USA

Taipeitimes/NY Times: The real US, awash in red ink and blues

Across the US, state and local leaders have been forced to slash more than US$100 billion in spending, laying off thousands of employees, cutting off health insurance for roughly 1 million people, and lowering America's standard of living. Washington is not just aloof from the pain out here in real America, but is making matters worse.

People across America will pay the price for Washington's indifference in lower-quality schools, fewer chances to go to college, less police protection and diminished medical care. The unlucky ones among us, like Douglas Schmidt, will never recover. A 37-year-old epileptic, he depended on drugs that cost US$13 a day and were paid for by the state. State budget cuts meant he lost that benefit, and he ran out of pills in late February.