The economic downturn has made the middle class less generous toward the poor and the people of color who make up the majority of poor people in America, according to an article in today’s Seattle Times (reprinted from the Philadephia Inquirer).
The story quotes South Carolina Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer as saying that when the government helps the poor, it’s like people feeding stray animals that continually “breed.”
And it recounts Colorado state legislator Spencer Swalm saying that poor people in single-family homes are “dysfunctional.”
People are insecure about the future and therefore they hang on to external differences to justify decisions that are not conducive to ending poverty in America. It’s not surprising then, we find ourselves asking the question: “Am I being treated fairly by my neighbor next door?” Discrimination is on the rise in America and we ought to be aware of this trend and make others aware of it so we can understand why it’s happening. This is nothing more than a survival mechanism present in our society for decades, and it’s not going to go away without all of us getting involved.
As a society we have a social responsibility to the poor, not only because they have limiting factors that are beyond their control, but also because the alternative would result in more crime and misery for families around the country.
Excluding oneself from either group is also wrong because it gives the privileged group a false sense of advantage over the disadvantaged group and it perpetuates institutionalized racism in America.
Blaming the disadvantaged group based on their choices regardless of whether these people had a choice about falling into poverty is not what defines our country. Equal opportunity for all regardless of social status, race or cultural background is what makes our country great even when the state of the economy is frail.
Embracing diversity and promoting equal rights is important because it unites all people and it makes us strong as a nation. We crossed the bridge of inequality with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the American Civil Rights Act of 1964. We’ve come a long way since then and we need to move forward.
We celebrate Black History Month in February and would like to invite you to reflect on this topic for a moment. Think about your blessings for a moment and those around you who are less fortunate than you. We can make a difference by identifying these issues and bringing them up for discussion. Together we can end this crisis and build a better nation for all.
dee says
poverty is only rarely the fault of the impoverished one(s). More commonly, it is the fault of things like how our nation fails to recognize economic human rights and provide things like basic medical care to ALL, how our “assistance” programs require falsely low levels of income and assets before they’ll help – and then penalize you faster than you can actually and honestly improve your situation, the fault of laws that don’t *really* protect groups like the disabled from discrimination in employment, and how employers suppress wages and outsource and/or offshore jobs. How is any of this the fault of a person in poverty? For example, I am one of several that I know who *might* be able to work part-time or contract *if* our timely access to appropriate care wasn’t an issue – but all of us are childless, disabled adults and our *only* access to assistance with medical care is dependent upon staying rated totally disabled and keeping that access affordable to *use* depends on staying well below the FPL.
Cheryl Cobbs says
There is a huge misconception in this country about poor people. Contrary to popular belief, 72% of low income people work and most of them work full-time, often holding down more than one job in an effort to make ends meet. Only 25% of the poor in this country are receiving any kind of public assistance. The real problem is that one in five jobs in the United States pays wages that are below the federal poverty level. The recent economic downturn has exacerbated this problem – the first workers to lose their jobs are those in lower paying jobs. At the same time, housing costs and healthcare are rising making it nearly impossible for low income wage earners to make ends meet. To blame the poor for these problems is a cop out – what we really need to do is make sure all of our citizens have access to livable wage jobs, affordable housing and healthcare. Only then will we be able to effectively address the issues of poverty in this country.