VTMBH Article: Body
Like most Filipino-Americans, Mabel Sanchez did not vote in Tuesdays election.
When asked Why not? the 46-year-old Brooklyn resident, said, Will I benefit from it?
Mabel was not the only one with the same reaction to the recent elections. Many Filipinos have said that they are too busy earning a living to go to the polls. They say it doesnt matter to them whether Republicans or Democrats control Congress, so long as they can eke out a living.
Philippine Forum executive Robert Roy explained that the I-dont-mind-at-all response has to do with the relevance of the elections to the day-to-day lives of ordinary Filipino-Americans.
It doesnt address the housing, education, minimum wage, jobs, and other bread and butter issues of any ordinary U.S. citizens, Roy said. As such, elections are only for those who arent facing financial hardships and uncertainty.
He explained that the I-dont-mind response became more apparent with the post September 11th anti-immigrant policies. During the past year, about 479 Filipino immigrants were detained and then deported; racial profiling turned from an increasingly offensive means of crime fighting into a brazen national policy. How can you encourage them to vote when their own brothers, sisters, and relatives were curtailed of their civil liberties? Roy asked. The most egregious breach is the U.S. Homeland Security, wherein immigrants of color have been the target of anti-immigrant sentiment, legislation and policies. And this concern has not been addressed by any candidate. But not only Filipino-Americans are disinterested in elections.
A majority of Americans themselves have been feeling the same political climate. American Jenny Pendergast said that to the greater majority of Americans, elections are kind of luxury for those who arent facing starvation and homelessness. The bulk of the money has been spent so far in an old-fashioned, down-and-dirty TV and radio blitz aimed against each candidates enemies. Instead of addressing issues, candidates are throwing mud at each other. If you notice, both Democrat and Republican candidates are silent on civil liberties, the poor, the catastrophe that passes for health care. So, why
should I vote? Pendergast concluded.
For Roy, Pendergast, and many othersbe they Americans or Filipino-Americans, the recent election was a farce, and a waste of taxpayers money. For them, electoral politics all come downflagrantlyto cash. Roy said that with or without the election, the economy remains dead in the water, with no new jobs, only a slight increase in wages, and unemployment near 6 percent.
Roy cited reports saying that at the onset of the Bush-controlled government, the country had a budget surplus of $405 billion. Now, halfway through Bushs term, the surplus has become a $175 billion deficit. Foreign investors are pulling back. The S & P 500 has fallen 37 percent from its peak in early 2000. As mutual funds tank, 401(k) pensions have disappeared.
Roy also said that the governmental functions have been steadily taken over by corporate barons. Citing media reports, Roy pointed out that the government has re-created the business structures of J.P. Morgan. Each administration since Reagans has cut away at regulation. Meanwhile, activist groups believe that the Republican controlled Congress means more war expenditures.
When asked Why not? the 46-year-old Brooklyn resident, said, Will I benefit from it?
Mabel was not the only one with the same reaction to the recent elections. Many Filipinos have said that they are too busy earning a living to go to the polls. They say it doesnt matter to them whether Republicans or Democrats control Congress, so long as they can eke out a living.
Philippine Forum executive Robert Roy explained that the I-dont-mind-at-all response has to do with the relevance of the elections to the day-to-day lives of ordinary Filipino-Americans.
It doesnt address the housing, education, minimum wage, jobs, and other bread and butter issues of any ordinary U.S. citizens, Roy said. As such, elections are only for those who arent facing financial hardships and uncertainty.
He explained that the I-dont-mind response became more apparent with the post September 11th anti-immigrant policies. During the past year, about 479 Filipino immigrants were detained and then deported; racial profiling turned from an increasingly offensive means of crime fighting into a brazen national policy. How can you encourage them to vote when their own brothers, sisters, and relatives were curtailed of their civil liberties? Roy asked. The most egregious breach is the U.S. Homeland Security, wherein immigrants of color have been the target of anti-immigrant sentiment, legislation and policies. And this concern has not been addressed by any candidate. But not only Filipino-Americans are disinterested in elections.
A majority of Americans themselves have been feeling the same political climate. American Jenny Pendergast said that to the greater majority of Americans, elections are kind of luxury for those who arent facing starvation and homelessness. The bulk of the money has been spent so far in an old-fashioned, down-and-dirty TV and radio blitz aimed against each candidates enemies. Instead of addressing issues, candidates are throwing mud at each other. If you notice, both Democrat and Republican candidates are silent on civil liberties, the poor, the catastrophe that passes for health care. So, why
should I vote? Pendergast concluded.
For Roy, Pendergast, and many othersbe they Americans or Filipino-Americans, the recent election was a farce, and a waste of taxpayers money. For them, electoral politics all come downflagrantlyto cash. Roy said that with or without the election, the economy remains dead in the water, with no new jobs, only a slight increase in wages, and unemployment near 6 percent.
Roy cited reports saying that at the onset of the Bush-controlled government, the country had a budget surplus of $405 billion. Now, halfway through Bushs term, the surplus has become a $175 billion deficit. Foreign investors are pulling back. The S & P 500 has fallen 37 percent from its peak in early 2000. As mutual funds tank, 401(k) pensions have disappeared.
Roy also said that the governmental functions have been steadily taken over by corporate barons. Citing media reports, Roy pointed out that the government has re-created the business structures of J.P. Morgan. Each administration since Reagans has cut away at regulation. Meanwhile, activist groups believe that the Republican controlled Congress means more war expenditures.