Poverty in America: the Old and the New

[maryf]

It is with great humility that I write the third essay for the Poverty in America series here in honor of January as Poverty month. I am not a writer. I am not greatly impoverished. I am a member of the working class (an art teacher) who has a mortgaged (albeit "handy-man-special) house and a husband who works as a retail clerk in an antiques store; I have been extremely poor in the past, and was very lucky to be able to get a decent enough job to place me in a situation where I'm more than one paycheck from disaster, possibly even two. With that disclaimer as to my lack of credentials, I'd like to say some things regarding the old and new poverty.

Poverty is as old as money, older than feudalism, as old as "civilization". A society with any base in a class system necessitates a "lower class" (think about how elitist that term is in and of itself, "lower" class" middle" class, (monkey in the middle?) "upper class", "ruling class", oh how lovely :scream: ) When we talk about old poverty vs. new poverty in American society we have to recognize that the source of both is the same, although many who call themselves the "new" poor don't qualify as yet according to the statistics. The true new poverty is no different, and with the numbers of the poor growing, many people are starting to realize that the "old poor" paradigm of extreme poverty and homelessness: addiction, alcoholism, and mental illness, is just not that prevalent, and not significantly different from society as a whole. This will especially become clear as more join the ranks of the extreme poor and recognize none of those stigmas within themselves. .

As the "newly" poor start to realize that poor is poor is poor, and as more become poverty stricken and become more associated with truly poor people as friends and family members start having severe problems, hopefully more of a call will go out to help the "old" poor, as well as the "new", by taking a look at the root causes, extreme and egregious economic imbalance and an immediate need to supply housing.

A good friend of mine wrote the following to me in discussing this issue:

The history of the human race IS the history of the poor. It is not so much that it is hidden - it can be found all over the place right out in plain view - it is that we are led to look in the wrong places and are distracted and deceived. We are led to think that it is the story of the big people that matters, the wealthy and powerful.

You will rarely go wrong if every time you hear a story about what happened, describing what the "important" people did, if you immediately assume that the story has been hijacked and perverted and distorted to serve the needs and desires of the wealthy and powerful few. Ask yourself this: "OK, which poor people actually accomplished these things that the upper class is claiming as their own?"

Further evidence to these wise words is just how the true history is being shortchanged:

From: Lies My Teacher Told Me
by James W. Loewen

p. 206 Nothing that textbooks discuss--not even strikes--is ever anchored in any analysis of social class. This amounts to delivering the footnotes instead of the lecture! Half of the eighteen high school American history textbooks I examined contain no index listing at all for social class, social stratification, class structure, income distribution, inequality, or any conceivably related topic. Not one book lists upper class or lower class. Three list middle class, but only to assure students that America is a middle-class country. "Except for slaves, most of the colonists were members of the 'middling ranks,'" says Land of Promise, and nails home the point that we are a middle-class country by asking students to "describe three 'middle-class' values that united free Americans of all classes." Several of the textbooks note the explosion of middle-class suburbs after World War II. Talking about the middle class is hardly equivalent to discussiing social stratification, however. On the contrary, as Gregory Mantsios has pointed out, "Such references appear to be acceptable precisely because they mask class differences."


Some great words of wisdom from the Homelessness Marathon Site, this article was written specific to Katrina, but could be applied to so many places now, Cleveland and Detroit coming immediately to mind:

# If racism is the elephant in the room, the war against the poor is the Tyrannosaurus. Over the past thirty years, we have gone from being a country with surplus low-income housing units to a country with millions of units too few. The housing infrastructure just isn't there anymore to take in the Katrina refugees. It isn't there because America stopped investing in public housing. And America stopped investing in public housing because of a radical political agenda to invest, instead, in the bank accounts of the wealthy. The dead and desperate of the Gulf Coast bear witness to the folly of letting rich people run our country.

# The new homeless and the old homeless are the same. Part of the war on the poor has been the relentless demonization of homeless people as drunks and crazies. That was never an accurate image, note from maryf, as stated above, similar to society as a whole)but it's true that some people put themselves more in the way of homelessness by drinking just as some people put themselves more in the way of it by building beach houses in a hurricane zone. Either way, we are confronted with the same question: Do we wish to be the kind of society that lets people die in the streets -- as they are dying now -- or the kind where we help each other out, no matter what our foibles? We must choose to be a society that lends a hand, and to truly make that commitment, we must do away with the old divide-and-conquer distinctions between poor folks and "normal" people. AS WE HELP THE NEW HOMELESS WE MUST HELP THE OLD HOMELESS TOO.

http://homelessnessmarathon.org/2008/09/as-we-help-new-homeless-we-must-help.html

(Be sure to check out the date and time of this worthy radio event at the home page of the Homelessness Marathon http://homelessnessarathon.org>http://homelessnessarathon.org )

So if the old poor and the new poor are basically the same, formed from the same insidious toxic soil of greed and consumerism, why do we discuss old and new poverty as different? For one thing, many think that this is a new problem, that its a different problem, so we have to discuss some of the false perceptions that have arisen. The problem has the same root cause, unbridled avarice; its merely become bigger, as the corporations et al grab more and more of the pie.

It is also the perception of many that the "newly" impoverished are perhaps more "worthy" of consideration and services than the "old" poor. That since everyone has been affected by the recent downturn, those who have suddenly become poor, deserve the most sympathy, "it was not their fault, they had a turn of bad luck." The "old poor" are considered, by many, to have caused their situation, to have made the wrong choices, to have no will power, or to be trying to beat the system, as shamefully exemplified by the infamous chimera of the "Welfare Queen", one of the worst propaganda creations of the Reagan era. The reverse, most reading this already know, is quite false. These old poor are victims of the system in the exact manner that the new poor are. All deserve justice and relief.

When we talk about worthiness we need to ask, what makes a person worthy to have housing, food and healthcare? What makes a person not worthy to have them? Does the length of time of their poverty come into play? Does the fact that they are working or not make them worthy of whether they should be granted the basic human right to basic human needs? When will we recognize this as a ploy to separate us, or, as said in the Homelessness Marathon quote, "we must do away with the old divide-and-conquer distinctions between poor folks and "normal" people." If I may add, the "old" poor folks, the "new" poor folks, the "normal" folks, are all the same folks!!! Please if we don't get this we're truly doomed.

On a tangent, a kind of crazy aspect of the "new" poverty is that finally poverty has gotten a little bit "cool". One friend of mine bemoans, righteously, that poverty is never "the flavor of the month", well for some it almost is, as another friend of mine wrote me:

That old/new poverty thing is right on the mark. I've been starting to meet some of these 'new poverty' people and some of them are flat out delusional. I actually got, "We're on a budget, I'm laid off. Hahaha!" Then she got in her Lexus. ..

People are starting to be proud of their thrift store finds, their clothing swap parties, and finding it cool to talk about...and they are still people who need to recognize the truly horrendous situations some live with.

There are 50,000 homeless in Detroit, for instance, 50,000 in a city with many, many foreclosed and boarded up houses, many falling down from years of neglect. This is wrong.
As fellow poverty advocate JeffR said so succinctly when mentioning that Detroit lost 51% of its population between 1950 and 2007: "It's the final outrage perpetrated on the homeless in Detroit that they can't get housing in that sad ruin of a city."

The main problem in regards to the housing situation, is that many see the people evicted and foreclosed upon as victims of a greedy system. They most certainly are. What many continually forget however, is that the true housing crisis is the one that started years ago, and that the "old poor" have had to contend with it for years, including such indignities as waiting lists, unacceptable demands made on their liberties, (room checks, piss drug tests in front of witnesses et al), and just plain not enough units.

The problem really started when housing units started to be destroyed without being replaced or when they changed status from Section 8 housing to private housing. Nearly two decades ago HUD started financing the renovation of schools, warehouses, etc., into housing. The basic loan/grant program had a stipulation that the builder would provide income-based housing for so many years. Guess what folks, those years have come to pass, and fewer and fewer subsidized housing units can be found. And more are being destroyed...and there are 50,000 homeless in Detroit, and millions more in the rest of the country. Some have been homeless for a long time, some are new to this horrible state, all need help.

Quick action, call your representatives and ask them to address homelessness in your area...Remind them of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights article 25(1) that JeffR brought up in the first Poverty in America essay:"Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control."

As I come to a close, I would be remiss if I didn't at least mention how welfare and welfare reform have played a hand in the ranks of poverty, both old and new. Here are two articles sent to me by a good friend:

Myth: Welfare increases poverty.
Fact: The more welfare, the less poverty -- both historically and internationally.
Summary

The historical evidence is clear: welfare reduces poverty, and the lack of it increases it. In the 1920s, fully half of all Americans could not make ends meet. Roosevelt's New Deal programs had reduced poverty to about 20 percent in the 50s. Johnson's Great Society reduced this to 11.1 percent by 1973. Since the rise of the corporate special interest system in 1975, individual welfare benefits have been shrinking, and poverty has been steadily rising...
article at link:
http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/L-welfarepoverty.htm>http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/L-welfarepoverty.htm
Ten years after welfare reform recipients decline while poverty rate increases
Safety net of services and support that once protected the poor lies in tatters
article at link:
http://www.mediatransparency.org/story.php?storyID=184>http://www.mediatransparency.org/story.php?storyID=184

Finally, as I complete the writing of this on Martin Luther King Jr.'s actual birthday, it is fitting to quote him on poverty:

"Let us be dissatisfied until rat-infested, vermin-filled slums will be a thing of a dark past and every family will have a decent sanitary house in which to live. Let us be dissatisfied until the empty stomachs of Mississippi are filled and the idle industries of Appalachia are revitalized. . . "

and on justice:

"On the one hand, we are called to play the Good Samaritan on life's roadside, but that will be only an initial act. One day we must come to see that the whole Jericho Road must be transformed so that men and women will not be constantly beaten and robbed as they make their journey on life's highway."

and on moral courage:

“Cowardice asks the question, 'Is it safe?' Expediency asks the question, 'Is it politic?' But conscience asks the question, 'Is it right?' And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but because conscience tells one it is right.”

In Peace, Justice, and Solidarity. Mary

copyright: peoplesing.org

[dajoki]

1. You are right on maryf...

the one thing that these so called newly impoverished can do is to focus attention on a subject as old as time itself. This is a very important issue and I hope when these people who are down because of this economy are back into their palaces is that the attention that came to poverty with them stays with poverty.

