We need direct democracy at the federal level to counteract the influence of corporate lobbies on Congress. Apartheid was ended in South Africa only through a national referendum. We need a constitutional amendment establishing a national referendum as a direct expression of the will of the people.

The Congress keeps abusing the funds and disrespecting the retired people that made the fund solvent. .Fi.c.a.. is a payroll tax paid in equal parts by the employee and employer for every hour worked. It is not an entitlement it's a non-negotiable earned benefit.

Child poverty has dire consequences. Nearly all social problems in United States are heavily correlated with child poverty. Children who grow up in poverty are less healthy, trail in emotional and intellectual development, are more likely to drop out of high school and are less likely to find steady work as adults*. Poor children also are likely to become the poor parents of the future. *A high school dropout costs taxpayers as much as $288,000, according to the research organization The Policy Group for Florida’s Families and Children. According to the National Center for Children in Poverty, in the United States, a child is born into poverty every 32 seconds and 21 percent of children in the U.S. live in households with income below the federal poverty level. It is outrageous that the richest country in the world tolerates children living in poverty in America today. This movement believes that ending child poverty in the United States must be the highest priority of government. The economic future of our country and the stability of the communities we live in depend on achieving this goal. The objective of citizen-led, non-partisan, non-profit Movement To Petition The End of Our Children’s Lives of Poverty is to inform our political, business and civic leaders, and the parents and people of this city, about this issue, build support for measures that will end child poverty and give children the best chance to be successful. We call upon the President and Congress to make ending child poverty their highest priority so that children do not live in poverty in America. I will only vote for those who do so.

Let's stop wasting time on debating and legislating different CostOfLivingAdjustments for so many things. This big debate on fiddling with the Social Security COLA is a perfect example.

Welfare recipients attest under penalty of perjury that they are separate households from anyone else with whom they reside. This means that all income earned by others is excluded from determination of eligibility. Often, parents or others close to the applicant provide rent reciepts and attest to preparing food separately. Yet, many of these family members claim the welfare recipients as dependents on their income tax return, obtaining tax credits and reduced tax liabilty. Though illegal, there is no current audit program, and the welfare records are protected under privacy laws. Your representative in Congress should be alerted to the need for a task force to investigate this type of fraud and to put a program in place that will prevent its continuance. Additionally, all individual taxpayers should be granted access to welfare records when cases in which they may be implicated are brought to the attention of the taxing authorities.

The Maine legislature has denied Cost Of Living Adjustment to state retirees. COLA had been in effect for over 30 years. All of us elderly retirees have been grievously hurt by this reduction in calculated retirement while dealing with increased taxes and living expenses.

We may soon achieve immigration reform that is long overdue. The bill Congress is seeking to pass would bring millions who call the US 'home' out of the shadows and fully into society. However, for 1,100 people who are continuing to be deported every day, the bill will come too late. My husband Roger is one of those people. One day in February we were driving to the store when a state policeman pulled us over. He claimed he had a warrant related to the car we were driving, the car that I own. Instead of letting us go, they asked for our identification and told me that they'd be taking my husband to immigration. After three months in detention, my husband was deported back to Honduras, the country he escaped for his own safety. Roger was a loving step-father for my son and a dedicated partner with me. Now we are separated because of a trip to the store for toothpaste and my family is torn apart. We had high hopes that immigration reform could help with his status and keep us together but now we don't know what to do. I don't want what my family is going through to happen to anyone else. Why is the President still deporting people who even some Republicans in Congress say belong here, with us, with their families? It doesn't make sense and it should stop immediately so that those who qualify for reform are still here when and if it passes. - Carmen Yvette Martinez

There is a solution, workable NOW, for the worlds energy challenge ... no highly radioactive waste materials, no CO2 in the atmosphere and locatable on any seashore. No Laser or Tokamak problems!

By citizens' initiative Arizona should establish an Oregon-type vote-by-mail system.

The US, State and County governments cannot afford to support them financially.

Identity theft of social security numbers is growing by leaps and bounds. I now have to prove I'm "me" because someone chose to use my social security number to file taxes with the IRS. We're told never to carry our social security cards in our wallets to protect against theft, while always having to carry our Medicare cards for proof of health insurance. Stop using social security numbers for Medicare ID numbers.

Close the Prison in Guantanamo. It is contrary to the legal values of our country and puts American Prisoners of War at risk.