She's got a husband and a baby boy. The husband works too; the baby laughs and cries a lot. Sometimes her husband cries about not having health insurance. He's a craftsman, skilled enough to pull in the same as his wife; not skilled enough to get his boss to pay for health insurance for the crew. Not too many craftsman jobs out there now, so his bargaining power is reduced to a whimper. Like most Florida businesses, its a non-union shop, so the benefits are one week a year paid vacation, and a few sick days and holidays, and that's it.

The cleaning lady joins her husband in having no health insurance. Simply cannot afford $400 a month for decent coverage. They did get some for the baby, thank goodness. She, however, was not so lucky. Had a stomach attack a little over a year ago. Between the emergency room, the tests and the specialist, cost her $1500 bucks, money she did not have. She is still paying it off, the bill, a little each month, and curses a system that does not look out for the little people, the ones who clean our toilets.

The other day, one of her clients told her some startling information. She could not believe it, until she saw it right there in the Business Week magazine. It said that, on average, top executives in U.S. corporations earn over 400 times more than their lowest paid full-time employee! 400 times! She could not comprehend how someone could make that much money, and not care that she and her husband could not afford health coverage. She wondered if rich people could even go to church and worship a Jesus who spoke of sharing one's wealth, not hoarding it. "Easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to go to heaven!" She wondered about the next President, knowing this one, if re-"coronated", wouldn't do squat about her new family. What about the Democrats? She listened to their debates. Only the three "minor" candidates, including that little guy from Cleveland, advocated Universal Medicare for all. The rest want to basically keep this stupid privatized system -- the one that raises the rates while lowering the coverage. Don't they get it, don't they KNOW what the little people like her really need?

It was getting late. She had to get to the sitter and pick up the kid, go to Publix and grab something for dinner. Mustn't forget the Pampers too. Then she began to laugh, the laugh one creates to push aside the anger, and the frustration. This was Tuesday, cleaning day. She never got to do her house. It would simply have to wait, like everything else it seemed.

Philip Anthony Farruggio is a writer living in Brooklyn, New York. This NY born, bred and educated (Brooklyn College '74) son of a longshoreman has had over 35 columns posted on progressive sites and newspapers since the 2000 election, including NewsInsider.org and Counterpunch.  He can be reached at PAnthonyF@aol.com.

Other Articles by Philip Anthony Farruggio

* Circuses and Sleeping Giants
* Judgment At Bushemberg