Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz

The troubles were evident back in the fall of 2006, when our state started losing jobs. For every month in 2007, 2008 and 2009, we saw Florida’s unemployment rate increase, only to become one of the highest in the nation.

But we are starting to see an economic turnaround. Florida has had three straight months (April, May, and June) of decreases in the unemployment rate. And nationally, our country has had six straight months of private sector job growth, at the rate of roughly 100,000 private sector jobs created each month this year. Manufacturing jobs have also grown for eleven straight months.

Ben Franklin once said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.” This statement has become cliché to many – it is simply overused. Yet we should not fail to realize the powerful truth it communicates. If we want to see positive changes in our lives we must change how we behave. The only problem is behavior modification does not equal personal growth.

Author Thomas Crane speaks about a process he calls the “result cycle.” According to him all behaviors start from personal beliefs. Such beliefs encompass our values, judgments, interpretations, assumptions and attitudes. These positions frame the window through which we interpret reality. Our beliefs in turn determine our behavior. Behavior includes our style, openness, habits, skills, practices and actions. Behavior is largely external. These are what people see. Behaviors are also the standards by which people are judged.

Singer Stacie Oricco echoed the following words; “I've got it all, but I feel so deprived I go up, I come down and I'm emptier inside. Tell me what is this thing that I feel like I'm missing and why can't I let go . . .” Then she moves on to belt out the chorus “there's gotta be more to life... than chasing down every temporary high to satisfy me; cause the more that I'm... tripping out thinking there must be more to life. Well it's life, but I'm sure... there's gotta be more than wanting more. . .”

The fourth century theologian and philosopher Saint Augustine, long ago spoke about the restlessness of the human soul. According to Augustine the human soul is simple and immortal. This soul has three functions, being, understanding and loving. These three functions correspond to the three faculties of the human self-intellective memory, intelligence and will. The primary place among these three faculties is given to the will. It is in this will that choice resides. But it is in this will that human freedom is fully embraced. According to Augustine even with the freedom of the will the soul is restless. Humanity at the core is always searching for significance and meaning. This search can lead to futility, violence, and at the same time achieve the sublime in creativity and innovations. The reality, however, is that, this will has to be nurtured and trained to focus on the sublime.

Debbie Wasserman Schultz

Recognizing the success of these programs and how they complement our society, we used them as blueprints to write the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, comprehensive health care legislation that will grant health security to all Americans while strengthening Medicare for future generations. This new law provides American families and small businesses more control over their health care by reducing costs, increasing choice, and instituting common sense rules that will keep insurance companies honest. At the same time, it puts our budget on a more stable path by reducing our deficit by $143 billion over the next ten years and an additional $1.2 trillion over the following decade.