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How right that is. I volunteer at a homeless shelter and food bank/thrift shop and I can tell stories about these needy people all day. I live in a town of about 10,000 people and just last week we had given out over 3,000 Thanksgiving baskets. Our town was once a thriving industrial center in CT, USA where there were more jobs than could be filled. I mean GOOD jobs. Skilled labor and moving into the high-tech world. Not any more. Those jobs are gone now. Singapore, Hong Kong, China, India..., every where but here. The greedy are in charge and they are really gettin' worse everyday. It's time for that change everybody NEEDS not just wants. Thanks for the clip. "We the people...." We're still here. Trying to be represented. Democracy and all. Republican form of government. "...provide for the common defense..." The Bill of Rights. "...freedom *of* Religion.." Republicans don't want to care for the poor?! Please... We would like to do that AND provide initiatives and opportunities for them to be poor no more. In the majority of cases, it is a lack of will, or mental health, or social indoctrination, or crummy nurturing that has hampered our *have nots* from benefiting from all that is available through our capitalist system. There will always be the poor among us. Our churches, our benevolent organizations, our citizens' generosity hav... Do you think we should blame the poor for their poverty? Are they lazy? Mentally ill? White trash? Is it their own damn fault? Should success be measured by human competitiveness for wealth, possessions, influence, and fame, or adhering to God's standards of truth, justice, humility, service, compassion and forgiveness? I don't mean to be harsh by asking these questions Jatfla, but I think all too few of us are acquainted with the poor and I feel there is an overwhelming religious mandate to alleviate the plight of those who are in need by asking for political and economic justice within worldly regimes. Also, it is clear that proper treatment of the poor should be an extremely high priority among those who shape American policies. The basics of life are cheap and plentiful, gifts to the earth; as things become less essential, they are more rare and expensive. It is the latter type of commodity that leads to a mindset that thinks it 'natural' to ignore the first, and leads to war, greed, injustice, exploitation, blind selfishness, strident pride, hearts of stone, uxurious gloating, usury, hatred, despair. We do not need radical changes in our material security to adopt a personal value of expressing our gratitude for our privileges through a lifelong awareness in action of trying in whatever ways we can to ensure that those many who have the misfortune to have not even the basics are prioritised in our morality. If the... In the majority of cases, it is a lack of will, or mental health, or social indoctrination, or crummy nurturing that has hampered our *have nots* from benefiting from all that is available through our capitalist system.The majority of those who are poor have college degrees. Having a degree does not gaurentee you will get a job in your field or a good job at all. Most of the hardest working jobs pay very little. Most of the easily available jobs pay very little with no benefits. Do you really think that cashier who rang your purchases at five am on Black Friday was getting 12 dollars an hour? She/He was getting minimum wage. Sorry Jatfla, but the mental inferiority excuse ... This is pointless. I wasn't saying any of the things that were surmised by my comments. I have a daughter who has worked as that "cashier". My husband works a full-time job and two part-time ones. When I spoke of "mental health" I was referring, primarily, to those with mental/emotional disorders (drug addiction, physical handicaps, bipolar, etc.) We are not rich. We have the basics of home, food and (right now) health care. Through careful planning, a certain amount of frugality, and being content with what we can afford...we're *comfortable*. I do not minimize governments role in promoting "the general welfare". I was only stating that it's not the governments job to provide ever... Don't worry, it's only a matter of time before even those jobs that are paying more than enough to get by on are outsourced, or insourced.(Think dotcoms and tech support) Maybe, just maybe, people will wake up and see what has been done to this country. mooner-one is right. Now, thank you "guest worker" programs and lazy immigration policies, construction jobs that used to pay a minimum $16/hr are being given to guys standing outside home depots willing to take $6 and no benefits. But some people think if you do not approve of this, you are a nationalist or a racist even. People are less caring for their fellow neighbors because they think, "let the government do that", well, it didn't used to be that way. What happened? Anything to increase the already inflated profit margin. I don't view poverty as a partisan issue. Truth be told, everyone with an 8th grade education knows that taking care of the people in our own cities and neighborhoods should be a priority. But we've given ourselves this mantel of having to take care of the world's needs above even taking care of the huge number of children who are homeless and hungry within our own borders! That's the insanity aspect of what America has become. We need to get back to taking care of our own business first and assisting with other country's problems after our own are mended! |
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