K&R

[maryf]

3. Thanks Dajoki

I don't wish anyone poverty, but I hope those that do go, and are going through, hard times, and come out of it, don't forget to remember those still poor, that they help to pull them up too.:pals:

[shintao]

74. There is a difference however

The new poor still have hope and are willing to challenge the system and fight to get out of poverty. The old poverty are those that have given up hope & need their confidence & skills rekindled to get up and try again. Like consumer confidence, poor confidence to better ones self-esteem has to be maintained.

Something else that is good about taking any job you can, is that often it leads you back into better work and wages much faster than giving up and staying home depressed. Look at some of the old folks working at Wallmart for minimum wage to suppliment their social security. Most of them are still happy to be ticking along.

[bobbolink]

89. YEs, indeed--decades of being beaten down will do that to a person.

Next week's essay will address some of that.

Unfortunately, "The new poor" don't really have much compassion for those who've been experiencing this for a long time... they think they are somehow "special". :( All of this, of course, is generalization, and there are individual differences in all of this!

[JNelson6563]

125. I think it depends

I think there are many who are close to rock bottom that realize what few advantages they have remaining are invaluable. For instance, during this brutal winter, I'd wager many that are down to their cars for shelter are very grateful to have them.

I believe this period will create a newfound awareness of those who have nothing.

Julie

[I Have A Dream]

130. I agree, bobbo.

Some people who are newly-poor feel that they don't bear any responsibility for becoming poor; they're victims of circumstances -- that they are somehow different because they were not poor at one time in their lives. However, many of these same people feel that people who have been poor for much, if not all, of their lives just don't have the character required to "make it" in America. They have no idea what it feels like to be so deep in the hole for so long that it seems absolutely hopeless.

Sometimes it only takes one person to put forth a little effort to help us for us to be able to find our way out of the labyrinth of poverty. For me, it was my guidance counselor in high school. If he hadn't done just a few little things that he did for me, I'd probably still be living in poverty. We as a society need to provide the tools that the poor need to extract themselves from poverty and to do so in a way that allows poverty-stricken individuals to maintain their dignity. (The poor are humiliated unnecessarily in so many ways. :()

[bobbolink]

138. You have said it exactly right! And it bears repeating!

"Some people who are newly-poor feel that they don't bear any responsibility for becoming poor; they're victims of circumstances -- that they are somehow different because they were not poor at one time in their lives. However, many of these same people feel that people who have been poor for much, if not all, of their lives just don't have the character required to "make it" in America. They have no idea what it feels like to be so deep in the hole for so long that it seems absolutely hopeless."

Very, very well said! I wish I could recommend this one post! :applause:

[maryf]

132. You have been my inspiration...

Despite being "beaten down" yourself, you continue to be an advocate for the poor, showing compassion for those in actually better straits than your own, you are my hero, Bobbie!!! :hug:

[dajoki]

94. That is...

so easy to say, but what if you are disabled and can't work, what do you do then? After working hard, earning good money and supporting my family for my whole life, I am now supposed to be happy with the crumbs I can find.

[stlsaxman]

112. "I am now supposed to be happy with the crumbs I can find" reminds me...

This song, i believe, addresses how the impoverished view the Bush Administrations attitude toward poverty worldwide. Sad, sad, sad. But true.

Crumbs From Your Table by U2

From the brightest star
Comes the blackest hole
You had so much to offer
Why did you offer your soul?
I was there for you baby
When you needed my help
Would you deny for others
What you demand for yourself?

Cool down mama, cool off
Cool down mama, cool off

You speak of signs and wonders
I need something other
I would believe if I was able
But I’m waiting on the crumbs from your table

You were pretty as a picture
It was all there to see
Then your face caught up with your psychology
With a mouth full of teeth
You ate all your friends
And you broke every heart thinking every heart mends

You speak of signs and wonders
But I need something other
I would believe if I was able
But I’m waiting on the crumbs from your table

Where you live should not decide
Whether you live or whether you die
Three to a bed
Sister Ann, she said
Dignity passes by

And you speak of signs and wonders
But I need something other
I would believe if I was able
I’m waiting on the crumbs from your table

[maryf]

133. You speak of signs and wonders

So much of the problem comes from people believing others will take the lead and take care of the problem...this belief is actually a critical aspect of the problem...we have to be the wonders, we have to speak out, demand that the egregious treatment and horrendous conditions of millions of our fellow human beings be changed, NOW!!!

[bobbolink]

137. Thanks for posting that. I'm glad there are poets and musicians paying attention!

:thumbsup:

[jhrobbins]

154. This is exactly the position that my partner and I find ourselves in now.

Both of us are disabled-he is the only one receiving disability at the moment(I have applied, was turned down and am appealing). We were, not too long ago, firmly ensconced in the middle class with all that conveys. Illness has changed all of that . What I have found interesting about it is my almost neurotic ability to look at us as sort of an observer. I have found new ways to economize and we certainly do without a lot of what we once took for granted.
What is perhaps even more interesting is that I was, when I was young, a member of the upper class. I drove my family's Rolls Royce to school my junior year @ UT. My grandfather made a number of bad business decisions and he lost a great deal, but it really just dropped him to upper middle class. I have made huge adjustments in my life and each time, I faced it without rancor or recrimination or anger. I am actually proud of this part. I must say that I will be glad to be out of this situation and yes, I still have a great deal of hope that his will happen. My first partner is extremely wealthy and we have remained very good friends, and I think that it is this that allows me not to worry so much, because I know in the final analysis, he would not let anything too adverse happen to us. ( He did say that eh recent stock downturn had affected him some and that he would not be willing to buy a new Mercedes just yet)

[mntleo2]

103. Maybe but ...

Taking any job often can also lead you into a dead end situation that threatens your health, your home and your very life and gives you little or no hlope for advancment. Most jobs do not lead people into something better ~ it merely makes them use all their time trying to survive on the crappy wages they get. This is especially true for women who make $.70 on the dollar for men ~ particularly women of color.

I am speaking from experience here ...

* Why McJobs threaten your health: often "McJobs" as I call them have poor working conditions with little or no safety considerations. This can include chemical exposure, physical injury and exposure to things that cause you chronic illnesses such as cancer. OSHA has been reduced to a cheering section for the workplace and an booing section for the worker. Believe me, I know ... I am suffering the consequences of this very thing ...

* McJobs threaten your home: If your pay is not enough to even meet your housing costs (rent/mortgage, heat, lights, and upkeep) you are most likely to wind up without a home and nowhere to live. Besides trying to figure out how to get to work, trying to live on the street with kids, no place to shower or help them with their homework is "not* going to lift your spirits. Been there, done that and I was just burdened further with more scrambling ...

* MCJobs threaten your life because

A: You are constantly in the mode of stress just trying to survive. There is little time to live and love, it is a constant scramble to try to make it through whatever fire you have to put out that day. Stress cause early death and other problems from suicide to depression to family dysfunction simply from being in the "fight or flight mode" 24/7. McJobs also have a plethora of "psycho bosses" who are abusive, use you until you drop, fire or threaten to fire you and trash your job history simply because they get a thrill out of it, and then discard you for someone "fresh." (lived through that a few times and let me tell you it is no fun).

B: You develop lung disease, cancer or other diseases from the chemicals and bad environment you work around in McJobs, you can sustain permanent injury from the required work, as well as suffer the sudden accident that will hobble, blind or permanently disable you forever or even KILL you. And do not think there is much of an insurance "safety net" with on-the-job injuries (OTJI), there isn't ~ that is, IF the company you work for even has such insurance even though it is legally required in most states, they can figure out ways not to have it (you are "contract" you are "salaried," etc). What you quickly learn from injury insurance if you try to use it is that, insurance companies exist to do everything in their power to not insure you ~ and OSHA operates for the insurance and employer's benefit, not yours. (Still suffering from OTJI that I sustained over 20 years ago and as I get older, they are not getting any better or easier to cope with and now they are a major handicap trying to find and sustain a job)

Why McJobs threaten your home is:

A: If you are not home because you have to work long hours, more than one job, or trying to go to school and work, your kids get into trouble because nobody is there to guide them, there is little for older kids to do and no place for them to go and few adults in their lives if you are not there. What will they do without good adult supervision? (yep been there done that with this issue too, thanks to low pay and little support).

B; If you are paid so little that cannot afford decent and healthy food you will develop diseases such as heart disease and diabetes, your meals are sporadic, not at the table with other family members, and not well planned. Obesity is also a side affect of trying to stretch the budget with starches and fats. With a poor diet you cannot concentrate well, you develop health problems and oral health suffers, which leads to illnesses. (been there, done that and there is a reason why rich people are thin, lol).

C. You cannot maintain your health because you have no health coverage for yourself or family. this leads to worsening health issues in yourself and your kids. The cost of health emergencies can also force you to choose between other necessities such as heat and food. (yep no health care for me and we got it for the kids, but with no health insurance, I got sick and then how are they cared for?)

D: Instability is a family way of life when you work McJobs because you never know from one day to the next if you even HAVE a home. This leads to chronic homelessness, family stress, problems with children who are insecure and angry, divorce, and many other factors that make the family unstable. (Yep my kids are adults and still recovering from that ...)

D: Energy costs are astronomical and this means if you cannot pay for them, you have no heat, no place to cook, nor any way bathe or wash clothes. (have you ever tried to cook on one of those little emergency candle burners for a family of 4? I have ...)

These are a few reasons why taking "any" job does *not* bring up your spirits or lead to better paying work, they only add to the issues you already have.

Cat In Seattle

[I Have A Dream]

173. mntleo2...

:hug:

:loveya:

[maryf]

179. Cat this deserves its own thread

We need to have more of a discussion about the desperate measures many are forced into, and 3 jobs are 2 too many. There should be some kind of overtime for multiple job workers, its bad enough to have to work 60 plus hours a week, but when thats at minimum wage and you get no perks, thats not a life, thanks for this...

[Tindalos]

207. It's assumed people can walk away from McJobs

McJobs have crappy pay and conditions because it's assumed people can walk away if they don't like it. A lot of people don't have that option though. Many have to stay in poorly paying, unhealthy, abusive jobs whether they like it or not.

As you eloquently point out, "Taking any job often can also lead you into a dead end situation that threatens your health, your home and your very life and gives you little or no hlope for advancment. Most jobs do not lead people into something better ~ it merely makes them use all their time trying to survive on the crappy wages they get. This is especially true for women who make $.70 on the dollar for men ~ particularly women of color. "


I second the DUer above. This deserves it's own post.

[Two Americas]

106. I have to disagree

I think that the "self-esteem" idea, as well as the advice as to how one can take steps as an individual to get "back into the system" are part of the pervasive right wing agenda of rugged individualism and "look out for number one." That is the cause of poverty, and can never be part of the solution.

