christianity: Poverty in America

An Augustinian Heart (

catholic_heart) wrote in

christianity,
@ 2008-03-25 23:26:00

Entry tags:

poverty

Poverty in America
A really powerful video from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops on poverty in the United States. Please take a few moments to watch it.

This is the website for the USCCB's Catholic Campaign for Human Development, where you can find lots of information, statistics, and action ideas for combating poverty in America.

Finally, this is the website for Catholic Relief Services, which is the American branch of the Vatican's charitable wing Caritas. CRS serves the poor throughout the world, and focuses particularly on changing conditions which cause poverty in the first place. They also provide lots of information for Americans who wish to take action beside simply donating money.

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	oblyvia 2008-03-26 04:36 am UTC (link)
	Wow, powerful indeed. I'm really glad to see all the information--I know a lot of people feel helpless because they want to help but can't donate cash. This site is a great start to combating that helplessness. Thanks for posting this. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	catholic_heart 2008-03-26 04:37 am UTC (link)
	No problem, thanks for taking the time to check it out :) (Reply to this)(Parent)

christianblog
2008-03-26 10:13 am UTC (link)

Really sobering, and so many people struggling, even in a country where there is so much wealth.

I think the car would be the thing I'd jettison first. But sometimes work is not conveniently close to where a person is able to live, so it's difficult. Even so, I'd seriously consider the need for the car first of all.

Personally I don't think anyone living in poverty should have to pay health insurance - or, at least, it should be proportionate to income.

I cannot for the life of me understand in a compassionate society why those who make more money cannot contribute more to subsidise those in poverty when it comes to health care.

In the UK health care is provided without any insurance. It's paid for through income tax, based on a person's income.

It's like a communal commitment that everybody, when they fall sick, deserves care and help for their illness. It's just a basic humanity and bottom line really.

So that is another expense - in my view - that should not be so disproportionately heaped on the poorest in society.

We should care for one another.

Edited at 2008-03-26 10:14 am UTC

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mintogrubb
2008-03-26 11:18 am UTC (link)

many Americans I know tell me that a car is essential. LA is not built around people , it is built on the assumption that everyone has a car.

Many people in the mid west live miles away from the nearest neighbour, never mind the nearest store. I live in the UK myself, and much as we moan about the tube in London, Americans tell me there is nothing like this back home- even in New York.

In America, it seems, a car is an essential, not a luxury. These are hard choices that poor people face.

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catholic_heart
2008-03-26 02:00 pm UTC (link)

This is very true. I don't know about L.A. (I'm an east coaster), but in most of our big cities it is very possible to survive without a car, but outside of the cities it is extremely difficult. I don't have a car, but I'm fortunate enough to live on a campus that has a train station which takes me directly into the city, and Philadelphia's public transportation is very effective, although extremely confusing to those not familiar with it. But before I came to Villanova, not having a car was extremely limiting. I've had to turn down job offers simply because there would be no way for me to get there in anything resembling a reasonable amount of time.

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mintogrubb
2008-03-26 02:31 pm UTC (link)

I've had to turn down job offers simply because there would be no way for me to get there in anything resembling a reasonable amount of time.

And this is part of the problem. Those who have the means find it easier to get on in life. those who do not find it a struggle to get ahead, or even hang on to what meagre things they have.
Poverty is not unique to the developing world, or to America. There are disadvantaged people in all societies, including Britain. Even so, it is of concern to me that America is the only developed country on earth that does not have a public health insurance programme.

In the UK, every employee has to pay income tax, but also national health insurance, deducted at source. this money is used to fund hospitals and doctors surgeries. I think that every country should ensure that it's citizens, especially it's children , get proper healthcare but this is me being political, not religious (;

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paedraggaidin
2008-03-26 02:50 pm UTC (link)

"I've had to turn down job offers simply because there would be no way for me to get there in anything resembling a reasonable amount of time."

