Excellent investigative journalism that focuses not on the latest juicy scandal, but on the lives and livelihoods of a large sector of American workers. This is the initial story in a forthcoming WaPo series about low-wage workers in the U.S.

Tens of millions of Americans hover on the edge of the abyss, while at the top greedy hedgies and corporate executives fatten their wallets to an extent virtually beyond belief. Meanwhile, the US can do without healthcare for a large portion of the population, in order to allow an absurdly bloated "defense" establishment to continue to be attached to the body politic. One reason for the war in Iraq is that Donald Rumsfled wanted to try out his new leaner and faster-moving army. Having the insanely expensive war machine is dangerous to the national security of a country where millions upon millions of people do without basic health services, dentistry, etc.

A very good article that places an emphasis on middle class life in America.

The left has been trying to paint lower wage workers as worse off for a long time. They don't hesitate to distort reality in many ways to pursue this quest. However the people they polled are optimistic - I guess they must be stupid and can't understand their own situation as well as some Washington Post reporters. Even illegal aliens are doing well and they hardly speak English.