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Topic: The Worst Form of Violence...
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helpforhomeschoolers
Advanced Member
Member # 15
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posted
Doesn't anybody realize that all these problems, both the ones we are seeing here in America and the horrible conditions that we see in third world countries are spiritual problems realized in the flesh & blood lives in world that is in bondage?
Why do we have homeless people in America, children being raised by single mothers, people living in some parts of this country without the money to buy shoes or food?
Is it because Bush was elected? Or Clinton before him? Is it because minimum wage is low and milk prices high? Is it because abortion is legal or illegal? Is it because jobs are being outsourced to India????
Why are third world countries in famine and draught? Why are children starving and having to fend for themselves their parents long gone to AIDS and other diseasse, now they eat out of garbage heaps?
Is it because Samolian rebels are warring? Is it because 98% of the world's resources are in the hands of 1% of the world's population? Is it because we don't send aid to places that allow legal abortion? Is abortion the solution to famine? Is it because most of the governments in those countries are corupt?
We have examined the leaves of the tree so closely we cant see the forest. There is a bigger battle here! These problems will never be better if we don't stop looking at the affect and believing it to be the cause.
And even if we could see the cause, the solution, the eradication of the cause will still come ever so slowly, one heart at a time. This is why Jesus said the poor we will always have. Until he comes back again we will have these problems. But they certainly could be much better if we stopped blaming all the results of the problem and started battling the real cause of the problem.
Posts: 4684 | From: Southern Black Hills of South Dakota | Registered: Jun 2002
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Gramajo320
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posted
Tyme,
Your very long rambling tiresome statements that go on and on and on are full of words that most definitely do not come from the Holy Spirit whatsoever! You need to read your own bible much more! You should not be attacking Favorminded or anyone else! Pray more and read your bible!
In Christ's love,
Gramajo320
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Favor Minded
unregistered
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posted
We see and help 1000+ "street kids" EVERY week...
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Tyme
Advanced Member
Member # 3017
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posted
Rhetoric and more Rhetoric, does it ever end?
Ok, maybe you missed this the first time I posted it. So I’m going show it to you again Favorminded.
quote:
Yes those pictures of children starving in a their world country are sad, but you don’t see them starving right outside an apartment building that costs $100,000 dollars a year to rent. You don’t see them starving while sitting next to an $80,000 dollar car. Well you see all that here in America, land of the filthy rich, land of over indulgence and abundance, the country that has it all and then some, Cutting edge health care, and technology, That is truly a sad day, when we have a person with out a home, food, and proper clothing in a country where people fault their wealth and own things that cost millions of dollars. That people do not receive medical attention, and go to sleep hungry, any one that denies that people this country do not die of starvation is truly blind, if you think we don’t have people getting infected with flea bits, fly’s, and other insects crawling into their body and under their skin, your truly deceived. We have those problems and more, we have malnutrition, we have sickness, we have death due to lack of the basic necessities of life.
I think you did not read this the first time I posted it, if you did, you would not have said this tired old rhetoric. Ran out of anything good to say, so you retort to sarcasm?
And since you love bible look up, I’ll ask you, what does Jesus say about providing for the Poor, the Fatherless, and the Widow?
Do you even know what Jesus says about the Poor? Or did you miss all those chapters and verses while looking for the children?
Lets look at your ‘Christian’ mentality.
A woman, gets pregnant in a country that can not, I mean, CAN NOT provide for that child, (unlike here in America where our table scraps are enough to feed our entire population of malnourished people) (Look it up, we throw away more food each year then we donate to the homeless, throw away, garbage, trash, in the can, junk, gone, then we give to the people in need)
The Parents are NOT able to provide for that child, but she gets pregnant, she’s married, and her and her husband have sex, happens you know.
The “Christian” mentality supports the laws that state that any country that provides state funded abortions will be eliminated from receiving federal help from the good ol’ US of A! Remember, all the ‘Christians’ were so happy that “Bush” was banning aid to countries that had legal funded abortions.
So now, she has this baby in her belly, and she knows good and well that this child has a slime chance to make it, if it even survives birth, if something goes wrong, oh well, that happens, deal with it, and carry on.
But lets say this child survives, we have a nice bouncing baby in the hands of a malnourished mother, who, might, already have other children that she can not provide for. This Childs single hope is that someone from a country other then their own will “Sponsor” them. A country with Abundance to the point where they will give it away!
I am going to say that again:
People are giving birth to children that need to be taken care of people from other countries. These are not the poor people in that country, these are the “Normal” people of that country. These are the majority.
We ban support, to countries that provide abortions, because we want people to give birth to babies that we need to take of? That sounds morally correct to you?
Asking a Country (US) to give freely our food and money, because we have so much of it, we are overflowing with food and wealth.
Right there, a major flaw in the design of this “Moral” system.
Now, if there is no sponsoring of the child, the child will face starvation along side, what did you say? 50,000 other children?
Who in their right mind would bring a child into that type of situation?
Oh right, a woman that was denied the right to have birth control or abortions. Because of “Christian” morals. That is the type of woman that brings a child into that type of life.
Wow, so indirectly we made, because of our morals, and our finances, an environment where people are ‘Forced’ to produce children, and then, watch the ones we don’t “Save” die a horrible painful death. Where they are and will be perpetually dependent on us. Really sweet of us, don’t you think?
Now, I may not know what religion this might be, but I do know it’s has fundamental flaws to it. And I am glad I do not subscribe to that section of it.
Now, here is one better. In that country, that is “providing” for these starving children, providing from their abundance, given not from their need, but from their surplus.
You have people starving in the country that is giving away surplus to other countries.
People step over the homeless guy on the street, to mail their check to some starving child in Africa. And they think this is OK?
Here is a question for you Favorminded, after you are done sponsoring that child (They become an adult) you cut your funding and let the child fend for themselves (which they can’t because old or young, there is just not enough food) and then they go off to produce children, children I might add they can not support, and need us to “Sponsor” that child as well. So it’s like a endless cycle of dependence that we perpetuate to make ourselves feel better because we “Give to the needy” if that is not warped morals gone astray, nothing is.
Here is a flash for you, if a child grows up in a country where there is a war, it is accepted, and in some cases even expected that the child runs a high risk of getting killed by war like munitions.
If a Child grows up in a country that has no food, and everyone is facing starvation or some form of disease, it is accepted and even expected that the child will starve or fall prey to a disease. The fact that the land cannot support the population might be an indication that the population needs to stop expanding.
If a child is born into a country of abundance that posses vast food supplies and technology, it should be expected and even accepted that the child will be well fed and educated. We have so much food, we throw away tons upon tons of food every year.