That's Wichita, Kansas to a T, my friend. In a city of 350,000 that covers 150 square miles there are only 18 bus routes (five of which are loops), that don't operate after 6 pm on weekdays, after 5 pm pm Saturdays, or at all on Sundays and federal holidays. Basically, if you want to work at all but don't drive, you are forced to either a.) work within walking distance of home, or b.) rely on other people for transportation, unless you're one of the lucky few like myself who works downtown and can take the buses to within a reasonable walking distance. 99% of the businesses and government services in Wichita assume that everyone drives and owns a personal automobile; a good illustration of this is that, when the public transit agency held meetings on proposed fare increases a few years back, they did so in the evening after the buses stopped running, so those who were directly affected by the policy were largely unable to attend. If you are poor and don't drive, like me, you're almost always out of luck in the Heartland.

And you wonder why I've fallen completely in love with the East Coast and don't want to leave? ;) Speaking of which, I'll be in Philadelphia this weekend! :D The city that changed my life.

Edited at 2008-03-26 02:51 pm UTC

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	martiancyclist 2008-03-26 03:50 pm UTC (link)
	Some of us can make bicycles work, too. (: (Though not everyone can do it, and it has its limits, too.) (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	catholic_heart 2008-03-26 03:59 pm UTC (link)
	My roommate is a big bicycler. I didn't bring mine to school, but I'll take it up here over the summer when I move into a more long-term living arrangement. But I do walk a lot :) I wish more people would use bikes and feet for transportation when they can, it would be much better for the environment and their personal health :) (Reply to this)(Parent)

	pastorlenny 2008-03-26 01:52 pm UTC (link)
	This is why I sometimes feel iffy about "mission trips." The amount of suffering right in my backyard is staggering -- and it reallywouldn't take that much to alleviate it if people were only aware, felt compassion, and were willing to act. (Reply to this)(Thread)

catholic_heart
2008-03-26 01:57 pm UTC (link)

It's really interesting how we are so unable - and even often unwilling - to take care of our own while expression such a profound concern for the suffering of those outside our immediate tent. I think part of it is that when we work to alleviate poverty and hunger that is far away from us, we don't have to worry about being confronted by the inadequacy of our efforts, and we can rejoice in the effort itself without having to face the reality of the result. It's ultimately a defeatist attitude, I think, which I think to a great degree is motivated by the fear of failure if we do decide to focus on our own. If we fail to eliminate poverty away from us, we won't have to face our own failure. If we seek to eliminate poverty here and fail, we'll have to face our failure square in the face. All of which is sadly a grave distortion of Gospel hope, because we are called to love and care for our brethren, trusting the results ultimately to the power of God.

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pastorlenny
2008-03-26 02:01 pm UTC (link)

Good point. I think it's also that we want the effort to be compartmentalized and finite. Once you start engaging with a family in need locally, you can't really walk away from the situation because of its inconvenience -- or you can't walk away as easily. That is, you have to decide to walk away and accept that decision as your own. On a trip, it's over when the program leader says it's over. You are thus personally absolved of responsibility for your own decision to disengage.

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	catholic_heart 2008-03-26 02:03 pm UTC (link)
	Yes, that's a great point, too. Committing your soul to someone is much easier when you know exactly how long before you can take it back. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

mintogrubb
2008-03-26 02:42 pm UTC (link)

I also wonder about poverty in the developed world.

In Africa, South America and Asia, there are tea, coffee, cocoa, sugar and many other high value commodities produced. But when we buy from them , we buy cheap - squeezing down the price as low as we can , then try to sell at the best prices. The Walmart shareholders pocket the difference.

I wonder how much the poor workers of America have of joining a Trade Union, of negotiating with employers or with the government on fair and even terms?

It is said in England that British Trades Unionism owes more to Methodism than Marxism. This was because it was the Methodist Church was so supportive of social justice for the mining communities in it's Welsh heartlands back in the early years of this century.

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	catholic_heart 2008-03-26 02:50 pm UTC (link)
	That's why I'm a CRS Fair Trade Ambassador :) (Reply to this)(Parent)

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