Jesse Jackson: America has poor excuse for poverty

[Sapphire Blue]

America has poor excuse for poverty
February 27, 2007
BY JESSE JACKSON

We glimpsed misery in America during Katrina, as the poor were stranded in the storm. But those shocking pictures were misleading. America has a growing poverty problem, but it doesn't look like New Orleans.

Most poor people are not black or brown. Most poor people are white. They are disproportionately young, female and single. Most of them are not on welfare. They work every day that they can -- but they still cannot lift their families out of poverty.

An analysis of 2005 census figures by Tony Pugh for McClatchy Newspapers revealed almost 16 million Americans living in "deep or severe poverty," with the percentage of the poor living in severe poverty reaching a 32-year high. Our rich are getting richer and our poor, poorer.

(snip)

Poverty is not a popular subject in American politics these days. Both Democrats and Republicans appeal to the plight of the middle class, where the great bulk of voters reside. Republicans offer them tax cuts; Democrats offer help on kitchen table concerns -- health care, retirement security, educating their children. Small middle-class tax cuts were used to cover the massive Bush giveaways to the wealthy in his tax plan. Mortgage deductions for middle-income and wealthy donors cost the government far more than subsidies or vouchers for housing the poor.

America is said to be suffering from poverty fatigue. Reagan's "welfare queen" has been supplanted by the "illegal immigrant" supposedly living on the dole, avoiding taxes and consuming services. When John Edwards made poverty a centerpiece of his presidential campaign -- opening it in New Orleans -- most political pundits thought he was making a mistake. Americans, they believe, are too hard-pressed to have much patience with a politician saying that we must do more to lift up the poor, or to give every child a fair and healthy start.

The result is unconscionable. America ranks at or near the bottom of 31 industrial nations for poverty and childhood poverty, according to the Luxembourg Income Study cited by Pugh. The numbers will surprise even those who work in America's cities. Research by University of Wisconsin professor Mark Rank concludes that a majority of Americans -- 58 percent -- between the ages of 20 and 75 will spend at least one year in poverty. A full year in extreme poverty will afflict one in three Americans in his or her adult life. These estimates apply only to native-born Americans. The numbers would be worse if undocumented workers were factored in.

Continued @ http://www.suntimes.com/news/jackson/273940,CST-EDT-jesse27.article

[ninkasi]

1. Jesse Jackson is right

As a country, America is extremely wealthy. The problem is that the wealth has been more and more squeezed from the bottom up, and the divide been the rich and the poor has grown. There is no excuse for allowing so many millions of our citizens to lead bleak, stressful lives, just trying to tread water. We should be throwing them life preservers, and pulling them to shore.

Increased poverty leads to increased crime. It leads to more broken homes, more at risk children, more homelessness, and many other things, none of them good. Or, to be honest, not good unless you're a corporate executive, larding more onto your salary and perks by shipping good paying jobs overseas, or paying bottom dollar by threatening to fill existing jobs with immigrants willing to work for less.

We've got people able to afford several luxury homes, private jets, and anything else they can think of, by squeezing the last cent they can from the people who do the work to enable these ghouls to collect the salaries they do. Class warfare? Sure, but they fired the first shot, and they have all of the heavy duty weapons. I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm taking sides, and it's going to be with the hard-working, but still impoverished Americans who are trying to survive.

Now, a word about race. It's no secret that blacks are incarcerated at a much higher level than whites. I, for one, do not believe for a minute that blacks are more prone to crime; instead, I see that they suffer from prejudices passed down from one generation to the next. Case in point. A black co-worker of mine bought a brand new car several years ago. She was unable to go pick up her car, and sent her adult son, after calling the car dealership in advance.

Her son, who was a young black man of about 21, was pulled over THREE times, and asked to see his license, vehicle registration, and proof of insurance. I will guarantee you, if I had sent one of my children, white young adults, as long as they were not violating any laws by speeding, running stop signs, or red lights, they would have cruised home undisturbed.

The tie between this and poverty, as least as far as I'm concerned, is that when one segment of our population has to deal with the difficulty of finding a job paying a living wage, is judged as a potential criminal because of the color of their skin, and is jailed much more often than white people committing the same crime, there is a deep, deep flaw in our country.

Poverty itself has been made to be something to be ashamed of in our society. The two most serious sins now are sins dealing with sexuality...gay marriage, women's right to choose, and paying women what men earn...and race. A large percentage of our prison population is now behind bars for violating marijuana laws. These are non-violent people, but man, do they enable our privatized prisons to earn profits.

Race, social class, distribution of wealth, these are all things that cause enormous amounts of damage to our country. We can not solve this problem, though, until people can see the link between poverty and crime, poverty and homelessness, and poverty and lack of health insurance. I will gladly, and willingly, pay more taxes, not to fund more bloodshed and war, but to help lift my fellow citizens out of the poverty that hurts us all.

[Solo_in_MD]

2. Perhaps, but he is a flawed instrument, which greatly diminishes his credibility

[Sapphire Blue]

3. Why the smear against Rev. Jackson? Do you mean that what he is saying is not credible?

Do you disagree with what he said in the article? Is he wrong? Is he lying?

As far as his being "flawed", can you name one person on this planet who isn't? One person who is perfect? Was Martin Luther King perfect? Did his lack of perfection make him less than credible?

Or pick your most admired presidential candidate, politician, human rights activist, antiwar activist, artist, writer, composer, scientist, Nobel Laureate, religious leader, etc. Is any one of them perfect? Does their lack of perfection diminish their credibility?

Or is it just Rev. Jackson that you criticize in such a manner?

[butterfly77]

4. And they will continue to vote for the Republicons,,,

and run and hug Bush when a disaster strikes...

[bobbolink]

5. "They" WHO?????

Who are you talking about, voting for "replublicons"??

Or, is this an attempt at flame-bait?

[Forkboy]

6. He's totally spot on.

It's America's biggest shame,imo. (And right now we have a lot to choose from)