Poverty is a social issue, not a personal issue. Politics is about social issues, changing conditions so that they are more humane, not about individual self-improvement strategies.

Poverty is not the result of there being something wrong with the poor that we need to fix or improve, it is the result of something wrong with the system, a system for which we are all responsible.

The problem is that we do not esteem human beings, and lecturing the poor about their "self-esteem" and how to adjust to a brutal and inhumane system just adds to the cruelty. We treat our pets better than we do each other. We don't blame and judge our pets. An abandoned or abused dog story here gets far more attention than an abandoned or abused human story does. We ask in the case of the person what they might have "done wrong" or what might be wrong with them.

People are not telling themselves that they are not worthwhile, it is being relentlessly pounded into them from all directions. We all battle against this - frantically and obsessively seeking status and wealth and power so that we can "break even" - so that we can be seen as worthy of breathing and eating and having a roof over our heads, and in constant fear of becoming unworthy and thrown to the pavement and crushed under the juggernaut of "success" - otherwise known as greed, callous indifference to others, and selfishness.

Let's look at the perpetrators, not the victims. Let's look at the conditions, not the individuals. Let's look into out own hearts, and not at what "they" should be doing to "get better."

Let's start with this - all human beings have a right to housing, heat, clothing, and food, without qualifications or conditions.

Let's stop saying here is how to improve yourself, here are the hoops and hurdles to negotiate, here is how to live your life, here is how to meet expectations, and then - THEN - and only them, you MIGHT, if everything goes right, if you make no mistakes, if no accidents happen, if you are very, very lucky - THEN you might be able to eat and to have a home. Those are the conditions to which we are all submitting now. Our job is to change those conditions.

[cornermouse]

116. k&r this reply

precisely on target.

[maryf]

123. Second recommendation for this post!

It is always with awe that I read your posts on the psychological abuse so many impoverished and marginalized people are forced to endure. You have more clarity, insight, and compassion in this realm than 99% of the people here at du, possibly anywhere. It is always a privilege to read your posts. Again may I reiterate, I am in awe. Thank you. :applause:

[Hannah Bell]

183. well said. the reason 20% of the population requires state subsidy to survive isn't

because they lack self-esteem. it's because our economy is structured to produce that result.

if there were ever anything like the WWII labor shortage/mobilization, a high % of the 20% would magically become "useful citizens".

[Ocracoker16]

200. Wonderful post- gee where shall I start

I do agree that in this society there are far too many individuals who believe that they shouldn't have to give of themselves to others. They see life as a big competion which has winners and losers. It is an every man for himself sort of game which rewards the winners. Winners tend to take ownership of their success in life and attribute it to their own efforts. When they look at the losers, they characterize them as not having what it takes to compete in the world today. They conclude that it is just too bad that these people can barely stay above water in this society. It is just the way it is. Why should they the elite have to give up what they earned themselves?

This kind of attitude contributes to the rich getting richer and the poor being left behind. One of the problems with this sort of hypothesis is that people give themselves far more credit for their successes than they truly deserve. Unfortunately, not everyone is born with a silver spoon in their mouth. There are people like George W. Bush who didn't get to a high position without the help of daddy, family connections, and money. It is one thing to benefit from certain socioeconomic factors, but the problem comes when people fail to recognize that these things may have contributed to their cozy place in the world.

We have all been dealt a hand in life and we do our best. Even if we don't do our best and we fall on hard times, we don't deserve to be written off. We all make mistakes, but that shouldn't cause people who are doing well to turn their backs on us. They might be the experiencing poverty one day themselves.

Poverty doesn't discriminate, yet people discriminate against poor people.

[Two Americas]

201. hi Ocracoker16

Great post, and good to see you. Welcome.

[Naturyl]

229. You are so right.

Thanks for setting the record straight, Two Americas. Your post needs to be taken seriously by anyone genuinely interested in solving poverty.

[Baby Snooks]

115. Happy to be ticking along?

"Look at some of the old folks working at Wallmart for minimum wage to suppliment their social security. Most of them are still happy to be ticking along."

People in this country who are retired didn't work their whole lives with the thought that they would have to go back to work when they retired. Most are not happy with it but they have no choice. And it is not a choice they made. It was made for them.

Congress has lost touch with the people. That is the problem in this country. Congress is why we have gone from "By the people, for the people" to "By the corporation, for the corporation" and at this point "By the crooks, for the crooks."

Sounds horrible but as a stalking victim who has been constantly revictimized by "dismissive attitudes" I can only hope people who take attitudes towards others "enjoy the attitudes" themselves at some point.

I hope when you retire you find happiness in supplementing your income at Wal-Mart.

[cornermouse]

117. I doubt that I would find much happiness and fulfillment

standing just inside the door of WalMart at the age of retirement either. I suspect if I finally get that age I'm going to want a chair to sit in instead of standing for hours at a time.

[maryf]

121. Great response!!

We need to help many remove the blinders they are unaware of, we need to place a mirror in front of many faces, stick some other's shoes on some feet. You do this so well, Baby Snooks!

[Baby Snooks]

155. I've been rich and I've been poor...

I have this little poster of a poodle with the caption "I've been rich and I've been poor. Rich is better." I've actually been rich and I've actually been poor. Rich is not really better. It just seems that it is. Whether you're rich or poor. But many rich people are not rich in the heart. Where it counts.

My experience has been rich people are less caring, less sharing while poor people are more caring, more sharing. I wonder why that is?

We don't like victims in this country. The poor are victims. We like to dismiss victims on the basis that somehow they are "guilty victims." There are only victims. The poor are victims of attitudes that some are less than others and so they deserve less than others. Less pay, less adequate provisions to ensure they have education, health insurance, housing. The reality is most people can only have those provisions by remaining poor. Those whose incomes manage to exceed the "poverty level" of most programs in this country lose so much simply because it is no longer provided and they can no longer afford it. Most can barely afford to pay the rent or mortgage, keep the lights on and keep food on the table. They cannot afford health insurance. They live paycheck to paycheck. Always on the edge. Most are better off in poverty in some ways. If they can manage to get on some sort of housing program. The number of people on waiting lists in most cities is mind-boggling. Most have to bribe their way into subsidized housing or voucher programs.

I've learned twice that Fate, not choice, can pull the proverbial rug out from under you.

I've learned twice that your friends, your rich friends, will distance themselves. As if you have the plague. And tell you that you brought it on yourself. And that you simply need to take control of your life.

When we turn our back to the poor we turn our back to ourselves. Perhaps that is why we do. The poor are a mirror. Of what can happen to anyone at any time. In a split second. By an act of Fate. Not by choice.

[maryf]

156. Hear, hear!

"But for the grace of God go I"...wonderful post!:applause:

[mntleo2]

184. You brought me to tears ...

...I love what you said about being rich in your heart. It touched me because you are right ...when someone just treats you as a worthwhile person who adds something to the world, it matters little that you don't have two nickels to rub together, it matters most that your are someone who is good for yourself and others. If another person sees that, then it makes it doubly good! :D

I also value your insight from someone who has been on both sides. I have one rich "token" friend and it is amazing to me how much he does not get at all about how some things are, and how glad I am that I know it and he does not know it ~ meaning I am also glad that he doesn't know what I know because it would break his heart in a NY minute, but I am glad I know and am strong enough to take it ~ if that makes any sense.

What a wise and deep perspective you have given. Thank-you!

Love
Cat In Seattle

[maryf]

186. Hey Cat

Thinking about your token rich friend, I'm wondering if maybe it would be better to educate him now? He might become part of the solution, but also, it might spare him later on? He may know deep down anyway. BTW, I can't imagine your being friends with any one who's heart could not be broken...:hug:

[G_j]

2. a must read, K&R

and I wish all Americans could read this also.

[maryf]

5. I wish all Americans

would come together to fight this cause, as Martin Luther King jr. fought for it!

[angrycarpenter]

4. K+R

Poverty threads sink like a rock around here but more attention MUST be paid to the problem that underlies most of America's inequalities.

[maryf]

6. Its a tough issue to look at...

But compassion seems to be making a rebirth, thanks for helping this rock stay afloat!

[dajoki]

11. I believe that is because...

the subject makes many people uncomfortable.

[Fire1]

52. I think it's because it's depressing. Especially for those that

are experiencing it first hand.

[maryf]

56. Of course

Because they can't look away and ignore it!!

[dajoki]

96. Yes it is n/t

[Number23]

91. You're right and I also think it's because some folks honestly don't know what to do

to adequately address the issue.

[maryf]

139. We have to help them know..

Push their congress people is a very good start; also change their mindset, its not a question of "those" poor people. we are them!! Speak to your neighbors, speak to the homeless, speak to all as your brothers and sisters, which is what in essence they are.

Its a question of all of us being in the same boat; bringing up those in steerage, or going down to steerage to bolster and support. Its a question of demanding the captain steer the ship right!! Or we will mutiny.

[bobbolink]

14. Thank you so much, angrycarpenter! We're VERY TIRED of being IGNORED!

:hi:

[maryf]

24. Everybody deserves attention!!

We all can learn to listen, if nothing else, and that can be a help to so many!!

[azmouse]

7. Read and bookmarked.

What upsets me is all the empty homes. Why not move the homeless into them?
It seems like a win-win situation.

[dajoki]

9. Yes it does...

in my town you can't go past one block without seeing three or four homes just sitting and decaying, it would be a win-win.

[Raksha]

33. Same here in San Bernardino, even in the "nice" part of town.

Re in my town you can't go past one block without seeing three or four homes just sitting and decaying, it would be a win-win.

About three or four empty houses per block, often with signs saying "bank owned" in front. About the only difference is that in the scummier part of town the houses tend to more rundown and vandalized--broken windows, etc.

[Cleita]

216. What is considered the nice part of town these days in San Bernardino?

Back in the fifties it was anything north of Highland Avenue. Anything south of Third Street was considered slums. I haven't been there except to drive through on the freeway since then.

[maryf]

17. In Miami there was a man who was doing that...

moving homeless into foreclosed houses...seems the banks/realtors would prefer to have them occupied to ward off vandalism...(I'll try to find the article for you!!)

[bobbolink]

64. Wanna see that article, Mary! NEED that article, Mary!

:hi:

:loveya:

[maryf]

126. Right below here!!

:loveya:

[maryf]

49. Here's the article where homeless into empty houses works...

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-12-10-homesquatters_N.htm

[varelse]

71. The damned bailout was even more destructive than I thought :(

In Miami, Rameau says he approached banks this year with the idea of legally acquiring some of the homes at a discounted cost and renting them to residents. Some banks seemed interested, but once the federal bailout was announced, they stopped returning phone calls, he says.

