Senate who don’t want to vote for President Obama’s stimulus package. Call us crazy, but the idea of three million new jobs sounds kinda cool to us. Especially if they are jobs that help schools, hospitals and our infrastructure.

Good thing you have a voice! Make sure that you call your US Senator now and let them know you want him/her to vote for the stimulus package as is. We don’t want them playing with fire. Call 1866.544.7573 now, our future can’t wait. Go here to find your Senator: http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/

Today’s Artist: Jimi Hendrix

Today’s artist is the legendary Jimi Hendrix. Yeah, this video is 40 years old, but he is still the greatest guitar player that ever lived. Let me stand next to your fire!!!!!!

Posted by:

Biko Baker

Who Ya Gonna Call? Seriously?

Since we were kids, we were told to call 9-1-1 when in trouble. Calling 9-1-1 is so deeply ingrained in us that it becomes like instinct at the sign of danger.

But what if no one is there to pick up?

That creepy idea is becoming reality as emergency services agencies nationwide are facing ‘hatchet-style’ budget cuts. This means staff and pay cutbacks at municipal agencies all across the country. So what happens if you’re sick? Or if your house is burning down?

Police, firefighter and first aid budgets are dropping drastically. Kansas City is considering eliminating hundreds of jobs in the police force, leading citizens to become more nervous about crime in their community. In Atlanta, cuts were made to the municipal work week for police officers and other employees of the city to try to fill the enormous budget shortfall. This has resulted in tragedy: as a woman’s house was burning down in ATL, she received no answer when she called 9-1-1.

But citizens as well as employees are taking notice and fighting back. Take a look at today’s action and you’ll see some amateur video of a firefighter strike in Milwaukee. The desire to feel safe in one’s community isn’t too much to ask. But as we’ll see in another problem later on this week, budget cuts aren’t the only reason people are scared to call 9-1-1.

Today’s Artist: Public Enemy

As true as it was back in 1990, Public Enemy‘s classic song “911 Is A Joke” defines the lackluster response of emergency personnel in low-income areas. While highlighting it in a humorous manner, PE’s mastery of biting social commentary is brilliant and totally fitting for this problem.

Is 911 a JOKE in your town?? Let us know - say your piece in the comments!

Posted by:

Steve Romain

Unemployment is Terrible

Nothing is more crippling than the humiliation of unemployment. Unemployment means you can’t eat, can’t feed your family, can’t travel, get medicine, go out to a movie, have a beer, enjoy your food, feel good about your life or live free from worry.

Unemployment is massively on the rise in America, and there’s no way to understate how serious this is. Unemployment is a societal indicator of healthiness, and America, right now, is in a bad way. Unemployment leads to depression and the stress on the out of work individual can often lead to an eruption in domestic violence or a serious fraying of the bonds of brotherhood.

America’s unemployment problem is our problem. It’s a community issue, and we need to solve it as a community. We’ve let the American social structure break our inherent sense of love for our community. We’ve forgotten that life, mental and physical health, is maintained by our place in the world, the positive relationships we have in our lives, and the trust and support we receive from each other. If the paychecks aren’t coming, we have to amp up the support we can give.

Then we have to take it to the White House. The crew at 99problems.org are major supporters of Van Jones and his organization Green For All. That green means energy (clean, renewable), and work. As our new president creates new policies to combat some of our most serious problems, it’s time to take control of the situation and build a new, vibrant economy in the hands of our incredible workforce, the same people who built this country and are now forced into idleness by its decline.

Today’s Artist: Consequence

Consequence’s career has been up and down, but his wit and his style keeps us coming back. This track is off his album Don’t Quit Your Day Job!, real words at the current moment. We have to be bold and smart, know when to fold and when to up the ante. And it always helps if you can laugh at the situation, remember you’re better than it and are gonna do bigger things.

Posted by:

Sam Patton

Kids Don’t Belong in Jail

Our prisons are crowded with first time offenders, kids whose lives have been destroyed, derailed by what was sometimes just a few bad mistakes.

1% of America’s entire adult population is behind bars, but don’t let that statistic fool you; a lot of those adults were first introduced to orange jumpsuits and steel cells before they were old enough to vote.

The American prison system is cyclical, and once you’re in, it’s hard to stay out. We lock our kids into a pattern of crime and punishment because our crime prevention, rehabilitation, and foster care facilities are so overburdened and underfunded.

Juvenile justice reform is an issue of integrity, of honor. No child should be born in our country without a social promise of good health, a supportive community, and opportunity to succeed in a positive way. Huge numbers of our children are left out of the American dream, but rather than fix that, we simply wait for them to screw up and lock them up. Seriously, who expects that to work?

Today’s Artist: Regresa El Guru

Ghetto Youths Entertainment is a record label, but if you want to check out their HQ you’ll have to hop a plane to Panama’s Federal Jail. Inside that prison, a professional recording studio puts out songs of defiance and social change, recorded and created by inmates.

The Ghetto Youths have worked from the inside to change their situation from one of imprisonment to social empowerment. Check out their story.

Posted by:

Biko Baker