Social issues are economic issues

So who else was somewhat disappointed by the debates last night?  You'd think there are more issues at play in this country than just taxes and Obamacare (i.e. women's healthcare, choice, gay rights, getting VAWA finally passed, affirmative action, environmental issues).  And really, going over the time limits?  I'm not going to get pissy here, but that would SO not fly at the advocate conference I was moderating in August!

I really get so annoyed whenever candidates seem to push aside social issues in favor of "serious" economic issues.  The fact is, these issues are intertwined.  Maybe not for two wealthy politicians who are spending enough in advertising to run several states' worth of non-profits, but for many Americans of all political classes, we see the effects of both in our lives.  We can't bifurcate our lives so that we only experience social or economic issues.  And for many of us, our social decisions are shaped by our financial circumstances, and our economic circumstances are shaped by the culture we live in.  These things don't happen in a void.

Take me for instance.  I'm an educated, full-time employed non-profit professional.  I have a bachelor's degree completed and a master's degree on the way, and I've been working full time for over three years (with several part-time jobs for nearly a decade).  However, if you look at the federal income levels for my area and my single-person household status, I fall pretty squarely in....the low income category.  I am not kidding.  My salary for one person in my particular county means I am low income.  I am not ashamed of that, nor am I asking for any pity, but I do want to show that low income covers more than just those on public assistance or those who are homeless.  Now is this because I am not working hard enough?  I think it's more that non-profits and social services are very much devalued and thus underfunded that puts the salaries of valuable professionals like me in this category. 

I don't think I am struggling, but I do know that I walk a very delicate balance between having the opportunities and privileges I have and all of a sudden not.  And for that, I do need social freedoms and a safety net.  If I lost my job, I would have no medical or dental insurance, and I am too old to be covered under my parents' insurance.  Any payments would be out of pocket.  Now if I had a medical emergency, don't you think I'd want to have some way of paying for my care?  While I do manage my money judiciously, I know that it would not last forever if I were constantly paying for treatments.  (And how in the world would I pay for my rent, utilities and groceries once it was gone??)  The Affordable Care Act would help me to get the insurance I need so I could get care and not go bankrupt or die.  That's a social issue that's linked to my economic standing. 
Or here's a really horrible example.  If I were in a domestically abusive relationship (g-d forbid!), don't you think I'd need access to services that I could afford and that the abusive partner would not find?  I would want my counseling services and legal advocacy to be free and available, not put out of business or having to charge money (and thus possibly revealing where I am) due to being underfunded.  Or let's look at an example that a friend of mine experienced.  I know a super-competent counselor who got headhunted to lead a trauma recovery organization out west.  She was all thrilled to head up the organization and the opportunity looked amazing.  But here was the problem.  The state did not recognize sexual orientation as a protected category (it's on a state by state basis, not a federal level), and this counselor's a lesbian.  So my poor friend had the horrible choice of either turning down the opportunity of a lifetime to stay in a state where her relationship would be recognized and she could not be fired due to her orientation.  Or she could go out west but always be hyper-vigilant of not revealing her orientation in any way (so, saying her partner was a roommate and the like).  The fact that she could lose her livelihood due to her social identity not being recognized also shows that the two can't be separated.

They say that Americans care about the economy.  We do, but we also know it affects our social situations and that the two are intertwined.  And this American demands some attention being paid to both!