"thank god it passed" :sarcasm:

[Raksha]

98. I noticed that too when I read the article.

Re "thank god it passed" :sarcasm"

[maryf]

127. Money and property

Trump people in the banks minds, thats a huge hurdle for us...

[mntleo2]

134. LOL! I agree, but think about this:

...for the upper income communities, most of which are the ones that are being gutted right now, think about moving a noisy family of 5 fresh off the streets (especially a family of color) into a McMansion. Oh lord, I can tell you that this is asking for trouble! The kids are out playing in their yard at 9:00 AM and are "too noisy" for the neighbor whose little pet poodle begins barking. This keeps the neighbor from getting her beauty sleep before her dog walker gets there to walk and groom her baby. OH the terrible things that begin to happen! The kids leave their bikes and toys out in the front yard and it looks "trashy" ~ we can't have that! And where is Mom? The neighbor assumes she is probably out with some crack dealer instead of watching those kids, we are sure! In reality Mom is working 2 McJobs and trying to go to school and McJobs are at odd hours (over 70% of McJobs are not 8-5 M-F, but more like 2-10 PM or 4:30AM-10AM because they are only part time and if Mom is also going to school, she is gone from 3:30 AM - 9PM and is not able to keep check on the kids). We have to call the police on this woman! She is neglecting her kids, that horrible mom! Quick! Get Child Protective to run in there and "save" the situation! And look at that yard! What a mess! Why doesn't that mom get her gardener to come over and trim the bushes ~ or do it herself because we are SURE she is laying around instead of getting out there and doing it herself ~ what a lazy bitch! And look at that old beater car she keeps parked in the driveway! It has to be at least 20 years old and EEEEEWWWWW! It doesn't even have the hubcaps on it! Why doesn't she drive a Hummer or Mercedes like everyone else, or at least get a new car (but no "off brands and make it green!)????

I think that the boarded up homes, most of which were not built to even last their over-priced mortgages, are bound to become "instant slums." No matter how nice the granite counter tops are, or how posh that bidet with the gold hardware is in the Master Bathroom, the secret is that, if you look under the trim or carpets and check out the grade of lumber used you will find huge gaps between walls, mold growing in the cracks and the warped ceiling that in about 5 years will come crashing down. So if they are abandoned now, it is better because mostly they are merely made out of "oatmeal" (particle board) that is soon to begin melting. THEN they will turn it over to the homeless and move back into those pre-war homes that were built to last and where they can "gentrify" everything in those run-down neighborhoods and make it so the people who are left and live there now cannot afford the taxes, much less the ever-rising mortgages ...

My (cynical) 2 cents

Cat In Seattle


Cat in Seattle

[Two Americas]

202. damn

Did you ever nail that one. Great rant, and your observations are brutally accurate, in my experience.

[grilled onions]

8. Working Poor

In the past those who were working did not think themselves poor because they had the hope(or was it delusion) that things would get better. Of course those who worked in a "company store" situation realized that they would never get beyond barely existing.
Today the term working poor can mean juggling several jobs at the same time. No benefits to speak of. Surely not a job you can count on and get promoted to any high degree. Again it's just existing from paycheck to paycheck.
Housing used to be for all. But one day the contractors and real estate powers that be figured they could make more money quicker if they skipped those pesky small homes (what used to be called starter homes) and start with those half a mill mansions and go upwards from there. it didn't take long before the group that could afford those homes started to dry up. Now we have those maga mansions half empty and many who could never afford(or even want such a home) are finding a shortage of housing. I now hear the term luxury condos for seniors. Again why must everything be upscale? I detest that word because it cares for so few and leaves out so many. It is not jealousy. It saddens me to see so many seniors who can't afford to keep their home, can't afford to move to a more manageable apt because some feel that every senior needs all the extras(the fact that they make more money on the deal also feeds the greed).
To really see what has happened to our housing market take a drive9or a walk) thru any older part of town and see the wide variety of homes that were built at one time. Some big. Some small. But they got along well together. They realized that no two people made the same wages or needed the same space. A small home was not an eyesore in those days. A home that did not look identical to it's neighbors was not considered bad. It made the neighborhood. Now we have costly versions of Monopoly boards where the builders want every home to be Park Place(if they can't have Boardwalk).
If a home(or an apt)is warm in the winter,has a roof that doesn't leak etc it's a castle to me!!!!

[dajoki]

10. Well said...

My wife and I bought the most run down ragged house you can imagine. We worked on it together for years and still are, well I got sick, my wife lost her job and we almost lost our home. We were lucky, but are still a paycheck away from more trouble.

[maryf]

128. "If a homeis warm in the winter,has a roof that doesn't leak etc it's a castle"

Every single person deserves a better "castle" than many, many have. Its the MORE mentality that is destroying not only this country but many people's character. Why can't more people be happy with enough plus maybe a little, instead of feeling that they never have enough regardless how much they have? You are a wise person, thanks!

[mntleo2]

141. My depression era parents told me ...

...that they didn't think of themselves as poor, they didn't even know they were poor.

But today low income kids KNOW they are poor. I am not sure why this is but I have some theories. Maybe one is that poor kids' parents never have credit cards or can afford to pay for things except "pay as you go" in cash by saving for it or waiting until payday and they would never be able to afford any $150.00 shoes for their kid. Television tells kids visually and audibly when they are poor by showing the way things "should be" with big homes, new clothes and the latest gadgets. Their peers tell them they are poor because they don't wear the coolest shoes, have their own cell phones, aren't on the home Internet, couldn't afford to go to the mall to hang out, or go to every new movie that comes out. If a low income teen can find work, they are not "connected" to Mommy's boss, but work for the local Burger King under a psycho boss who relishes finding every glitch and blaming the kid. Our society is permeated with the idea that, when you have those things, you are somehow better than the ones who don't.

My parents had families all around them in the same shape they were and knew it was no shame. They had few "gadgets" except what was handmade and they were expected to help out the family with whatever work they did whether at home or for a wage at the local company theater, farm, or company store. In todays culture you are somehow at fault for being poor, it is something YOU did, certainly not an institutionalized system!

When in reality poverty is institutionalized, from taxes that the poor pay more than upper income people, to the discrimination for the job they couldn't get because of poor credit, to the education they can only dream of getting thanks to the lack of funding for the local schools that "no Child's Behind is Left" caused (that was Ann Richard's name for "No Child Left Behind, which takes away funding for kids who cannot "pass the tests")

None of these things were present during my parent's childhood ...

But that is just my theory ...

Cat In Seattle

[bobbolink]

143. Very important points.. but please also remember.. those of us not working are also humans,

with human needs!

It has become the fad du jour to preface "poor" with "working", which defines the rest of us as bums.

Then, of course, the obvious conclusion would be that we should hurl ourselves off a cliff, as we are of no use.

But if we talk in that way, we're labeled "suicidal" and locked up.

THAT's *insanity*!!

[blindpig]

12. K&R

The 'new poor' are a deluded lot, it seems their primary goal is to put distance between themselves and 'those other people', cause ya know, we're not like them. They cling to their class identification as though it were a lifejacket, little understanding that the air has gone out of theirs.But the truth is they are not different than 'those other people', they just had more money.

[maryf]

18. People are people are people...

When we recognize that, and start to look out for each other, we'll be heading in the only direction that will save us...

[varelse]

68. Your essay was well worth the read, but

you've described both the problem and the solution perfectly with this one statement.

[maryf]

70. Answers are most often simple

finding them can be complex, thanks!

[Joe Chi Minh]

45. As a matter of fact, they are likely to be less naturally spiritual.

As Jesus put it, "Where your treasure is, there your heart is."

Although he was God as well as Man, as a human being, he learnt like the rest of us, and his Sermon on Mount is striking because of the immense sense of gratitude he seems to convey in his words. He seems to be saying that it was they who taught him the real spiritual priorities by the lives they led in very harsh circumstances (.... remember, they followed him for days, often because they could rely on getting a simple meal). While the respectable, monied teachers of the Mosaic Law, he lambasted for their hypocrisy. "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me", were the words he quoted from Isiah.

It seems to me that there will be a major correction of the way in which this world has been run, and the unjust will not be able to do anything about it. I believe their time is up. And this economic depression that they have inflicted on the world by their blind greed will be a major factor in bringing it about.

Of course, I hope the good sense of housing people to look after properties is widely taken up across the country. In due course, when everyone in the country is working for the common good, public housing can be given to the same people, or they can be bought on their behalf by the government.

[maryf]

48. From the sermon on the mount

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are the meek: for they shall posses the land.
Blessed are they who mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill.
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Words for all beliefs...

[Joe Chi Minh]

50. I believe the words of The Sermon on the Mount are widely held to be

among as the most beautiful ever written. And of course, The Beatitudes are its brilliantly-shining centre-piece. Thank you for quoting them here for us.

[maryf]

53. The Beatitudes

are as applicable today as then, perhaps more so, I'll take any opportunity to post them, thanks for the segue that provided that opportunity!

[Tindalos]

63. That's beautiful.

I don't think I've heard the sermon on the mount before. It's very beautiful. Truly words to live by.

[JeffR]

93. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice...

You can count yourself very high among that number.
:hug:

[maryf]

136. I won't be full...

Until all have homes, until homelessness becomes an impossible concept to imagine, until none are hungry, none are wanting...:hug:

[bobbolink]

228. It would be nice to feel the "blessed" part....

sigh....

But, yes, words like that keep me going....

[1776Forever]

13. Thank you Mary for taking the time to write this -

I try not to think about the home I lost. It is -4 today in Ohio and my dream home in Florida is still chilly for there at 58. It isn't so much the weather, although it keeps me in the house way too much here, it is the lost "dream" of owning my home. The rose bushes I planted, the back yard where my little pug dog is buried, the neighbors that we liked and disliked but were willing to put up with. Everything about the home was what I wanted in my later years. Now it is gone.

We are living in a mobile home, nice enough for now, but someday before I die I would like to own my home again. There is something about that feeling that just makes you feel like you are really home. One of the reasons we lost it was because of our adult son who has Primary Progressive MS had no insurance for 2 years. We had to keep up 2 places so he had a place to live and it took all our life savings. He is doing better now, thank God. I would do the same thing again if I had to.

Here's to the future! Blessings :)

[dajoki]

15. That is so wrong...

and really makes me angry. Why, in the richest country on earth someone has to lose everything they worked their entire lives for because a family member gets sick. We need healthcare for all!!

