In his New York Times column, Nicholas Kristof asked readers to "Give Obama a Break."
What about giving the American people a break?
When the 99ers’ unemployment benefits are expiring, they can’t pay their rent, and they are falling into homelessness, who is giving them a break?
When job applicants are turned down because they don’t exactly match a long laundry list of skills, who is giving them a break?
When a factory worker is punished for returning from lunch fifteen minutes late, who is giving working Americans a break?
When a student graduates from law school with $50,000 in debt and can’t find a job, who is giving him a break?
When a young person with no family connections graduates from college and can’t find a job, who is giving that young professional a break? When a veteran returns from Iraq with no professional connections and can’t find a job, who is giving the veteran a break?
When a teacher has five slow learners in his class, lowering the average on a standardized test, who is giving her a break?
When a student with chronic behavior problems is constantly put back in the classroom, who is giving the teacher a break?
When people with pain in their teeth can’t afford dental work, who is giving them a break?
When a worker is stuck with a bully for a boss, who is giving that worker a break?
When the provider in the family gets Alzheimer’s. who is giving the family a break?
When forty percent of the workers at a large corporation are hourly and aren’t given paid vacation or sick leave, who is giving them a break?
When an auto mechanic has lifted heavy parts for twenty years and has back pain at the age of 50, who is giving him a break?
When the parents of a child with behavior problems are overworked and overwhelmed, who is giving them a break?
When a worker gets a performance review containing untruths and false aspersions, who is giving the employee a break?
When a pregnant bus driver doesn’t have enough paid days off and has to make the timetable until the day she goes into labor, who is giving her a break?
When people who don’t score as a business type on the psychological test can’t get a job in a store, and they aren’t allowed to see the results of the test, who is giving them a break?
When a software developer is forced to work twelve hours a day for six months and can’t go to the gym, who is giving him a break?
When a customer service manager is told to train the new outsourced workers who will be taking over her department, who is giving her a break?
When a scientist works for nineteen years and is laid off a year before eligibility for full retirement, who is giving her a break?
When a soldier is suffering from traumatic stress and can’t take it any more, who is giving our troops a break?
When a worker makes a complaint and is fired in retaliation, who is giving the complainer a break?
When a lender sends a foreclosure notice to someone who has paid the mortgage in full and will not answer the borrower’s letters, who is giving the borrower a break?
Nicholas Kristof, someone needs to give the American people a break.