How do we lift people out of poverty? Do we cut their benefits and make them work for what they recieve? Do we cut their food benefits and monitor what they eat? Do we make it harder to get housing? Do we keep minimum wages low? Do we not allow working parents to receive help with childcare when they are working or seeking to educate themselves? Do we cut medical benefits and overlook the disabilities that some individuals have?
If you are in line with the current administrations wishes, your answer would be yes. Surprisingly, this was also the tactic that Bill Clinton used in 1992 in an effort to bring the Republican Congress over to his side, with the outcome being the exact opposite of what was promised because, as you can see, Clintons cuts made poverty disappear.
Look around you. Really stop and see the people not only those in our communities but in our country who are living in extreme poverty. In the United States over 41 million people live below the federal poverty guidelines. And 140 million live under the threat of extreme poverty. A third of these people are children.
So lets take a child and reduce the amount of funds that his parents receive to feed him. Lets keep childcare out of reach for parents who want to work or educate themselves, thus making it impossible for them to rise up out of poverty. Lets take quality medical care away from children and the elderly. Lets make sure that the parent works for what they receive regardless of the childs health, the parents health, or the parents inability to pay a sitter while they work for minimum wage. Lets make sure that minimum wage stays at a rate that doesnt allow even two working parents to rise above or stay out of poverty. Minimum wages vary from state to state, with the lowest hourly wage being $5 per hour and the highest being $10.50. In Kansas our minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. Stop and think of how you would take care of your family on $7.25 an hour. Remember that as soon as you go to work, your food benefit is cut and your housing costs go up.
Right now our government would have you think that poor people are your enemy. That they are lazy, uneducated and out to suck the government dry even though only 8 percent of the federal budget goes to welfare and 3 percent to education. Who is really out to hurt you? Currently the richest 1 percent control 38 percent of the wealth while 90 percent hold all of the debt. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. But not only are the poor getting poorer, so is the lower and middle class. There is such a great divide and lack of understanding of those living in poverty that to allow our government to continue on in a manner that has proven to fail will only increase the number of people, children and elderly who are homeless, starving and dying from poverty.
We have until July 17 to register for the primary elections. It is more important now than ever before that you do so and that you vote. If the only thing you ever do for a person living in poverty is to vote for those who will make policy changes that will help people rise up and stay out of poverty, then you have done something amazing. You can go to the courthouse to register, or you can come to Humanity House and we can help you register and get the documents that you need to be eligible to vote. You may also go online to www.ksvotes.organd register to vote. Make this a priority for yourself and for those who are your neighbors and countrymen. And remember kindness matters!