[1776Forever]

25. Thanks for the post - You are so right on!

:pals: I know unfortunately I am not alone but the future is looking better!

[dajoki]

36. I hope it KEEPS getting better

:hi:

[maryf]

19. Healthcare is a huge cause

Of so much poverty! One of, if not the, major reason for bankruptcy. I dream of the day when all can have a little house with a rose bush, its not out of the realm of possiblity, but wouold require a major overhaul of the system...Hope your son keeps getting healthier!!

[1776Forever]

26. Yes so true - One day I hope we really do help the least of these for real!

:hi:

[maryf]

40. Here's an article I just got on single payer healthcare

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/01/15-10

[bobbolink]

41. Please help us by working for low-income housing!!!

the rest of us are hurting even more.. with no hope for it getting better!

[maryf]

59. Housing is such a critical issue to be addressed...

Its essential to good health and well being...:hug:

[illuminaughty]

102. I'm so glad your son is doing better.

I have Relapsing-Remitting MS, Valentine's Day will be the 19th anniversary. Seems to be a lot of us around here with an MS situation. I know my parents sacrificed so much due to my illness. My father had spent years building and enlarging my dance studio, I did more than well financially, and then, I got ill. I lost a dream home that I built in 1993 and then moved home with my parents.

Some things do work out though. My father passed away and now it's Mom and I taking care of each other, she is 86 with dementia. I lost my insurance about five years ago, and thanks to my students who are like children to me and who've been with me 27 years, I've kept the studio going enough for us to keep going. The connection to bankruptcy, poverty and healthcare is a strong one in this country. Having lived in Europe, and seen how universal healthcare can work, it just seems so criminal to continue with our current system.

Your post really touched me. My parents house and my studio are one in the same and I know if it comes to losing it, it would be those exact things you mentioned that I would miss the most. Dad built a greenhouse onto the back of this crazy place. It's shut down now, but his love of plants hit me big time after he died. I'd so miss my rose garden and my little pet cemetery. I hope you get your dream back again. My best to you and your son.:hi:

[JeffR]

16. K & R

Great essay, Mary.

And Dr. King's would be properly horrified if he knew that not only has the Jericho Road not been transformed, it's full of potholes and the street lights are out.

[maryf]

22. Thanks JeffR!

and there are far too many still "passing on the other side", we have to take the time to stop and help...even when inconvenient!!

[redqueen]

20. K&R!

:kick:

[smokey nj]

21. K&R!

[mod mom]

23. Poverty in America is a great shame of this nation. rec'd

[dajoki]

38. They are the exact words I use

:hi:

[skygazer]

27. You are too a writer and a fine one

Wonderful essay and right on point. Nobody deserves to sleep in the street. Nobody deserves to go to bed hungry. Nobody deserves to make impossible choices between paying the light bill or feeding their kids.

The power structure in this country is backwards and wrong, with a handful of people making most of the money and a vast pool of people with nothing. I've been poor. I've been homeless. I've done things like cut up an old dresser with a hand saw to burn in a wood stove to keep my kids warm (very dangerous thing to do too - paint and lacquer can be toxic when burned but what's the choice? Freeze?).

I've met and talked to a lot of poor people. They are just like you and I. People.

K&R

[bobbolink]

34. I'm sorry for what you've been through... and so much appreciate your compassion!

:applause:

"I've met and talked to a lot of poor people. They are just like you and I. People."

What a concept, eh? :hi:

[maryf]

35. Absolutely people are people

regardless their economic situation, and I refuse to say economic status anymore because that tends to set up an elitism!! (thanks for the compliment!!btw!)

[bobbolink]

28. People keep saying the "new homeless" will change the US homeless awareness....WRONG!

The "new" homeless has to do with mortgage foreclosures.

The DECADES of homelessness has to do with a severe shortage of low-income housing.

Solving the First will do NOTHING to aleviate the second!

In fact, people ignoring the second now assuming that "Obama will solve it all", or "now that more are homeless, it will be dealt with" will only make it WORSE!

[maryf]

32. You are so right...

The housing shortage for low-income has been the major cause of homelessness and continues to be, this should be the first order of business, to have HUD get back into the business of building millions of housing units!!:hi:

[Raksha]

29. K & R, and bookmarked to read later when I can give this the attention it deserves.

I can see right away that you're wrong about one thing, though: that you aren't a writer. It looks like you're selling yourself short.

Thanks, Mary...and congratulations on a job well done. This looks like a very perceptive essay.

[maryf]

65. Thank you, Raksha

I hope you have a chance to see all the Poverty in America essays this month...

[Two Americas]

30. excellent

Great work Mary. This is an important and valuable contribution to an essential discussion. Thanks for all you are doing.

[maryf]

39. Back atya!

Your advocacy of the poor has always been stalwart!!

[juno jones]

31. K&R! n/t

[saltpoint]

37. Endorsed, kicked, and recommended.

[Two Americas]

42. hey OC

We are pulling the same direction now, as it once was, and as it should be and hopefully will be more and more as we move forward.

Here is to solidarity and understanding.

:toast:

[saltpoint]

44. Hi, Two Americas. I think we've been on the same page for

a long time.

Long before DU days, I mean.

[NanceGreggs]

43. Just one quibble ...

"I am not a writer."

I beg to differ.

Wonderful post - well done!!!

:applause:

[maryf]

46. Thanks Nance!!

Coming from you thats quite a tribute!! :blush: :fistbump:

[TahitiNut]

47. It is long past time that we regroup and realize FDR's standard of "Four Freedoms"

"In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms.

"The first is freedom of speech and expression -- everywhere in the world.

"The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way -- everywhere in the world.

"The third is freedom from want -- which, translated into universal terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants -- everywhere in the world.

"The fourth is freedom from fear -- which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor -- anywhere in the world.

"That is no vision of a distant millennium. It is a definite basis for a kind of world attainable in our own time and generation. That kind of world is the very antithesis of the so-called new order of tyranny which the dictators seek to create with the crash of a bomb."

— Franklin D. Roosevelt, excerpted from the Annual Message to the Congress, January 6, 1941

In order that we realize these goals, we must disavow any system or regime in which people profit from the infringement upon these freedoms. Sadly, the last eight years has seen the greatest elevation of such interests in the entire history of this nation.

Indeed, never since the enactment of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 has any political regime in this country violated those very rights so extensively and comprehensively, all in the interest of a very privileged few.

When the 'wealth' of a society is, by the design of its own system, allowed to rot and fall into ruin rather than be allocated to those in greatest need, that society is bankrupt morally and soon to be bankrupt financially.

[maryf]

55. When the "wealth" of a society

is place above the welfare of its people, it deserves to be bankrupt, so sadly so many have to suffer...

Thanks so much for the FDR excerpt, so appropriate here, both historically and currently, old and new!

[bobbolink]

67. "Freedom from Want" -- what a unique concept!

sigh...

"When the 'wealth' of a society is, by the design of its own system, allowed to rot and fall into ruin rather than be allocated to those in greatest need, that society is bankrupt morally and soon to be bankrupt financially."

THAT is morality. Something this country is very short on!!

:applause: for a great response!

[TahitiNut]

78. Also from FDR ... “The Economic Bill of Rights”

“The Economic Bill of Rights”
Excerpt from 11 January 1944 message to Congress on the State of the Union

It is our duty now to begin to lay the plans and determine the strategy for the winning of a lasting peace and the establishment of an American standard of living higher than ever before known. We cannot be content, no matter how high that general standard of living may be, if some fraction of our people — whether it be one-third or one-fifth or one-tenth — is ill-fed, ill-clothed, ill-housed, and insecure.

This Republic had its beginning, and grew to its present strength, under the protection of certain inalienable political rights — among them the right of free speech, free press, free worship, trial by jury, freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures. They were our rights to life and liberty.

As our nation has grown in size and stature, however — as our industrial economy expanded — these political rights proved inadequate to assure us equality in the pursuit of happiness.

We have come to a clear realization of the fact that true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. “Necessitous men are not free men.” People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.

In our day these economic truths have become accepted as self-evident. We have accepted, so to speak, a second Bill of Rights under which a new basis of security and prosperity can be established for all — regardless of station, race, or creed.

Among these are:

The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation;

The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;

The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living;

The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad;

The right of every family to a decent home;

The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;

The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;

The right to a good education.

All of these rights spell security. And after this war is won we must be prepared to move forward, in the implementation of these rights, to new goals of human happiness and well-being.

America’s own rightful place in the world depends in large part upon how fully these and similar rights have been carried into practice for our citizens.

Absofreakinglutely.

[Hannah Bell]

105. "All of these rights spell security" - yes. & that's what's important, v.

the "Look, you can get cheap ipods & wider-screen tvs!" the neo-cons are always talking up.

[JeffR]

51. Kick!

:kick:

[smorgma]

54. poverty affects everything....

Class inequity impacts every aspect of an individual's life, from health care, educational and work opportunities, crime, and mental health. Thanks for the thread.

[maryf]

57. Thanks for the words of truth...

When more realize how great the cost of poverty, more might work to help obliterate it!!

[Fireweed247]

58. Great OP- Thanks Mary!

“A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.”
Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1967.

[maryf]

60. I'm afraid the death noll is sounding

for this country...we must uplift the most downtrodden, thanks MartyL...

[Hannah Bell]

61. From the time of the Revolution to the present, ordinary Americans

have been told to work harder & pursue the carrot of security & well-being for all - some time down the road. Nearly 250 years later, the poor are still with us - & growing, & we're told once more - work harder, work more, work for less - & maybe someday things will be better.

It's a lie, it always was.

K&R for the great job, Mary.

[maryf]

62. You're words are always inspirational

Thanks, Hannah Bell. What we all need to work harder and more for is to change this system, so that poverty becomes only old and in the past, and all have good housing (not just adequate), plenty of food, and security in infirmity and old age, and whereby all have time for recreation and time to share with friends and family! We wonder why the education of our kids is failing (aside from NCLB), especially among the poor students; their parents are working two, three, jobs just to keep them physically alive, with no time to help them develop mentally or emotionally...

[Hannah Bell]

87. I'm just reading in another thread where some 52-lb 8-yr-old asberger's girl was arrested

for having a tantrum in school, folks calling it "assault" & concurring with her arrest: The "punish & demean" mentality is so omnipresent, it's depressing.

To better days, I hope. Thanks for your work here.

[maryf]

157. another sad indication of the loss of heart in society...