We discard enough food to feed all our hungry! How sad then we have hungry to start with.
Oh and really Favorminded, do you really deny the existence of “Street Kids” which are so common, they even have their own “title”
quote:
But then, you've seen the lost street people, you've seen the hungry in the shelters, but maybe you should look at those pictures just one more time.
Maybe you should go meet the street people, I did look at those pictures, them and a whole lot more. Maybe your Christian morals tell you otherwise, but before you look to make yourself appear like a “Savor” on others shores, you might want to look to your own first.
Who can go to a country and say “Look how giving we are” when our own people are neglected.
That is what your preaching, and as much as you want others to look past the shame of this land, you won’t. You seek to hide form the truth, to make trivial the suffering of your country people, because you justify their pain by saying others are suffering more.
If you lost your hands, would it make your suffering less to know someone else lost their legs? If it would, you truly have a warped sense of Morals.
No one can love God, unless they love their brother first. (You would do well to remember that Jesus said that) (John 4:20)
There is one thing I do not grasp about you Favorminded, it seems, from your post, that the older someone is, the longer they have existed, the less important they are to you. How do you justify that mentality?
Tyme.
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I dream of a world.......
Posts: 527 | From: United States | Registered: Mar 2004
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Gramajo320
unregistered
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posted
Favorminded and WhiteEagle,
Amen and God bless you for your postings! How very true!
In Christ's love,
Gramajo320
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LaurieFL
Advanced Member
Member # 3794
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posted
I read an article where Calvary Chapel in Melbourne, Florida started a support group for men who had lost their jobs. They would come in on Monday mornings to have a Bible study and group fellowship session. The church helped provide for their financial needs as they could, taught them finance handling techniques, did resume and interview critiques, and most of all the church members all made a commitment to take resumes of these people in to their companies and help them find work.
Men from the church were welcome to the gorup as were non-church embers. They were able to help people and also to win souls to Christ through this ministry. The only thing I found unfortunate at all was that they didn't have a similar minstry for women, although I guess women like me are more unusual so maybe we don't make a large enough number to merit a group like that.
I think so many people have lost work and been unable to find jobs for extended periods of time with this sluggish economy, and it is so awesome that a church group would recognize this and extend a helping hand.
Also, I think Tyme had some excellent nuggets of truth in his posts, and people just don't see thembecause they are eager to brand him a liberal or non-Christian. Read what he said and try to find the truths in it. I challenge all of you to find people in your community who need financial help and give it to them this year. I challenge you to find not only the homeless and destitue and help them (which is easy, really) but take on the more difficult and yes, more expensive task, of helping the working poor or middle class families who have been out of work for a long time. Go to the nursing homes, the employment centers, the hospitals, the orhpanages, the women's shelters, the halfway houses....seek them out.
By all means, give the $15-100 to overseas charities. But also if you have the means, give the $100-500 or more to people in your community who are in need. It costs more to help people in this country, because everything is so expensive.
Posts: 700 | Registered: Aug 2004
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WhiteEagle
Advanced Member
Member # 3728
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posted
What gremlins deleted my post from yesterday?
Anyway thanks for reading it Grandma Jo.
To Tyme: Pres. Bush's philosophy on charities is to increase the Countries faith based chartities, as the Church is supposed to be helping the poor.
Another part of this about helping the poor, is teaching as many as can to be self-sufficient.
If you give a man a fish you have fed him for one day. If you teach a man how to fish, you have fed him for life.
Posts: 1392 | From: Maine | Registered: Aug 2004
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Favor Minded
unregistered
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posted
Tyme says "Why don't we"??
Gotta be Bush's fault, I am sure of it!!
The fact that he has a burger to scoop up off a plate is 10 times more than any third world, particularly Africa has, at all.
But then, you've seen the lost street people, you've seen the hungry in the shelters, but maybe you should look at those pictures just one more time.
That is a problem that simply does not exist here, not in the same way, not in the numbers, and certainly not with Children.
Are you familiar with God's Word? Do you know what it says about taking care of the Children?
They do not know better, nor can they help themselves.
That street guy CAN help himself, if he chooses to.
And maybe you should join a news crew, and go interview a few panhandlers, or better, yet, watch them for a few days. COunt the $$$
Many of them WANT it that way - That is the real problem here.
Thats why they do it...
50,000 People did not die today, in NEW YORK!
They did in REAL starving countries...In REAL oppressed countries, and that does not even begin to account for the countless lives lost to attacks...
Yes - The country was founded by "some" liberals -
Masons, even...
They did not have to contend with Gays - Or teaching Gay lifestyle to our children...
But then, God did not appoint Bush, did he?
You think our vote had something to do with it?
God had EVERYTHING to do with it -
God promotes who he will....It was HIS will that was done...
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Gramajo320
unregistered
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posted
Tyme,
You need to rethink your postings! It's obvious you don't have a lot of knowledge of what the truth is and when you're faced with it you choose to deny it! You definitely are not led by the Holy Spirit! Are you aware that halfway houses are strictly for recovering drug addicts and alcoholics? I thought you might like to know that as they are in no way the same as homeless shelters! Furthermore it is no myth as to how much a panhandler makes in one day! That is very much the truth!
In Christ's love,
Gramajo320
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Tyme
Advanced Member
Member # 3017
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posted
quote:
As I have said before, you do not speak like a Christian - You speak much more like a liberal who claims to have some semblance of Christianity for discussions sake.
I am honored that you would call me a “Liberal”, Jesus was a Liberal Rabbi and you owe him your salvation, I feel like I am in the best of hands, and with the best of Company, and of the best of people to be labeled with.
You will find that you owe us “liberals” many things, For one, the very freedoms that you enjoy today was built on the backs of Liberals, and only Liberals, the fonding fathers of this nation where Liberals to the core! They embodied the very idea of Liberal ! the Warrior of Change and the desire to Make the world a better Place (At gun point if necessary)
Do you really think people that enjoyed the “status Quo” would have rebelled against Great Britain? Hardly. Liberals did the fighting, this country, and the very constitution itself were drafted by them, I do not find surprising at all, that now it falls into the hands of Liberals once again to defend the rights of the People.
Liberal Christian, it is a such a fitting statement, as it encompasses the foundation of the religion itself, from the Liberal Jews who Followed that Radical Rabbi Jesus of Old Times, to current day Liberal that Follow that Radical Rabbi Jesus of today. The only funny part is that Jesus has remained the same all this time.
I find it truly humorous that you have been programmed to think “Liberal” is not linked to Christianity, when the very foundation of your religion is Liberal. Lets hear it for propaganda! The Media and mind washing work! Who would have thunk it.
