Anecdata

It's very easy to make too much of the horrible story of Ervin and Ana Lupoe, who lost their jobs, apparently lost hope and then killed their five small children and themselves, so I don't want to say more than that this sort of tragedy can always be expected when jobs are lost on such a large scale as we are experiencing now.  I will say that I am relieved tonight that the House version of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has passed.  That's because this statement, made by the LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigoso in the immediate wake of the murders/suicide just got a little bit closer to being true:

"If you need assistance, if you're looking for a helping hand, know that we're ready with open arms and open hearts to guide you through this tough stretch to see that everyone emerges form this crisis with their livelihoods and their lives in tact," he said. "Unfortunately this has become an all too common story in the last few months."

The New York Times has two good stories about what education and health programs are going to be helped by the recovery package. (via) This provision may have given the Lupoes some cause for hope:

The legislation would allow states to provide Medicaid to an entirely new group: those who are receiving unemployment insurance benefits, their spouses and children under 19.

Medicaid is normally for low-income people, and for decades it has been financed jointly by the federal government and the states, with the federal share averaging 57 percent of costs.

The economic stimulus bill prevents states from enforcing a means test, saying, “No income or resources test shall be applied with respect to any category of individuals” who become eligible for Medicaid because they are receiving unemployment benefits. The federal government would pay 100 percent of the costs for people enrolled under this option through December 2010.

The ARRP passed today without a single Republican vote.  The GOP better get used to that happening a lot - and I hope on legislation that isn't futiley weakened to appeal to their lunatic and failed ideas about of how to run a country - because this recovery package is really just a downpayment on the kind of investment  we're going to need over probably the next decade to help start to pull us out of the mess that conservatives have made of America.  The Lupoes though, and their five children, won't be around to see that happen.