America sits on it's hands. We might get a few personal stories or faux paus empathetic comments from reporters on the never ending poverty, increasing homelessness, suicides and economic mayhem. In terms of any real action, we get diversion, such as wading into issues which have nothing to do with getting people back to work, which is a national crisis.

In the midst of a damning set of statistics from the Census Bureau, which goes by America with a yawn, Europe raises hell and takes to the streets in protest over austerity. Austerity is code speak to screw the middle classes and poor by dismantling social safety nets and job security.

Tens of thousands of people marched through Brussels on Wednesday in a day of protests across Europe against government austerity measures, which unions say will slow economic recovery and punish the poor.

Up to 5,000 protesters also marched in Warsaw, Spanish unions staged a general strike and trade unions called protests in 11 other capitals to oppose measures such as spending cuts and pension and labor market reforms.

Unions said they achieved their goal of bringing 100,000 people onto the streets of Brussels, but police put the figure at 56,000 and said 218 people were detained for minor offences.

The foreclosure fraud bombshell has hit the fan. Updating an earlier post, Bank of America has now halted foreclosures in 23 states:

Bank of America is joining JPMorgan Chase and GMAC is suspending foreclosure processes in 23 states that weren't reviewed properly.

A BoA exec admitted she signed up to 8,000 documents in a month and typically did not read them.

Connecticut has halted all foreclosures:

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal on Friday ordered a moratorium on all foreclosures by all banks for 60 days--the most radical action taken by a state on issue of document irregularities.

California also expanded the moratorium on foreclosures it announced last week on Ally Financial foreclosures to include those by J.P. Morgan Chase.

Calling the companies' review of key foreclosure documents "a ruse," California Attorney General Jerry Brown (D) ordered J.P. Morgan to prove it is following the law before it continues foreclosures in the state.

Both J.P. Morgan Chase and Ally have frozen foreclosures in 23 states because some employees had signed off on foreclosure paperwork without properly reviewing the files.

Colorado and Illinois have stopped foreclosures by Ally and at least seven other states have launched probes into the issue. But Connecticut is the first to institute an industry-wide ban.

Our Congress sucks.  I think all will agree with this statement.  That said, is there anyone, anyone at all who is a working stiff in the United States, be they conservative, liberal, green, purple, red, blue who thinks it's a great idea to give tax rebates to corporations when they offshore outsource their job?  Do you think it's just swank when you must train your cheap labor replacement before being fired?  Do you think about increasing corporate profits by using cheap labor when you cannot pay your mortgage because your job was offshore outsourced?

I didn't think so.

No one who works for a living in the United States thinks offshore outsourcing our jobs is a great idea. Yet our Congress, once again, blocked the bill that would help curtail offshore outsourcing. The block was all of the Republican Senators plus these Democrats:

• Warner (D-VA)
• Tester (D-MT)
• Nelson (D-NE)
• Baucus (D-MT)

Joe Lieberman, now an independent, owned by multinational corporations, acting as a U.S. Chamber of Commerce, demanding their cheap India and China labor, also voted against the bill.