Anyway, back to starving people.
quote:
Panhandlers in this country make 15 times the national average salary. Studies done in major cities show tha the average "homeless" person in America who panhandles makes more that $400 day.
Wow, with that kind of money, why don’t they buy a home?
Sorry, I think is a myth.
quote:
$400 would feed 100's of kids in a 3rd world country - Does that concern you at all? Your smug commentary dragging Bush and voting into it simply shows where your heart is.
Ok.. next time you see a pan handler, go tell him to donate his $400 dollars they earned today to a third world country, I think they would be glad to know they can feed 100’s of kids on what they get from begging on the streets. (Bring pictures if think it would help)
quote:
As for the real world, how much time have you spent in the missions fields? How many times have fed the hungry, the needy? How many starving children have you helped?
I stopped counting, between the donations, cookouts, food drives, and other activities, I could not even guess. I always get some astronomical number like “Your donation of $100 will give these 6 billion children their vaccination”
I never counted who showed up at the cookouts, or the food donations.
Just One would be more then enough.
quote:
In the 3rd world countries there is so much corruption at the top and there are highjackings of the supplies so the help intended for the famine victims does not reach them! The corruption and the highjackings need to be stopped! The problem there lies within their own government who needs to put to it!
Right. So why bother?
Lets focus on the home front, medications for the elderly, Homes and shelters. And all that good stuff.
quote:
Apparently you don't have any knowledge of all of the food banks that give out free food all across this nation or any knowledge of the thousands of dollars and food supplies that are donated to the food banks on a regular basis. You seem not to have any knowledge of all the churches and neighborhood centers that provide meals 3 times a day. The homeless population are most assuredly provided shelter if they apply - unfortunately a lot of them do not want to do so. There are so many resources available! No we do not turn our backs on the poor and furthermore our Heavenly
Walk down the streets of New York, or Rochester at night, stop in a cheep diner, buy a burger and watch a homeless guy scoop the food off the tables into a paper bag. Yah. I only bought them a burger, but I doubt this guy was seeing “Huge amounts of Food” being made available to him. (He was not alone just FYI, I met different people every night)
Walk into a homeless shelter and hear “Ok. We could only afford 100 burger and some fries, if we need more then that, we screwed” from the guy in charge. Sure, I was only donating my time to cook there, and offered money to buy more burgers, but that is not the point. I doubt the guy I gave my jacket to that night was “Getting all he needed from the system” (gave him jacket because my truck had good heat)
I preferred half way houses over homeless shelters IMHO, as it was about people desiring to get back into the Game, not people that just gave up.
I am not saying we don’t help some. I am saying we don’t help enough.
There is not one person in this country that should go hungry, because we have the ability to feed everyone, the question now is, if we can feed them, why don’t we?
Tyme.
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I dream of a world.......
Posts: 527 | From: United States | Registered: Mar 2004
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Gramajo320
unregistered
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posted
Favorminded, Whitesands777, WhiteEagle, Study, Miguel
Great postings and God bless you all!
In Christ's love,
Gramajo320
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Gramajo320
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posted
Re:panhandling
The panhandlers who stand out on street corners do make a lot of money per day and it's all tax free. Even though they know of resources
they prefer to stand on street corners with a sign. I met a woman in CD'A, Idaho who told me about one of her sons who preferred to panhandle on the streets of Seattle, WA and that particular year he made over $150,000. She tried to talk to him about getting an honest job but he refused.
Her other son was a very hard working gentleman.
In Christ's love,
Gramajo320
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whitesands777
Advanced Member
Member # 3424
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posted
quote:
Originally posted by LaurieFL:
Whitesands, thanks for your prayer. It is truly appreciated. I know the Lord will take care of me, as He has done so throughout all of this.
I believe you misunderstood the point of one of the things I said. I don't want a plasma TV. It is the callousness and obliviousness some people have to the needs of their own families and people in their own country that so galled me when that comment was made around me. I had just lost a temp job that we thought would be our financial solution and we had just lost our house and were homeless, and to have my mother-in-law going on about TV's and cars in the face of our situation just amazed me. Most in our nation, including many Christians, are like that - very fixated on consumerism.
I have quite a bit of experience with seeing the poor in and from other countries, so I have no doubt about their plight, and as I mentioned in my previous post, it is my life's pasion to try to make life better for hungry and sick children in Russia. In fact, if I could move to Russia today, I would gladly embrace the much more spartan lifestyle there and forget about America.
I am grateful for what I do have, and I know many in this country even would love to have an apartment and a running vehicle! I give to my church and to those who are poor and without families to help them, because I have a huge compassion for them.
However, I stand by my statement that it hurts those of us who are in need in this country probably more emotionally, because we have to face how much better it could be every day when we look at everyone else. Ignorance can certainly be its own form of bliss.
Hey Laurie...I posted too late and after I read about the health issues that you and your husband are going through I was like..."Oh no, I shouldn't have written that." so I deleted it understanding that you are just as close to some of the hardhips being experienced throughout the world...I didn't realize that from your first post...
God Bless you!
Posts: 501 | Registered: May 2004
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Miguel
Advanced Member
Member # 47
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posted
quote:
Originally posted by Gramajo320:
Miguel,
Unfortunately there are some who "use" the system so to speak but you cannot lump all of the homeless people into one category for that isn't fair whatsoever! There are many of the homeless people both single people and married couples with children who want nothing more than to have a good job and to be self sufficient! The families I met and talked with on a daily basis were seeking work on a daily basis and they got a job and with their first check they were able to get into their own home!
In the 3rd world countries there is so much corruption at the top and there are highjackings of the supplies so the help intended for the famine victims does not reach them! The corruption and the highjackings need to be stopped! The problem there lies within their own government who needs to put to it!
In Christ's love,
Gramajo320
I understand those needs as well.
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Romans 9:11-24
Our Eschatology may vary even our Ecclesiology may be disputed among us but our Soteriology most assume a singularity and exclusivity which in biblical term is known as Quote; "The Narrow Way" and Quote!
Posts: 2792 | From: Stockton,Ca | Registered: Jun 2002
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Favor Minded
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posted
Tyme,
Since you deem yourself so much further ahead of "some" of the people here, maybe you should go somewhere else.
As I have said before, you do not speak like a Christian - You speak much more like a liberal who claims to have some semblance of Christianity for discussions sake.
As for the real world, how much time have you spent in the missions fields? How many times have fed the hungry, the needy? How many starving children have you helped?
Panhandlers in this country make 15 times the national average salary. Studies done in major cities show tha the average "homeless" person in America who panhandles makes more that $400 day.
$400 would feed 100's of kids in a 3rd world country - Does that concern you at all? Your smug commentary dragging Bush and voting into it simply shows where your heart is.