:cry:

Hope the trauma was not too damaging to the child, makes me ill...

thank you too for all your work, one of the top here, IMO...

[Cleita]

217. Oops! Posted in the wrong place.

[Tindalos]

66. Great writing, Mary

This series of articles has been very informative. It's true that we are all the same, no matter our current circumstances. I enjoyed reading your article. Thank you.

[maryf]

69. So glad you've caught the others...

More to come, thanks!

[4 t 4]

72. you know what

I can't tell you how many times I've Had five bucks and given someone two. I have never looked at people on the street any different then myself just less fortunate with maybe no family in the picture and maybe crazy in the mind. If you think you are far fom them-think again.

[maryf]

80. Giving from need...

Is the most generous gift! FYI, The homeless are more likely to be as sane as the next person as they are to be crazy. Common misconception that most homeless are mentally ill; actually only 16% are.
Thanks for caring, regardless!! :)

[Greyhound]

73. Auto K&R.

About a year ago, I read a study (here, where else?) that said 91% of Americans identify themselves as middle class, an obvious if unintentional testament to the efficacy of the propaganda campaign.

[dajoki]

99. That is a really good point...

the media and pols have narrowed in so much on the so called "middle class" that people want to believe that they are the ones they are talking to. People need to wake up and realize that they are being used for votes and ratings because denying the problem will only make it worse.

[Number23]

75. Nice work, Mary!

Happy to rec.

[maryf]

81. Thanks!

Happy to be rec'ed!

[FirstLight]

76. So many wonderful points and comments...what can I add?

I have lived in poverty my entire adult life, and that is hard for me because I was raised in a "upper middle class" lifestyle.

I went on welfare from 91-96 while I completed my AA degree and learned how to be a single mom (my son is now 16)...
Never finished my Bachelor's, and that is now the reason I am back at square one with no options or opportunities...at least that is what I blame on myself.
went back on welfare briefly as I emerged from an abusive marrige with 2 more kids under 3 yrs (got married to try and have some kind of "help" thought a partner was the answer...and it went very bad...), and got off as soon as I was "stable" enough to take on a secretarial job, which only lasted about a year and a half...I have been bouncing from job to job as long as I can remember...this last "let go" was because my church was going broke and had to cut my hours!

I applied for aid for the 3rd time in my life last week, and have been grappling with severe depression for the past year, feeling like I will NEVER have the life I want, much less give it to my kids. Thank GOD we are on Sec 8 and have a house to live in, but how long will it last? and what happens if we can't get help? I have been denied welfare before because my care was "worth too much" ...by about $75 !!

I have jumped through countless hoops and filled out forms upon forms, copied my SS card and my kids Birth certificates, provided utility bills and coughed up EVERY scrap of income information I have EVER been asked for.
and I am only a number, one of millions, nobody can help me, I don't know HOW to help myself.
No wonder so many people self-medicate or do illegal things to make ends meet, sometimes it feels like the ones who break the rules are the ones who get ahead.

So here I am, trying to figure out what to do next, and feeling like every idea I have is a dead end.

[maryf]

84. What can you add?

Your story adds volumes to this thread, thank you. My heart goes out to you and yours, wish I knew what to tell you...anyone? :hug:

[FirstLight]

88. thanks Mary

...I have been reading these essays and haven't been able to comment before now because it just takes so much effort to even begin to speak to the issue...
:hug:

The above post needs an EDIT: we have been denied because my CAR was considered to be of too much value... what am I supposed to do, sell my car and live off the cash for a few months before applying again?

[maryf]

90. Thats so insane!

:nuke: :grr: I'm speechless, that is so disgusting and inhumane...:cry: No wonder you haven't been able to say anything...Wow..I'm so sorry for you :hug:

[mntleo2]

104. Uhhh yeah that is exactly what a DSHS worker would tell you ...

...after they refused to help you because you drive an expensive car. In my state in order to get any help, you cannot own a car worth over $2000 and the expectation is that you sell it and live off the "profits" until the money is gone ~ even if you live in it because you have nowhere else to go.

Thank Clinton's Welfare DEFormed, which took away your entitlement to any safety net and the demonetization of the poor that many on this forum applauded ...

Cat In Seattle

[maryf]

119. Action repeated

We need to question any and all social program reforms to make sure they help those most in need ; get to know your congressperson, usually they have offices within easy access to all their constituents; visits are the most effective, I've found. Almost always its an aide, but you can ask which aide in which office is most familiar with the rep's social program agenda and work from there...hand delivering letters/petitions also is the best way to be sure they reach the rep.

[mntleo2]

187. Dear Heart:

...Hon, your story is my story and I am 56 years old. The way I conquered depression was to become an activist for people like you and me. I also grew up upper income, and I have worked my butt off, gone to school, raised my kids and have not a thing to show for it. But, as Baby Snooks wrote above this thread with the heartfelt observation of someone who had been been both rich and poor, the most important thing you learn is that it has to do with what kind of a person you are, not with what kind of money you have.

Recently for a fund raiser for my little non-profit where I volunteer (People Organizing for Welfare and Economic Rights or POWER), a group of powerful and influential women funders wanted me to write my story. I was wrting to an audience that included people like Melissa Gates (Bill Gates' wife), legislators, women who own sports teams, and other women of influence. They wanted me to write about my success. But the truth is I have no successes to write about~ at least not "success" in the terms of what they thought success was. I had to say that. Here is what I wrote:

You wanted to hear from someone successful. Well in the sense of my society and in spite of the hard work and sacrifice I have made throughout my life, I am not a successful woman. I am still low income, I am still struggling and probably will struggle for the rest of my life. But I find through my work with POWER the greatest success anyone can achieve is to find a way to live what he or she believes. So here is what I have learned so far: What is true in my childhood about success still holds true today, that success can be about things money could never buy. It is about earning respect by actions that will deeply consider each individual yet will perpetuate good for everyone. It may seem weak to stand and speak out without a big stick, but in truth it takes a great deal of courage. Speaking while powerless carries a great deal more strength than it does to use the power of fear and force to make things happen. It is about conquering those fears as well as other fears and nourishing others so they can conquer theirs too. It is about having the guts to stand up for the Truth with a capitol “T” even though it is not popular. It is about giving of yourself and finding that when you give, no matter how much you just want to give back expecting nothing in return, you will still take with you something far greater than what you gave. Because you will come away from your work with a sense of worth and that it matters little what kudos you receive, you now have a reason to be alive, and a desire to give even more.

I know you feel like you are not getting anywhere. But the truth is (and I know this even though we have never laid eyes on each other but because you tell my story as well), you have more heart, experience and insight than 20 so-called "successful" people ever had. Do *not* let the System get you down!

A woman friend I know who just at the age of 50 completed her law degree and who had fled domestic violence with her children, she told me that, every time she left the Welfare office she felt as bad as when her husband had beaten the crap out of her. And she is STILL struggling financially with large debt and is still poor. This after not letting ANYTHING get in her way, not even these two factors, which left her self esteem in the toilet. As a matter of fact I suspect the beatings both proverbial and literal, only make her more determined to prove to herself and to them that she was better than that. And I can tell you I know few woman who would make a better federal judge today, as she has so much to add with her insight and integrity to the courts who often do not see what she sees. She told me that with her new degree, she does not love herself any more than she did before she got it ~ but she does know about her courage and her tenacity and her ability to do things in spite of how her husband and the System did everything in their power to beat it out of her. She IS proud that she fought and won her goal in spite of all the barriers she had and how she kept her integrity in spite of it all.

And so am I proud of my friend and all the others(including you), who do not let the way others look at what they are supposed to be. This is what America is all about and there is no more American woman that someone who everyone thinks is a "failure" show what Stuff they are made of and refuse to be knocked down. As our President elect said yesterday, you just get back up. These tough but loving women do not let that opinion stop them because they know in their hearts that they are better people than anything out there tells them. And so are you Dear Heart!

Hang in there Hon ~ you are important!

Love,
Cat In Seattle

[shintao]

77. Capitalism Creates Poverty

I don't see where you mention capitalism & didn't see your prior article.

Capitalism creates poverty by it's very definition; "Capitalism is an economic system in which the means of production are owned by a FEW private persons, and operated for profit exploiting workers and where investments, distribution, income, production and pricing of goods and services are predominantly determined through the operation of a free market."

Capitalism is basically a pyramid scheme of fleeching people at the bottom to feed a few at the top. The money is moved upward to the top, and as profit concentrates at the top, there becomes less to spend at the bottom. Profits are made by reducing materials, time, and finally peoples wages and their jobs as they are outsourced. Flooding American with cheap Illegals has also lowered wages and cost Americans jobs.

Few people think of Stocks & the Stock Market further than to note that is is Corporation profits and the wealth of the company that drive stock prices upwards. And it is corporations cutting employee wages & outsourceing jobs & unemployment & welfare in part, that make that profit for your stocks. Stocks are nothing more that the redistribution of a workers paycheck into the rich stockholders hands. It is his sweat and poverty that was handed over in those stocks.

The difference between socialism and capitalism, is that in socialism everybody gets a piece of the pie, and not the FEW capitalists at the top. It prevents social classes to a better extent by setting wages and regulating corporations ability to distribute goods in an unfair manner. The gas grab last year would never have happened in a socialist economy.

Another advantage of a socialist economy is a lack of homeless citizens, such as occurs in Germany. Capitalism in America was fine while it worked within the confines of our own country. However, it cannot compete with socialism on a global scale, and has failed to do so with unfair Trade Deficits, trade fines, court battles, infusions of borrowed socialist loans, Bailouts, and corporate aid. We can't afford to comptete fairly with capitalism, and the sooner we get to socialism, the richer we will be.

[maryf]

82. Socialism is the humane system

Absolutely and thanks for the comment on Capitalism, for the sake of brevity I mentioned only the class structure, I'm glad you mentioned it. I did not write the previous articles, JeffR wrote the wonderful introductory one on Truth and Ignorance here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=4754889, and Hannah Bell wrote this exemplary one on how taxes penalize the poor: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=4800489

[Blue_In_AK]

79. K&R

[maryf]

83. Links to other Poverty in America articles by JeffR and Hannah Bell here

I supplied these links in another post, but both these great articles covering poverty in America are worth mentioning again for those who might have missed them:

JeffR's introductory piece on truth and ignorance of poverty here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=4754889,

Hannah Bell's article on how taxes penalize the poor here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=4800489

[Tindalos]

100. Thanks for posting the links.

Bookmarked.

[dajoki]

101. Thanks for the links Mary...

I forgot to bookmark them before, now I have them all bookmarked, including your great article!!

