Wall Street is Bailed Out, Main Street Sold Out Say Nurses

Holding a sign that read “Heal America. Tax Wall Street,” Congressman Joe Baca rallied a group of 40 to 50 people who rallied in front of his office on Thursday.

“What do we want?” he asked.

“Jobs!”

“What is it that you want?” he asked again.

“Jobs!”

The event was part of a nationwide event held by members of the National Nurses United organization. Nurses in 21 states assembled near congressional district offices to demand that congressional representatives support a tax on Wall Street financial speculation, organizers said.

The nurse's group asked congressional leaders to sign a pledge to support a transaction tax that nurses say can be used to rebuild the economy and restore programs for financially struggling families. They blame Wall Street for creating the problem and chanted, “Wall Street got bailed out. We got sold out.”

Out of 535 members of congress, Baca was one of only five to sign the pledge, said members of the nurses organization.

Baca made a brief appearance and spoke at the event that local organizers said came together last minute, but surprisingly easily and organically.

“I think it’s very important that we look at what’s going on around America right now,” Baca told the crowd during his address. “These corporations have gotten so greedy right now. It’s not only Wall Street, but if you look at every major corporation that has outsourced any kinds of job in the area, we need to make sure that those jobs ... We need to make sure that those jobs remain right here in the United States.”

And job loss means loss of medical benefits. A loss that leaves families vulernerable, Baca said.

The nurses hear the stories of struggle everyday, said Rhonda Watts, of Beaumont, a nurse at Arrowhead Regional Medial Center.

“Over the last few years, the stories that I hear from my patients become more devastating and heartbreaking everyday,” Watts said. “I have people tell me, ‘Rhonda I had to choose, when my husband lost his job, between paying the rent or paying the Cobra health insurance. We had to pay the rent. We had to keep a roof over our heads.’ And really, that’s no choice at all.”

Nurses at the event nodded knowingly. For most of the event, the nurses stood by the curb of busy Second and E streets. They cheered and chanted and waved signs that featured statistics such as the number of homeless and children in poverty in their area.

In an ironic twist, organizers fed several people, some they suspected were homeless.

“They were so hungry,” said one event organizer who asked not to be identified. But the group was glad to feed them. In some ways, their plight illustrated their point, organizers said. “They came to us. We feed them.”