It is unfortunate that it is not demonstrative of Christianity -
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Gramajo320
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posted
Miguel,
Unfortunately there are some who "use" the system so to speak but you cannot lump all of the homeless people into one category for that isn't fair whatsoever! There are many of the homeless people both single people and married couples with children who want nothing more than to have a good job and to be self sufficient! The families I met and talked with on a daily basis were seeking work on a daily basis and they got a job and with their first check they were able to get into their own home!
In the 3rd world countries there is so much corruption at the top and there are highjackings of the supplies so the help intended for the famine victims does not reach them! The corruption and the highjackings need to be stopped! The problem there lies within their own government who needs to put a stop to it!
In Christ's love,
Gramajo320
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Miguel
Advanced Member
Member # 47
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posted
I don’t want to sound arrogant but I know and seen many of this homeless people getting around the system with no problem. (They are just lazy!) Living out from others people hard work. This nation gives more money to the 2nd and 3rd world than all them put together, now what do they do with the money we provide for them? It is not our fault that they use it for there own gain in leave out there own people’s needs. We can’t grab them by their hand and show them where in their country is their need.
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Romans 9:11-24
Our Eschatology may vary even our Ecclesiology may be disputed among us but our Soteriology most assume a singularity and exclusivity which in biblical term is known as Quote; "The Narrow Way" and Quote!
Posts: 2792 | From: Stockton,Ca | Registered: Jun 2002
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Gramajo320
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posted
Tyme,
Apparently you don't have any knowledge of all of the food banks that give out free food all across this nation or any knowledge of the thousands of dollars and food supplies that are donated to the food banks on a regular basis. You seem not to have any knowledge of all the churches and neighborhood centers that provide meals 3 times a day. The homeless population are most assuredly provided shelter if they apply - unfortunately a lot of them do not want to do so. There are so many resources available! No we do not turn our backs on the poor and furthermore our Heavenly Father would not be pleased for us to turn our backs on the 3rd world countries where they are starving and dying at an alarming rate! I'm thankful that the pictures taken in Africa are posted in this thread! We need the reminder of their plight and their plight is heartbreaking to say the very least! They need the help too! They don't have the resources available to them that are available to the poor in this country!
As for your bringing abortion, gay marriage, or President Bush into it that has nothing to do with helping the poor! Some of your words went far afield from the subject of this thread.
In Christ's love,
Gramajo320
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Tyme
Advanced Member
Member # 3017
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posted
Well to many people that seem to be baffled by the nature of many people on this board reading the care and concern for their “Fellow Human” you need to understand these people voted for Bush. What this means is that ‘stopping Two woman wanting to get married is more important then proving affordable health care for the people of America” so it’s not a surprise that they would post pictures of third world country children suffering, in some way to seems to add up to many people that if they neglect their fellow country person in favor of a tax break, and some other moral ‘Desire” be it banning Homosexual marriage, or killing children and woman in a another county in the name of “War” or “Retribution”. It’s fine, as long as they donate their fifteen dollars a month to some charity.
If Jesus had a body in his grave, it would be spinning.
Now I know some people will retort with some thing about “Homosexuality” and truth be told, if you’re that obsessed with the sexuality of everyone else, you need some serious psychological help. I think your mind is too preoccupied with sex. You might want to focus on other things, like Charity, as a preoccupation with any form of sex, especially if you are fixated with homosexuality, you might be denying your own inner urges. Regardless of your personal urges, burdens, or fixations, I really can do with out your need to fall upon a boring old tired rhetoric, that serves no point or purpose other then to maybe, well, make it seem like your are protesting too much.
So we see, that the “Nature” of many of the “Christians” on this board is to ignore the needy, and then to “Justify” their actions, and to make the suffering of their fellow country man seem trivial. How lovely to turn a blind eye to the pain of those right next door to you, if you look beyond them to some one else. It seems however this is the nature of many ‘Christians’ in this country, and sadly, this idea and mentality is condemned, rebuked, and even denounced by the very man they profess to follow, the one man that offers them salvation, how truly fitting.
I for one think it is a horrible tragedy that a single child should go hungry in a county that has this much abundance. How truly disgusting the nature of the “beast” that is America must be, to deny it’s own people in the name of greed, when it could provide not only enough, but an abundance. It could give the apex to all it’s people, but instead gives only what it can receive.
I think it is a proud display of true indifference, and a blinding display of the faults of “Christians” when they say “There are those that help them” yah. Those that help them, people other then you. Here is a walk up call, if you don’t help them, you condemn them. When Jesus was thirsty, did you give him a drink? When he was hungry, did you feed him? The fact that there are starving homeless people in this country makes the answer “No, You did not” if your not part of the solution, your part of the problem.
Yes those pictures of children starving in a their world country are sad, but you don’t see them starving right outside an apartment building that costs $100,000 dollars a year to rent. You don’t see them starving while sitting next to an $80,000 dollar car. Well you see all that here in America, land of the filthy rich, land of over indulgence and abundance, the country that has it all and then some, Cutting edge health care, and technology, That is truly a sad day, when we have a person with out a home, food, and proper clothing in a country where people fault their wealth and own things that cost millions of dollars. That people do not receive medical attention, and go to sleep hungry, any one that denies that people this country do not die of starvation is truly blind, if you think we don’t have people getting infected with flea bits, fly’s, and other insects crawling into their body and under their skin, your truly deceived. We have those problems and more, we have malnutrition, we have sickness, we have death due to lack of the basic necessities of life.
The difference is: Notice in those countries you don’t have homes that sell for 2 and 3 million dollars. You don’t see people owing 2 and 3 cars. You don’t have hospitals that span acres and reach towards the sky. You don’t have farm land that screeches out as far as the eye can see, and buildings that reach the clouds. You don’t have people flaunting diamond rings, and designer shades. You don’t see people wearing tailored suits with cell phones in tier hands in those countries now do you?
In those countries you don’t have people that SUFFER from obesity because there is SO MUCH food. There is SO MUCH to eat that we Indulge in Gluttony, that we have to DIET to loose the Fat, that is SO EASY to gain this country, because we have SO MUCH of everything you could desire to eat. We have people that have to make an EFFOERT to not get fat in this country, at the same time we have people starving in this country. If that is not wrong, nothing is.
Now I might get some kind of “This is America, love it or leave it” well, I have this to say to you, “This is America, Abortion is legal, love it or leave it” how fast are you going to be packing your bags?
If your not packing them, then take your mindless rhetoric else where, it’s meaningless to me, but the knowledge that makes people fall back on the boring rhetoric of “America Love it or leave it” was provided for you via state funds in the public school system, which strikes me as very socialistic, why is it, that “Charity” needs to be private, but education is not?