[ColbertWatcher]

85. It seems like every generation has to re-learn the lessons missed by the previous one.

I don't want to know how far down the GOP will drag this country before they start putting something before their party (http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=4845862&mesg_id=4845862 ).

Thank you for your post.

[JNelson6563]

86. Excellent post!

K&R! :kick:

[leftstreet]

92. K&R

[Hannah Bell]

95. kicking for the nite shift

[illuminaughty]

97. An artist AND a writer! Beautiful piece. K&R

[Cetacea]

107. Excellent writing. We must roll back Welfare Reform.

[caseycoon]

108. K&R Mary

EXCELLENT!
:applause:

[maryf]

109. Glad you like it!

Thanks, Casey!!:hi:

[malaise]

110. A superb post

Kicked, recommended and bookmarked.

[blindpig]

111. Morning kick n/t

[machI]

113. Kick

[Bluenorthwest]

114. Such a great OP, by a writer and artist.

Have to come back after more coffee...so much to ponder...thanks for writing this amazing post.

[maryf]

146. Thanks!!

Amazing? wow :blush: lotsa help!

[Tindalos]

118. Error: You've already recommended that thread.

:kick:

[maryf]

120. Thanks for shooting for two recs!!!

:yourock: kicks are always a help too!

[bobbolink]

124. yeah, me too!

Thanks, Tindalos!! :hi:

[cliffordu]

122. RE: "The dead and desperate of the Gulf Coast...

...bear witness to the folly of letting rich people run our country...."


If it'd fit, I'd have it tattooed on my arm..


K&R.

[acmavm]

129. Wonderful post. Absolutely wonderful. Which reminded me of something.

I remember here a couple years ago when one of 'our' own DUers was bitching and pitching a fit because they were going to put some Section 8 Housing units in 'his' neighborhood. It was one of the most fitting examples of what you're talking about that I can remember. This guy apparently had a nice house in a nice neighborhood and he was doing the old class whine about those people being moved into 'his' neighborhood. He didn't feel they had a right to be there. Apparently this person had bitten into the stereotype that all people who need assistance or qualify for Section 8 are criminal property destroyers who will do nothing but drag down your property values.

Look around you, what the hell is going on? Once upon a time in this country the working classes could have/would have pulled together and formed a unified voice against the greed of the predators in our society. But the people who have destroyed our economy (and that of a number of other nations) have partnered with out own government to ensure that the suffering and hardship of the poor, the homeless, the sick, the aged, those that are alone in this world is ignored. They have the unmitigated gall to commit criminal acts like placing bets on how many loans that THEY made would fail. How in the world would there not be any number of criminal acts buried in this scandal? Why would there be any reason to allow these people to remain in the position they were in when they made these bets? Why would anyone in their right minds give these same people who have already proven that they are avaricous greedy criminals money to cover for their crimes, so they don't lose a thing? THAT IS MIND BOGGLING. Why do these people deserve help? Why do they deserve to maintain their lifestyle while Joe Normal who worked for them loses everything?

Don't give food to hungry people. Don't provide shelter from the cold for the homeless. Don't help those who can't pay their heating bills this winter, those who have to decide between being 'warm' or eating this winter. Hell no, give billions upon billions to the same crooks who brought us to where we are today. (And they don't even have to tell us what they're doing with the money.)

That is the money we need for our future. For our country's future. And by 'our' I damn well mean EVERYONE, including those amongst us who have nothing. While Amurika puts on this 'Christian' face to the world, it operates on a level that would have made Jesus throw them out of the halls of the House and Senate if he were to come back today. You want to talk about a 'den of thieves'? Our government under the bush** administration is the worst this world has ever seen. And yet, how many times have these same hypocrites worn their religion on their sleeves like a banner so that people would know what great followers of Christ they are. What wonderful humanitarians they are. What concerned citizens they are.

As a country we have lost our sense of morality. I've said it before, and I know I'll say it again, but YES! WE ARE OUR BROTHER'S KEEPER. What part of that do people not understand? And that is not just a message to be shared amongst Christians. It's the truth for all of us. I suppose I could just say that we will be judged by how we treated those in our society who needed our help, who deserved our help, the weakest amongst us. That's the measure of our humanity, that's what determines who and what kind of person or nation we are.

Who are today's heros and heroines? At what 'altar' (for lack of a better word) does our society worship? I really became disgusted when something like Paris Hilton or that other creature she palled around with become icons. How in the hell can creatures like that be admired? And I'm not just picking on them. But by the same token, read a thread here where someone like Angelina Jolie does something totally wonderful for the poor. If it's posted here on DU it'll all end up being a thread about what a slut she is and poor poor Jen and Brad is a pig, etc. People won't stick to the point of the article. They're attention just naturally drifts to the purient side of things, the side where you don't have to credit the woman for what she's doing for the poor. They're only interested in the sex angle, the 'she's a homewrecker' side of the story. Maybe Amurika has dumbed down to the point where it's too late to turn the situation around. No on can keep their eye on the ball anymore. No sense of community. A very warped sense of empathy, if you can find any empathy at all.

<snip>
Empathy is the 'capacity' to share and understand another's 'state of mind' or emotion. It is often characterized as the ability to "put oneself into another's shoes", or in some way experience the outlook or emotions of another being within oneself.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empathy
<snip>

What I've often wondered about is when did things change, when did people get so selfish and petty and mean-spirited? The Reagan years was the first really public display of this kind of behavior by this country and its leaders. Ronald Reagan was thrilled by AIDS at first, he thought it was the PERFECT solution to the problem of gays in America. They'd just all die off, problem solved. Now some say that he regretted this later in his life, but I don't believe this for a minute. The Reagan admin thought that if they were patient enough, waited long enough, these people would just die. Case closed, problem solved. (I would go into the other obscene beliefs of this guy like the Cadillac driving welfare queen, but I'm sure you get my drift by now.) Turn the mentally ill out on the streets and they'll become invisible, just another homeless person that everyone looks through as they pass by. Take away all the safety nets and they'll just drop through the cracks and disappear. And Bill Clinton was every bit as bad. He's a patheic joke. As much shit as he did to harm the poor and needy in this country and now the man wants to be known as a humanitarian. He's another 'icon' that I do not understand.

Well, we have lived through 8 years of a government that makes Ronnie and Bill and their henchmen look like humanitarians. And the final insult is that the American people cannot, will not find it in their hearts to realize that we are worshipping at the wrong altar (so to speak). The people who are called our 'elites', who people want to be like, are just barnacles who have attached themselves to the bottom of our ship of state to the detriment of our country. This country has turned into every damn thing our Founding Fathers fought against. This was to be a country "of the people, by the people, for the people" according to Abraham Lincoln. Well, what the hell happened? Where did we go wrong? When did those with the least decency and morality and empathy become so admired? So worshipped? I mean, how could a spiteful little failure who's grandfather did business with the Nazi's ever end up president? A man who came right out and told everyone who 'his' constituency was. A man with a history of greed, dishonesty, failure, lying, and incompetence. Until we understand how that happened, we'll never dig our way out of this ethical/moral hole we find ourselves in today.

[maryf]

135. Yours is a wonderful post!!! Should be its own OP!!

Thanks acamvm!

[I Have A Dream]

131. Thank you so much for your compassion and empathy, maryf.

This is a wonderful post. :hug:

It is my honor to kick & recommend it.

[maryf]

140. Thanks to all for making Poverty #1 at DU

Many have complimented me for this post, I could not have done it without a great deal of help from fellow poverty advocates; Thanks to all of them!! and all here! :grouphug: Poverty/Socio-economic justice should be the #1 issue on everyone's agenda! It is for the survival of humanity that we all need to become more humane!!

[JeffR]

142. This belongs at the top of the Greatest Page.

That's a little justice right there. You should be very proud of your work. It's great.
:fistbump:

[maryf]

144. With a little help (lotta help!) from my friends!

:pals: :pals: :pals: :pals: :pals: :pals: :pals: :pals:

[bobbolink]

145. Please keep poverty #1 in our hearts, and give this a RECOMMENDATION!

For Sapphire Blue, who worked so hard at DU to make poverty a priority!

:applause: :patriot: :applause:

[annabanana]

147. This needs kicking into the new administration... . .n/t

[bobbolink]

148. ......

Very well said! :hi:

edited to say... I hope you Rec'd!

Thanks!

[maryf]

149. Thanks Anna!

and into congress even more so...

[acmavm]

150. Values have to change. We have to learn that those that we look up to

have to have more than money and some schtick they play off on (singing, acting, doing nothing useful but sucking up oxygen just the same).

New poor, old poor? Why would it matter? Jesus said that the poor will always be amongst us. He also said that whatsoever you do for the least of your brothers, you do unto me. (For anyone who objects to the Jesus part, tough shit. The man still preached a message as valid today as it was over 2,000 years ago.) So, even though poverty may not ever be erradicated, we can and must do our best to alleviate the suffer part of poverty. People can have little earthly goods or money and still be exceptional valuable to society.

<snip>
Homeless man finds strength to help save girl's life

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the fifth and last in a series of profiles about Nevadans who in 2006 took risks or made personal sacrifices on behalf of others, setting an example of selfless involvement in mankind
On a Saturday afternoon in late November, a North Las Vegas girl darted into the path of a late-model Cadillac near Lake Mead and Las Vegas boulevards.

Watching the tragedy unfold were 48-year-old Stanford Washburn and a few other homeless men, all of whom were drinking beer as they sat on a cement wall between a Jack In The Box restaurant and the Silver Nugget Bowling Center.

The car struck the girl, 9-year-old Robyn Rubio, who was then dragged beneath the luxury vehicle's carriage.

With cans of Steel Reserve 211, a high-potency malt liquor, in hand, the vagrants heeded Washburn's cry of "Let's go!" and ran to save the child. Dropping their beer cans in the street, they lifted the 5,000-pound automobile off the girl.

http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2007/Jan-19-Fri-2007/news/11882021.html

<snip>

Or they can be the most dispicable specimens of human greed imaginable:

<snip>
Report Finds Major U.S. Companies Have Offshore Tax Havens; Some are receiving bailouts

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/16/AR2009011602602.html?hpid=topnews


The bailout recipients on the list include Bank of America, which received $45 billion; Citigroup, $45 billion; American Express, $3.4 billion; and Goldman Sachs, $10 billion, according to the Taxpayers for Common Sense watchdog group.

-MORE obviously-

We need a new set of values. We need new icons. We need a makeover in this country, one of conscience and values. What do we really see as being important? What is just smoke and mirrors? And what is truly corrupt.

