| 1 | The government's debt burden leaves it short of money for infrastructure. | |
| 2 | These resources were already stretched thin by the new reality of financial austerity. | |
| 3 | But two years of rising food and energy costs ate into what little safety net those families had. | |
| 4 | A squeeze on bank lending has prompted some businesses short of cash to stop paying wages to blue-collar workers. | |
| 5 | We can imagine that nonprofits, individuals, and small businesses with small budgets could turn this into a great tool. |