How about this one, “This is America, we have democrats that can filibuster, if you don’t like it, you can take advantage of a great American liberty, that is Leave!” Do enjoy your own rhetoric thrown back at you? Enjoy it, please, and if you don’t like what I say with my freedom of speech, well this is America, if you don’t like what I have to say, I hear they are limiting freedom of expression in China, you might want to go there. I hear Abortion is banned in Iraq, you might want to move in there and settle down with your fellow religious fanatics, I hear they love Americans that support Bush in Iran too!
There are those of you who know who I am talking about, there are those of you know I am not talking to or about you.
If you feel a need to respond, knock yourself out.
I doubt many here would have much to say anyway. If you voted for Bush, you voted against the welfare of your fellow country man, but hey, you stopped “Those” people from getting married. Bully for you!
If your on the ropes and voted for Bush, well you dug your own grave, now lay in it.
Tyme
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I dream of a world.......
Posts: 527 | From: United States | Registered: Mar 2004
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Gramajo320
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Niedzejkore,
The resources through the churches and all of the agencies are adequately funded through federal funds, state funds, United Way, private funds from people throughout all of the churches, and from donations sent in on quite a regular basis.
As to the working poor unfortunately the wages do not rise accordingly with the ever rising cost of living but they can go apply for whatever resource it is that is needed. That is unless they have too much pride to ask for help. The homeless can go to temporary shelters and the ones who work there work with them to help them get back into their own home just as soon as possible!
In Christ's love,
Gramajo320
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Niedziejkore
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quote:
Apparently you haven't read the posting I did in this thread regarding the poor in America. Please read them.
I did read them. apparently my interpretation is other than what you intended.
quote:
Across this nation there are so many agencies and churches that provide all of the help needed to assist the poor in need. Anyone who needs this assistance is more than welcome to apply for it and they will be assisted. They do not go without and the reason I know this is because I've worked in non-profit agencies, state agencies, federal agencies, and a homeless shelter. I'm very well aware of all the resources available to the poor across this nation!
It's not the fact that there are charities out there. There are many. However, what good are they when they're poorly funded? We could have millions of charities out there, but if they have little funds, they only succeed in making a small impact. while it is better than nothing, the fact is that they are still insufficient as the ranks of the homeless and working poor keep swelling.
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Worker bees can leave
Even drones can fly away
The queen is their slave.
Posts: 346 | From: Wisconsin | Registered: Feb 2004
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Gramajo320
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LaurieFL,
In answer to your statements you and your family can go to a Dept. of Social and Health Services and apply for medical which I'm certain you qualify! Also there are free clinics where you can go for medical treatment. Hospitals receive federal funding to pay for the treatment of those who do not have any health insurance and need treatment! These funds are called Hill-Burton funds - sometimes under a different name depending on the hospital - just ask! The Dept. of Social and Health Services have lists of other agencies that help with other needs, prescriptions, food, help with paying energy bills, dentists that only charge the lowest minimule fee, etc. I'm quite certain that there are homeless shelters there also!
No I do not have blinders on nor am I wealthy as you imply! I was one of the working poor and I'm still "poor" money wise but I do not worry about that because I leave it to God to provide which he most assuredly does! It is just that I know all of the resources available which are ever so many to all of the poor across this nation through churches and agencies!
All they have to do is inquire and apply and that includes you!! I personally have helped others in any way I can as directed by the Holy Spirit.
I have the utmost compassion for the poor! I also have the utmost compassion for the starving people of Africa and they need help! They do not have the resources available to them that the poor here in America have available to them if they'd just go apply!
In Christ's love,
Gramajo320
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LaurieFL
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Whitesands, thanks for your prayer. It is truly appreciated. I know the Lord will take care of me, as He has done so throughout all of this.
I believe you misunderstood the point of one of the things I said. I don't want a plasma TV. It is the callousness and obliviousness some people have to the needs of their own families and people in their own country that so galled me when that comment was made around me. I had just lost a temp job that we thought would be our financial solution and we had just lost our house and were homeless, and to have my mother-in-law going on about TV's and cars in the face of our situation just amazed me. Most in our nation, including many Christians, are like that - very fixated on consumerism.
I have quite a bit of experience with seeing the poor in and from other countries, so I have no doubt about their plight, and as I mentioned in my previous post, it is my life's pasion to try to make life better for hungry and sick children in Russia. In fact, if I could move to Russia today, I would gladly embrace the much more spartan lifestyle there and forget about America.
I am grateful for what I do have, and I know many in this country even would love to have an apartment and a running vehicle! I give to my church and to those who are poor and without families to help them, because I have a huge compassion for them.
However, I stand by my statement that it hurts those of us who are in need in this country probably more emotionally, because we have to face how much better it could be every day when we look at everyone else. Ignorance can certainly be its own form of bliss.
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whitesands777
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I wish you better luck with your situation and I'll say a prayer for you right now.
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LaurieFL
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STUDY *HUGS TO YOU*
Unfortunately, we found out the hard way that a lot won't even honor that kind of stuff. We owe $5000+ to a hospital for an emergency visit when my hubbie thought he had appendicitis. Also, I think if they do charity or scaled services, it is reserved for emergencies.
My husband has a broken tooth and a cavity that is getting very bad as well as a black spot on his gums, and he has a large hernia that is quite painful. I have problems that may in fact be life-threatening but would be more of a long term thing rather than an emergency, and woudl require some expensive testing to diagnose (MRI probably). I also suffer from chronic fatigue, asthma, and migraines, which I doubt anyone is going to treat at a discount but they sure erode quality of life.
My point is not to complain (although yes, I admit to a little bitterness), but to point out that those who are doing well in this country need to take a more direct interest in the plight of their neighbors - especially their fellow church members, whose problems may not be as obvious as homeless folks on the streets.
**Also, I think it is important to point out that this can happen to people who are educated, since in the election Pres. Bush seemed so set on stressing education as the cure for all these economic problems people are having int his country. I have a bachelor's and a master's degree and had a good career for a while, but lost my job and have been out of work now a long time. My husband has a BS degree and was out of work a long time as well until very recently.
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Study
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LaurieFL ![[wave3]](graemlins/18.gif)
Some hospital have what they call charity care. You would have to check with the hospitals in your area and apply. It’s usually based on your income.
Hope this is helpful.
God Bless ![[hug]](graemlins/hug.gif)
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http://www.biblenotebooks.com
The book no Christian should be without!
Posts: 364 | From: NJ | Registered: Oct 2004
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LaurieFL
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Ok, so tell me where I can go to get medical care then, since no one in this country has to go without. My husband actually recently got a job with a small company, so we will have insurance soon. However, the deductible per person is so high and we still have to pay 20% of the cost after the deductible is met, that we will still not be able to get medical care, because we can't pay 10% or more of his annual salary when we need every penny for daily living.
Take off your blinders and look around - there are plenty of Americans who don't have the same comfortable standard of living you have. Pretty much anyone who works at all does not qualify for aid of any type because they are deemed too wealthy! Thus we have the working poor in this nation.
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Gramajo320
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Niedziejkore,
Apparently you haven't read the posting I did in this thread regarding the poor in America. Please read them.
Across this nation there are so many agencies and churches that provide all of the help needed to assist the poor in need. Anyone who needs this assistance is more than welcome to apply for it and they will be assisted. They do not go without and the reason I know this is because I've worked in non-profit agencies, state agencies, federal agencies, and a homeless shelter. I'm very well aware of all the resources available to the poor across this nation!
I'm very thankful that Favorminded brought up Africa and also posted the pictures! We must not and cannot be so utterly heartless and lacking in compassion as to turn our backs on all of the starving people there! They need all of the help anyone can give them! Just $1.00 (or more would be even better!) would help ever so much to feed the starving men, women, and children!
In Christ's love,
Gramajo320
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Niedziejkore
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i don't know why this had to be turned into a look at third world countries. I posted the article to show an example of how hard it is in america for the homeless, working poor, etc.
While a lot of us can't join the peace corps or red cross, we can make a huge difference at home by working with families who are below the poverty line.
this is a where both secualar and faith based initiatives should come togeter in agreement that there is work to be done and people need help here as well as in the third world. It's easier to help those nearest to you, and i would urge everyone not to forget our brothers and sisers in america. We can acomplish more at home.
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Worker bees can leave
Even drones can fly away
The queen is their slave.
Posts: 346 | From: Wisconsin | Registered: Feb 2004
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LaurieFL
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I think the issue of people in this country who are poor is so different from the poverty in other nations and was not a fair cmparison to be made.
I think it is so frustrating to be poor in this country, because all around you are so many people who are oblivious and flaunt their wealth all over you. My own family has done this to my husband and I. We have lost so much this past two years and they know this, yet they will sit around talking about how they don't like their 36-inch Sony TV and they are going to buy a plasma one, or how they are going to buy a new car because their current new car isn't as cool as a different one.
No, we aren't starving. But we can't afford to go to the doctor. Do you know how hard it is to know that their is excellent medical care to be had, to have health issues, and not be able to avail yourself of medical treatment? The poor in this country are better educated and have higher expectations than the poor in Africa, Asia, etc., and thus suffer greater disappointment on a daily basis. The distance of separation in standard of living keeps getting broader between the upper class and the lower class - the middle class is disappearing.
I am not able to pay my more than my rent and utilities in terms of debts right now (and that by the skin of our teeth), but I still have compassion for the hungry and poor in other countries and even the less fortunate in our nation. I give to my church and do charity work when possible. I am also trying to figure out how to go do missionary work soon with hungry, sick orphans in Russia.
My guess is that the "poor people" in this country have more compassion for foreign and domestic poor people and do more charity than most in this nation who don't ever have to go without that new Lexus or SUV or new designer clothes.
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RioLion
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Why is it that people that cannot afford to have children have the most?
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WhiteEagle
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Thanks Grandmajo, you are right America does have lots of resources for those who are in need.
Posts: 1392 | From: Maine | Registered: Aug 2004
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Gramajo320
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WhiteEagle,
Amen! I'm in agreement with your newest postings and also in agreement with the posting of the others. Yes in the 3rd world countries the terrible famine, the hunger, the suffering and the very unsanitary conditions in which they live is utterly heartbreaking! If everyone gave $1.00 or more, it would feed ever so many people in 3rd world countries. The corruption needs to be done away with in order for the people of those countries to have what they need! It is indeed dehumanizing and heartbreaking to say the very least to watch a child starve to death - ever so much worse when it's your own!
America certainly has their poor and those statistics are growing all of the time! Loss of jobs, loss of health, lower pay, loss of homes, no health insurance, etc. However, unlike the 3rd world countries, across this nation in all cities there are many resources and churches available to help all of those who really do need the help. As I mentioned in my other posting I worked in non-profit agencies. I've also worked for state offices who helped the poor too and I've worked in a homeless shelter.
In each of these jobs we all had compassion, kindness, and respect for all of those who came in for help. In our minds we put ourselves in their places and we always knew how we would want to be treated! Yes it's very difficult for anyone to lower their pride and ask for help and it's a must to make them feel as comfortable as possible try to help them know that things will improve and that it's okay to ask for help when it's really needed. Regarding the homeless situation in our city we have homeless shelters for men, shelters for women, shelters for families with children, shelters for teenagers, transitional shelters for addicts and alcoholics and all kinds of resources to help them including getting jobs and getting back into a home of their own.
The poor will always be with us and all of us need to have a compassionate loving giving heart for them! We all need to remember "but for the grace of God go I!"
In Christ's love,
Gramajo320
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WhiteEagle
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To add more:
Comparing people who are truly starving to death as in Africa, with people who do get enough to eat, but don't have somewhere to live, is almost two separate issues.
Yes America has poverty and it's issues are really a whole different ball game, compared to people who are actually starving. Each needs to be treated differently.
Talk about dehumanizing: is watching your baby starve. I don't think we have very many people actually starve in America.
Posts: 1392 | From: Maine | Registered: Aug 2004
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WhiteEagle
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quote:
Originally posted by SciptureAndPrayers:
I find it disturbing that the tone of the last few posts would seem to indicate that America's most disenfranchised should be ashamed of themselves and feel lucky for what they have, which isn't much. Contrary to popular opinion, especially in the red states, most of America's poor aren't lazy freeloaders. This is just an excuse that we use to dehumanize them so that we can feel justified in ignoring them. Speaking from personal experience, I have witnessed all of those things delineated in the article, and they're just the tip of the iceberg.
If my post caused you to have that impression, that was not my intent. I was only comparing the degrees of poverty between America the land of "plenty" and in the 3rd world. Favor Minded's pictures of utter destitution in contrast to America's poor.
If anything the poor in American probably suffer More on the level of emotional and mental along with being hungry and being in need, because of the "shame" factor associated with being poor in the country of self-motivation. So they also live with the shame you mention of people judging them, about "What's wrong with you?"
Both are terrible situations in which I wish that the world and the US could do better in helping out those in need. In my post I did write that many homeless people were ones who worked and had children, but were unable to afford housing. Also some are mentally ill and or drug addicts. That's always been the case, but having families out in the street is something we are seeing more and more, and it's not right.
The other thing that causes poverty in America is when people have long standing chronic health problems. Many people lose everything when their health fails.
Again I didn't intend to make light of poverty where ever it is.
Posts: 1392 | From: Maine | Registered: Aug 2004
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Gramajo320
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Niedziejkore, Favorminded, WhiteEagle, WParr,
Yes when you compare the 3rd world countries with all of their hunger, the illnesses, the lack of medical care, the living in such unsanitary conditions, etc., to the poor here is America there is a world of difference! Something needs to be done to totally stop the corruption that goes on in third world countries so the food, medical supplies, money, and more habitable living conditions could be built there for the people and all of the supplies could be used for the people.
Yes here in America we have underpaid workers who don't have health insurance, 401k's, they have a very difficult time making ends meet. We have ever so many homeless people both single and married couples who have children. The huge difference is that all over this nation there are many resources available through various agencies and most all of the churches who can be of great help to all those who need it.
Usually the agencies are well publicized in hopes that the ones who really need it will know about it. I've worked for non-profit agencies so when I've come in contact with those who need the help I've been able to direct them where to go.
I also help in other ways as much as is possible and taught my son and daughter to do the same.
I once worked for one of the wealthiest men here in our city. He wanted me to prepare his mortgage files to be given to a university in Oregon. Not long after I began working for him he told me he wanted to talk about the bible - he said he was an agnostic. So quite often we'd talk about the bible and he gave up considering himself to be an agnostic. Then one day he told me he was thinking of having a monument to himself built so that people would remember him. I asked why on earth would you do that - people would remember you more if you were to help the poor of our city. He thought about it and agreed that was a better idea. It has been my experience that some of the wealthy people who could help did so. However many of them who could help did not with the attitude "it's not my problem." Ever so many times over I've seen the poorest of the poor helping others with a very willing heart!
Yes we do need to give to the third world countries to help those people! Their need is so critical! The poor will always be with us and we all need to be of help - If everyone who had a willing compassionate heart would give that $1.00 or more if they wanted to it's amazing how many starving people that would feed! The poor will always be with us and we all need to think of them!
In Christ's love,
Gramajo320
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Favor Minded
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Nor was it mine -
But there is a HUGE contrast and Americans do not know anything about it.
Oh, they have indeed "heard", but unless they are part of the solution, in my opinion, they are part of the problem.
The bible says quite plainly - Give and it will be given you.
Yes there are indeed poor and impoverished right here, and we as a country have the ABSOLUTE LEAST excuse of all...
Sadly, so many stand on the sidelines and whine about our problem here when in reality it could easily be fixed but here is not enough in this country who care to do anything about it.
We blame the government, and we look to everyone else to do something -
I can tell you one thing - In Africa,
the value of a single welfare check, coupled with a food stamp card, can feed 100 times what it does here.
A single family who is "poor" here, running to the mail box for the welfare check, has the opportunity to learn and get gainful employment through state and fed run programs.
The 3rd world has NO SUCH opportunities - And unless you have been there, regardless of your status - As WParr said,
You have NO IDEA -
We all can help - But so very few do.
Just think what would happen if every person in America gave only $1.
Sadly - It is only the very few who do anything about it - The rest of "Americans" do nothing, but complain and act as though the world owes them something...
I am NOT saying there are not people who are poor or on the streets, starving, etc, here - There are.
But in this country there is no excuse for that -
Do you know that Americans throw away enough food every hour to feed the entire starving countries in Africa for a day.
Hmmm....Let's see - 1 hour - 1 day -
That equals 24 days for them to one day for us...
That doesn't seem right.
Our garbage would be a delicacy -
Why won't more people to what Jesus asked, and
Remember the Poor?
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SciptureAndPrayers
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While I believe that no thinking person could help having compassion for those desperately impoverished in the third world countries, I find it disturbing that the tone of the last few posts would seem to indicate that America's most disenfranchised should be ashamed of themselves and feel lucky for what they have, which isn't much. Contrary to popular opinion, especially in the red states, most of America's poor aren't lazy freeloaders. This is just an excuse that we use to dehumanize them so that we can feel justified in ignoring them. Speaking from personal experience, I have witnessed all of those things delineated in the article, and they're just the tip of the iceberg.
On the other hand, taking into account both poverty in America and in the rest of the world, I don't think that any of us can be comfortable or fully at ease before God if we are ourselves in a higher standard of living while our brothers and sisters are suffering. Perhaps the Lord has blessed many of us, but ultimately whatever we have belongs to the Lord. Though having food, shelter, and clothing may never have saved a single soul, a soul lacking in charity, compassion and generosity will never see the Kingdom of God either.
There are huge gaps in the world in the distribution of the simplest resources required just to survive from one day to the next. Politics, economics, and social theories can, at best, explain and categorize the situation. Only acts of God's love, through His people can hope to resolve them.
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In Christ's love. Amen.
Posts: 345 | From: Rochester NY | Registered: Jul 2004
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WhiteEagle
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Whew! Quite a contrast of values between the previous two posts.
It appears that even the poorest person in America is "rich" compared to what goes on in many parts of the world.
We have homeless people in America, and these Homeless people are NOT just ones who have an addiction or mental illness, but are now those who do "work" but can not afford to house themselves or their families.
The poverty of Africa is caused by constant wars, and greed of those who struggle for control.
In America we are abundant enough that "even" our crumbs, from our tables helps our poor to survive at a higher level, than in Africa.
In America the homeless can go to the refuse hold outside a grocery store or restaurant, and get "Good" food. In Africa they have no such abundance, no grocery store garbage to fall back on. It's completely desolate of resources.
It is indeed Horrible. Even the aid Amercia and other countries attempts to send to the 3rd world is hi-jacked, many times and never reaches the people who need it.
Poverty is indeed a weapon of mass destruction.
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Favor Minded
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Every single day 50,000 people die, because of the lack of food, water, medication and good government.
"Every day, more than 800 million people worldwide - among them 300 million children - suffer the gnawing pain of hunger, and the diseases or disabilities caused by malnutrition"
Not Only is this Baby Starving and Scrabbling for Food he is subjected to the Indignity of being covered in Flies.
In the West, we take a lot of things for granted. In the USA, the UK and some other countries in Europe, the standard of living is very high. At the end of a not so colorful spectrum, there are countries who have citizens that have no standard of living, at all.
Frequently we see vivid photographs of famine-stricken children and are weighed down by the breathtaking mission of feeding planet Earth's starving millions.
The one obvious explanation for starvation is POVERTY . The underprivileged are usually hungry, and the hungry are usually poor. In 1st World countries, we have the luxury of only worrying about our quality of life and the standard of living. However, in 3rd World countries, where there is no relative standard of living, the motivation of life quality shifts to the simple act of supporting life; i.e. survival.
A key problem here is Capital Investment, which most 3rd World Countries do not readily have. They have no or little money to spend on agricultural or its development when they have hungry mouths to feed, and medical problems to consider.
Currently it costs 30 times more, in terms of energy and resources, to feed and see to a North American citizen, at the rate that they would expect and demand. This, as against what it would cost to satisfy some Asian or African citizen's expectations. But ironically the cost of keeping 30 starving people alive, costs much less than keeping one USA citizen living in their present standard of living.
Why has there been a million times more spent on arms and Weapons of Mass Destruction, than feeding the Third World?
Where are all the principles that the UN talked about, and put down on paper, all those years ago?
This world, thanks to the UN, among others, is much worse off than it was 50 years ago.
Why is not every country a democratic state?
Why are countries and the representatives of non-democratic states, allowed in the UN?
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Niedziejkore
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By Linda Ostreicher
Republished from Gotham Gazette
The working poor struggle on in the Big Apple
Last year, about one in three low-wage full-time workers in this city experienced one of more of these hardships:
• their gas, phone, or electricity was turned off because they couldn’t pay the bills;
• they used a food bank or pantry to avoid going hungry;
• they couldn’t pay the rent;
• or a prescription cost too much for them to fill it.
In The Unheard Third: Bringing the Voices of Low-Income New Yorkers to the Policy Debate, the Community Service Society and the United Way of New York City document the street-level effects of New York’s inadequate minimum wage of $5.15 per hour. Many of the working poor saw their wages or tips go down last year, had their hours cut back, or lost their jobs entirely. Statewide, over 88 percent of families supported by low-wage workers are headed by at least one adult over the age of 25; the minimum wage is not limited to teenage workers.
Those earning the least also receive the fewest employment benefits, which are taken for granted by higher-paid workers. Nearly two-thirds of low-wage workers reported having no paid vacation days or sick days. Almost half had no health coverage, with the majority lacking prescription coverage for themselves and/or health coverage for family members. The working poor have no need of financial advisors: Only one-third are offered a pension or 401(k) retirement plan, and most have less than $500 in savings.
There is little margin for emergency needs here. A parent who misses work to care for a sick child loses money every day and risks being fired. A few extra dollars a month for subway fare, or a four percent rent increase, means the family must do without another essential item.
Food Stamps Are Back in Favor
Under the Giuliani administration, food stamps were considered a form of welfare, and the city sought to “wean” working recipients from them. The Bloomberg administration has indicated more willingness to extend food benefits.
The city’s Human Resources Administration is collaborating with a food stamp outreach initiative of the Community Food Resource Center, with participation by Pathmark Supermarkets. The center will post advocates at supermarkets to educate shoppers about food stamps, screen them for eligibility, and help them fill out applications.
Little Help from Education and Job Training
While federal job training programs have a good record of helping graduates find and keep jobs, they are not reaching those New Yorkers who need them most. Statewide, less than one-third of 1% of adult high-school dropouts complete job training programs.
The city’s Local Law 23 mandated access to job training and education for welfare recipients, but the Bloomberg administration has not implemented the law, nor has it complied with a 2003 court order to provide a list of approved training programs to welfare recipients interested in enrolling. Nearly 80% of welfare recipients didn’t know that there were educational programs open to them, according to a survey by the Urban Justice Center and Families United for Racial and Economic Justice. For every two respondents who attended school last year, another seven were interested in doing so, but did not.
One unemployed woman had enrolled full-time in college before becoming eligible for welfare. She reported that a welfare worker told her that she would have to give up school in order to meet the work requirement. This was a direct violation of the city’s obligation to make a reasonable effort to accommodate the class schedule of a recipient enrolled in school.
Over 300 welfare beneficiaries were surveyed for the report, at ten of the city’s Job Centers. Such a survey would be more difficult today, now that an appeals court has upheld the city’s ban on the presence of advocates in job centers, unless they are on “official business,” as defined by the Human Resources Administration. [See A Ban On Welfare Advocates At Welfare Centers, by Emily Jane Goodman, Gotham Gazette, September, 2004.]
Better Days Are Not Ahead for the Working Poor
Currently, the working poor have limited opportunities to climb out of poverty, according to Between Hope and Hard Times: New York’s Working Families In Economic Distress, by the Center for an Urban Future and the Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy.
The authors found that even before the recent recession, median household income dropped in all four outer boroughs during the 1990s. While the United States as a whole saw a slight drop – 1.3 percent – in the number of low-income households during that decade, New York State had an increase of 2.7 percent in its number of low-income households.
The hardships faced by low-income households are increased by New York City being one of the two most expensive places to live in the country. The cost for just three commodities – education, housing, and child care – illustrates the difficulty of working your way out of poverty.
A community college degree adds an average of $7,000 to a worker’s annual income, but tuition increases keep moving education further out of reach. New York City community colleges raised tuition to $2,800 a year in 2003. Students who work and go to school part-time aren’t eligible for the major source of financial aid: the Tuition Assistance Program.
Planned Shrinkage of Housing for the Poor
New York City’s permanent housing emergency continues to grow worse. Large new public housing projects are no longer being built. Poor tenants have come to increasing rely on Section 8, a federal program of vouchers that pay part of the rent, but there is a long waiting list for the program, and a likelihood that its funding will be cut next year. (See Affordable Housing in 2004 by Joe Lamport)
Inadequate Child Care
The city provides child care subsidies for 105,000 children; it is estimated that another 100,000 are eligible, but not receiving a subsidy. Low-income parents usually turn to unregulated care, such as leaving children with a relative or neighbor. Even among families using subsidized day care, 38,000 children are in unregulated care. Unregulated settings rarely offer the learning activities provided in more formal child care settings, so children entering school from unregulated day care start out with a disadvantage.
Work Supports as a Subsidy to Employers
Housing vouchers, child care subsidies, food stamps, and publicly funded health coverage can be seen as subsidies that benefit employers by allowing them to hire workers at salaries too low to live on. If government chooses to use tax dollars to help employers, there should be some criteria for this assistance. Perhaps businesses could be required to pay a living wage, with essential fringe benefits, unless they passed a means test based on their profit margin or on the salary of the highest-paid executive.
Linda Ostreicher, a former budget analyst for the New York City Council, is a freelance writer and consultant to nonprofits
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Worker bees can leave
Even drones can fly away
The queen is their slave.
Posts: 346 | From: Wisconsin | Registered: Feb 2004
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