Once again the powers that be are cutting Food Stamps while
reauthorizing the much more expensive (and less needed) Farm subsidies. And I
guess I’m trying to understand the deeper reasons why this keeps happening.
There seems to be a psychosis in America that is taking hold and I’m not sure
what’s causing it, but we need to fix it before it destroys us.
I know that people like to vilify Snap beneficiaries, etc.,
in low moments. It’s easy to say “why should they get help when I don’t?”…But
in truth that is backward thinking encouraged by the powerful to keep us from
thinking, “all of us deserve basic humanity.” Many of the people who complain
about the mythical takers then complain that they tried for, and failed to
receive, help. Why? Because your downward-kicking hate speech made it easy and
popular to make it harder and harder for those who need help to get it.
You know who benefits the most from Snap, Medicaid, etc.? Wal-Mart.
A recent study showed that ONE store cost taxpayers about $900,000 in benefits.
They pay their employees a pittance, which means hardworking individuals have
to supplement with government aid. Then they scream about their high taxes
(which is farcical) and the takers society. The real takers aren't the ones
breaking their backs for minimum wage.
And this disease is in every facet of our society. “Why
should union member A get such good healthcare, good pay, and a pension when I
don’t?” WRONG! The question should be, “How do I get that, because I deserve
those things, too.” See the difference? And there are many powerful men that
want to keep us from asking the right questions.
In the end, many of these people say they are merely holding
people accountable for their poor choices. Like being born to poor
parents…wait, that’s not what they say, it’s just the end result.
I saw a quote on FaceBook once, wish I could give credit
where credit is due, but here it is: “Before you judge my choices, make sure
you know what my options were.” Plain and simple, and it gets to the heart of
the matter. Yes, people make mistakes. And sometimes the consequences of their
mistakes are painful. But they don’t give up their humanity. They still feel
pain, and deserve care and concern. And being poor is not necessarily the
result of bad choices; anymore than being a member of the Walton clan is
because of good choices.
We owe to ourselves to recognize the humanity in all of us.
We also need to stop kicking downward. I am not saying, “punish the rich for
being successful”, I’m saying make them acknowledge the benefits they are
reaping from our society and pay their fair share. Stop judging people you don’t
know who have stories you’ve never heard. And even if Mom is a lazy good-for-nothing
who never wants to work, (this is so rare it’s ridiculous) is it really okay to
starve her kid? Or cut money to the overall economy (the BEST bang for our
buck) just to shame Mom? Please, can we get our heads in the game?
PREACH IT, Sister.
ReplyDeleteI loved this post! And might I add, even for those who feel like helping citizens in need isn't incentive enough, there is an economic argument to be made.
ReplyDeleteFor example: "Moody’s Analytics estimates that in a weak economy, every $1 increase in SNAP benefits generates about $1.70 in economic activity." That's from the Center on Policy and Budget Priorities. ("What is SNAP?" http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=2226)
A similar case could be made for unions. "Strong unions set a pay standard that nonunion employers follow. For example, a high school graduate whose workplace is not unionized but whose industry is 25% unionized is paid 5% more than similar workers in less unionized industries." That's from the Economic Policy Institute. ("How Unions Help All Workers" http://www.epi.org/publication/briefingpapers_bp143/)
These things have a lot to do with common sense and moral decency, but there's also a lot of information and research out there that most people don't know about. Like you said, we need to get our heads back in the game.
I can't agree with you more! Take all the humanity out of it, the best thing for the overall economy is to put more money in the hands of people who need it, and will spend it.
ReplyDelete