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What is an average American? Is it a working middle-class person who spends more than one third of their work-week striving to help someone else's company turn a profit? Yes, I think it is, since that describes the majority of us. So how do we differentiate between average, lower-than-average and above-average when talking about Americans?

Although I'm an Obama supporter, I often wondered during his campaign what would happen to the lower-class Americans; those fighting just to feed their families or keep a roof over their heads, since the only reference to tax breaks or help for citizens was directed to the middle class. And then the promises by the conservatives to lower taxes always sounds good, but in reality, these ideas only benefit the very top earners in the country. For instance, the idea of Universal Health Care, which would make health care available to ALL Americans regardless of income, has conservatives screaming. They fear their own private health insurance will be affected and they will be left with less than they had before. In reality, they will be able to keep what they have: the plan simply offers coverage to those who can't afford to pay the current exorbitant prices of health care. This way we take care of ALL of our citizens.

When I worked in Human Resources I had a boss who appeared at times to be out of touch with us common folk. He had been raised very well-to-do and I used to tell him; if you really want to know how to reach the bulk of your employees, ask me. I'm the average middle-age woman living from pay-check to pay-check and I know what concerns most of us. For instance, I'd like to contribute the maximum amount possible to my 401(k) plan, which he often suggested, but if I did, I couldn't pay my rent. So I settled for as much as I could afford. He was a conservative who had never experienced day-to-day financial struggle.

Although some conservative politicians make claims that those who struggle financially have brought it on themselves, and don't deserve a hand out. The truth is, most of us struggling have given our life-blood to help make them rich, and they simply are out of touch with the Average American. They don't seem to recognize that every day we get up, leave our kids, put in eight or more hours at a job, come home in time for dinner, kiss our kids good-night, then start it all over again the next day just waiting for retirement and the fears associated with Social Security.

Liberals, on the other

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