"Not only did Congress give zillionaires billions of dollars in tax breaks, they also told the people at the bottom of the economic ladder, “tough luck.”  With unemployment at nearly 10 percent and 19 million Americans currently living in “deep poverty”  (below half the poverty line),  federal funds for the Temporary Assistance For Needy Families (TANF) program, the federal program that replaced welfare, have entirely dried up for the first time since 1996.

"That leaves states, whose budgets are already overburdened, with an average of 15 percent less federal funding for the coming year to help an ever-increasing number of needy families.

"Writing in Huffington Post, Laura Bassett. says TANF provides a lifeline for families and workers who have exhausted all of their unemployment benefits. According to a new report by the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, (CBPP)  the lack of funds means more homeless families will go without shelter, fewer low-wage workers will receive help with child care expenses, and fewer families involved with the child welfare system will receive preventive services.

"Congress passed legislation that will end funding for the TANF Contingency Fund in 2011. Congress also failed to reauthorize an emergency fund for a subsidized job program that would have allowed states to provide emergency help to needy families and place low-income people in subsidized jobs.

"Without additional federal funding, states will now have a much harder time meeting the increased demand for assistance at a time when unemployment remains high and poverty continues to climb, say the report’s authors Liz Schott and LaDonna Pavetti."

And those greedy Scrooge corporations are just tickled pink to keep those trillions and make even more profit by relying on low wage, no benefits temporary workers.

Jonathan Tasini at Working Life writes: "Let's face it. Companies don't care about you anymore:

" 'Despite a surge this year in short-term hiring, many American businesses are still skittish about making those jobs permanent, raising concerns among workers and some labor experts that temporary employees will become a larger, more entrenched part of the work force.

'This is bad news for the nation’s workers, who are already facing one of the bleakest labor markets in recent history. Temporary employees generally receive fewer benefits or none at all, and have virtually no job security. It is harder for them to save. And it is much more difficult for them to develop a career arc while hopping from boss to boss.' "

"Corporations pile up cash--and spend it only on executive bonuses. They slash workers--and don't expect to hire people back. And, apparently, they are just happy as heck to keep workers as temporary--the better to dispose of you."