[bobbolink]

151. The juxtapostion of those two stories is really GRAPHIC!

I wish the media would pick up on that!

Olbermann.

Maddow.

NOW.

Heck, I wish Stewart would run stories like that side-by-side!

Good catch! :hi:

[acmavm]

152. Well, thank you.

[maryf]

153. Thanks for these articles

Again, could be an OP on its own!! good job! :) Mary

[acmavm]

158. Sorry! Just testing something JeffR is trying to help me with...

OMG that did not work at all!

[maryf]

162. If its for your own OP

please send me the link!!

[acmavm]

165. Nah, we got it. Thank you though.

Can you tell? Looks good, huh. Poor JeffR.

[maryf]

166. Can't tell???

curious though!! :)

[acmavm]

167. I FINALLY got the banner.

[bobbolink]

168. HURRAH!! You look so very good in it! ^_^

Thanks! :yourock:

[acmavm]

169. Yes, I've always been partial to blue, It brings out the color in my eyes.

[bobbolink]

170. ....

:hi: :yourock:

[acmavm]

171. How about everyone here take a pledge. Every time you see a display

requesting help for something, we take our spare change (just the change) and drop it in. I already try BUT if I'm in a hurry or it's 'inconvenient' I just forget about it. Well, if we did that, just think of the difference we could all make. And if we all did that, our small change would add up to some big big bucks.

We see displays all over every day that allow us the small opportunity to move outside ourselves and our needs and give a little thought to what someone else less lucky than we are needs. A quarter, or sixty-three cents isn't going to break most of us here. Admittedly, there were times when sixty-three cents (or figures thereabouts) represented my entire financial empire. But right now, it won't hurt me, it won't save me. And as long as I have food, a roof, and internet, the change rattling around in my purse will be best spent if given away.

St. Jude's Children's Hospital, The Ronald McDonald House, society's that help hungry children, whatever. We all have opportunities everyday, or we can make our own opportunities.

We cannot depend on the government to pull us out of this. WE have to do our part. Once upon a time people pulled together. They looked around at their neighbors and they were more interested in their well-being than their private lives and what happens in their bedrooms. Crap, all the Obama worshippers who have consistently hung on his every utterance must surely remember that he said we would ALL have to do our part and that it would not be easy. Well folks, it's NEVER been easy. But we do not have to make it impossible. It starts with just a small gesture. Maybe something like sixty-three cents...

[Two Americas]

174. it is so.....you!

You look marvelous, acmavm. Where did you get that darling banner?

:hug:

[maryf]

177. AAhhh!!

You look beautiful!! I didn't notice because you wear your advocacy for poverty on your sleeve like a banner already!! this just reinforced whats already there!!

[LongTomH]

159. K, R & Forward!

I've forwarded a link to this to my own 'Samizdat' political maillist. I'd like as many people as possible to read it.

That is something we can all do - forward the best of Democratic Underground's essays to our friends and hope they forward them on.

This was beautifully eloquent, Maryl! Thank you!

[bobbolink]

161. Thank you! It deserves to be read!

Please just make sure to attribute it to Mary, peoplesing.org

Thanks! :yourock:

[maryf]

163. Thank you Tom!! nt

[JeffR]

160. Quick kick!

:hi:

[Solly Mack]

164. K&R

[20score]

172. Damn, too late to rec, but here's a kick.

[Two Americas]

175. I am in awe

This is what DU should be. This is one of the best threads I have ever seen.

Mary, especially bobbolink, and everyone here - great work. This is really powerful and inspiring.

[maryf]

178. The Gestalt

the whole is so much greater than the sum of the posts here, but each contribution is so critical...

[I Have A Dream]

176. Too important to sink. nt

[JeffR]

180. Kick for those who haven't yet read it.

It's required reading.

[strategery blunder]

181. Kick

Error: you can only recommend threads which were started in the past 24 hours

To the posters above me...thank you for keeping it kicked so I could see it...

[Hannah Bell]

182. and kick for the nite shift

[bobbolink]

189. thank YOU! We're glad you dropped in. ^_^

Please help us keep this in view.

I'm limited in computer time, and one of us is currently down with horrendous pain, so your help would be very appreciated.

:hi: :yourock: :hi:

[OneGrassRoot]

185. Sunday morning kick! n/t

[Tindalos]

188. Kick!

[maryf]

190. Poverty at OPED news

This OP was just accepted at oped news! with some minor changes:

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Poverty-in-America-the-Ol-by-Mary-Finneran-090117-89.html

[bobbolink]

191. Congratulations, Mary!! See, you ARE a writer!

Did you notice not ONE of the "categories" at the top are POVERTY?

No wonder we feel INVISIBLE!

:loveya:

[maryf]

192. In training maybe!!

We'll have to change that invisibility!!

[bobbolink]

196. heh... look at this comment:

"This is excellent. Our collective conscience in the United States has been degraded by endless wars and conflicts while the top 1% in wealth have gained and the bottom 99% have lost more. Thanks Mary" from ANNA

[JeffR]

195. Great to see that, Mary.

Take a bow!

[maryf]

204. thanks JeffR

you should post some of your work there, or is it?:bounce: (closest to a bow I could find!)

[Tindalos]

203. Yay!

This is an excellently written piece. Congratulations, mary.

[maryf]

206. Thank you!

:hi:

[maryf]

193. Bonus Poverty in America Essay, here...In honor of MLK jr.

ttp://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=4855586&mesg_id=4855586

[JeffR]

194. Thanks for the link!

:hi:

[maryf]

198. You know it!!

:pals:

[Tindalos]

205. Thank you.

Another great addition to this series.

[maryf]

208. Yes

Dajoki is quite eloquent, isn't he?

[Fireweed247]

197. kick

[maryf]

199. Radical revolution in Values!!

Thanks for that MartyL!!

[cornermouse]

209. kicking.

[Tindalos]

210. Kick for the morning crowd. n/t

[wellstone dem]

211. On Tuesday, it was -30 and it was my night to go to the homeless

shelter to meet with potential clients. It always seems like a chore, going out after a long work day, and never more so than when it was so cold. But when I whined, as I talked with my daughter who is away at college, she said, "Listen to yourself, you will be leaving a warm house and have a warm house to come home to." So shamefaced, I went to meet with my clients.

And once again, I was struck by something my daughter said when she was 9, and had to come with me when I went to the shelter, "They don't look like homeless people, they just look like us." And so on Tuesday night, I spoke with my neighbors about their legal rights, and then I went home. The world is not fair. My life is not fair. What I do in service to others doesn't come close to achieving a balance.

[saltpoint]

212. FDR's New Deal, despite the drivel you will hear from Republican think

tanks, was a substantial and meaningful success. It did not solve all of the problems relating to economic justice, but it very significantly focused the nation on the problem and enjoined citizens in the project toward solving it.

Lyndon Johnson, no matter what people thought of his profane tongue, offered a vision of The Great Society, which sought to reduce the rate of poverty from c. 22% by some indicators. By the time he left office the rate of poverty was c. 11-13%, depending on how one measured 'poverty,' which does not suggest a comprehensive triumph but DOES suggest significant gain towards a worthy goal.

Tomorrow we ask an adult visionary to replace a jabbering fool in the nation's highest office. Obama appears to be more humbled by his appointment, yet retains a keen eye for the diverse strands of the challenge.

This essay is a great essay for a very historic moment.

Kick.

[BrklynLiberal]

213. K & R

[bobbolink]

214. Please remember what Martin said about poverty.. it still applies!

:hug:

[smokey nj]

215. Kick!

[Cleita]

218. We had a welfare system that sort of worked once in California.

Welfare recipients with children, could get their rent paid, health care, food stamps and money to live off of that actually could support a family properly. I think it was a mixture of federal, state and county programs that made it work. SSI or welfare provided money and food stamps. The state provided the health care and the county paid for the rent, I believe, but don't hold me to it. A neighbor whose husband abandoned her and their children was able to be taken care of as well as another friend who lost his job because of an injury and wasn't able to work anymore. Of course this was all before the passage of the Jarvis Amendment that changed all of this. If you didn't know that these people were on welfare you wouldn't have known that they were needy and poor because they were adequately taken care of.

[Greyhound]

226. During the commentary on the ceremonies today, I heard Tweety compare himself

to Joe Biden and identify as "regular Joes, you know, middle class Catholics".

It's been about 8 hours and I'm still pissed at this. Are people really stupid enough to buy this?

[Cleita]

227. Well, I'm sort of wondering about Tweety. It seems he joins the winning

side when the time comes. I think Joe Biden knows more about this and I wouldn't condemn him just yet.

[Greyhound]

231. Just as he did over the Clinton/shrub transition. He is an entertainer, not a journalist. n/t

[Tindalos]

219. kicking for Monday night

:kick:

[saltpoint]

220. A kick for the excellence of the essay in the first place, and also for

Barack and Michelle Obama, and Joe and Jill Biden,

and for Abraham Lincoln out of deep Appalachia,

for the blaze of stars in the night sky on the first Pony Express run out of St. Joseph, Missouri,

for the other passengers on that down-South bus who silently agreed with the Parks woman when she refused to move,

for the Buddha and St. Francis, sons of wealthy folks both, who foreswore the amenities of their parents' circles to experience the world more viscerally and more honestly,

for James Taylor, a doctor's son, and those who sang with him on that stage, and for Aretha Franklin, a minister's daughter, who can shake the rafters of any building ever constructed by humankind,

for Nick Drake, a guy I miss,

for Harriet Tubman, one of the truest of true pioneers,

for Simon and Piggy in William Golding's LORD OF THE FLIES,

for the 15-year kid's mom whose son swiped a pair of brownies from his Mason City, Iowa high school cafeteria and had the cops called on him,

for Bella Abzug, who was almost a U.S. Senator from New York, and whose model I invoke as inspiration for Gov. Paterson's current decision process,

for Bertolucci, who is direct and honest with his film audiences and whose films gleam with clarity,

and for Emmylou Harris, who is singing "From Boulder to Birmingham" on the music box as I kick this wonderful thread by maryf.

[maryf]

221. Thank you Old Crusoe!!

I do love Emmylou!! and I'll kick anyone you say I ought!! :)

[saltpoint]

222. Hi, maryf. Yes -- emmylou is strictly top-drawer.

[maryf]

223. Kick for the poor...

and hope their lot gets better...

[JeffR]

224. I just had the same idea myself.

:fistbump:

[maryf]

230. Great minds...

think alike, but the heart is really needed in regards to helping the poor ...:pals:

[Tindalos]

225. kicking for change

:kick: