Today’s headlines include an AP article about the increase of poverty in the US. According to census figures, 1 in 2 people in the US are poor or low income. The figures are not surprising since the economy has been struggling for years, and government programs that act as safety nets have been decreased. My job, fulltime at a large department store, would put me in the low income range even though I work 35-39 hours per week. It does provide good benefits, and many of those who work there are not the sole income earners for themselves or their families. Still, I am blessed to have other sources of revenue to supplement my pay check. All are not so fortunate.
I am well educated and have a wide variety of experience and a strong social network that gives me support. What about those who have less education? Who have young children to support? Who are single parents? Who have been out of work for years? If I had difficulty finding a job, imagine the plight of so many others. As I said, the figures were not surprising.
What bothered me in the article was a comment by Robert Rector, a research fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation. He questioned whether those classified as poor or low-income in the census report actually suffered material hardship. He thinks the safety-net governmental programs offered to such people have been overdone. His rationale? Some of them have cars, decent sized homes, and widescreen TVs.
Finding a job let alone holding on to one is difficult if one does not have a car. In our country that has for the most part eschewed good public mass transportation, a car is a necessity for most. Many people I have worked with in poverty programs have a car (many did not) but it was not dependable. It broke down often and continually needed repair. Many famiies shared one car, making multiple trips to transport people to work and daycare.
Decent sized housing? What does that mean? That a family has a place to eat, relax, and sleep? Isn’t decent housing a right? Isn’t that what organizations like Habitat for Humanity are trying to provide? Does “decent” include location? Does it make a difference where homes are located? Does the quality of education change depending on where you live? I think we know the answer to that.
Is someone considered “poor” or “low income” only if they have no place for privacy to sleep and live?
And the wide-screen TV. Ah yes. How many times have I heard that poor people have big TV’s or cable or cell phones… (ReadingDr. Ruby Payne’s work may help one understand more about the effects of generational poverty and the different “rule” that apply to those in poverty, middle-class, and wealth.)
If someone lives a life of struggle and battles hopelessness and despair; if someone does not plan ahead because his or her focus is simply surviving day at a time and figuring out ways to respond to crises that come up (broken down car, sick child, heat turned off…) then entertainment is important. It is a way to escape for a few hours the difficulties of day to day life.
I wonder what Mr. Rector does to relax? I imagine he has many options, including bur certainly not limited to a good television.
Do we want to require people to be in abject poverty before we lend a hand? How can people become “self sufficient” without help in areas basic to finding and holding a job? His comments imply that people who are poor or hovering on the edge of poverty don’t go out and look for jobs, preferring instead to live off government programs.
Looking for jobs does not guarantee finding one. Rector speaks as if those needing assistance are not trying: “As we come out of recession, it will be important that these programs promote self-sufficiency rather than dependence and encourage people to look for work.”
Jesus asks in the gospel today: “what did you go out to the desert to see–a reed swayed by the wind? Then what did you go out to see? Someone dressed in fine garments? Those who dress luxuriously and live sumptuously are found in royal palaces. (Might we add Wall Street?) Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet…I tell you, among those born of women, on one is greater than John; yet the least in the Kingdom of God is greater than he.”
Who do we go out to see as we prepare to Christmas? The “least” that Jesus loves. There are plenty of prophets in our midst, people living with hope in conditions that would overwhelm many of us. People suffering with illness and no health care. People whose lives speak to us: “We are God’s children. The Christ lives in us, too.”
Jesus teachings turned the world upside down. Christmas is a time to reverence not only the helpless infant born in Bethlehem, but the prophet/God he revealed as a man. This holy baby grows into the One who challenges us to lives of service.
Who do we see, laying in the manger?
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