War On Poverty
FAILED!!! Time For A Conservative Solution.
There are a lot of similarities between Ireland when I was
growing up (and Ireland has only gotten worse) and America today. America
today has become a follower in the long tradition of Socialism and Marxism.
Today Americans are being taught the same things I was taught when I was
growing up. Government is your friend, it will only ever act in your best
interests and that you must accept a greater role of government in your life
because the politicians are elected by the people and it is their job to ensure
fairness for all. However fairness was always what was politically
expedient at the time. We were always taught
to overlook the inefficiencies of government – whether it is the DMV in
America to the health service in Ireland. Yet it never occurs to people to hand it over to a
private individual with a profit motive. The only change is a new leader,
but all the players stay the same and thus results never change. Ronald
Reagan put it best in 1964 when he said, “The more the plans FAIL, the more the
planners plan”.
We are in the season of Advent and
today I want to talk to you about poverty. After all next March will be the 50th
Anniversary of Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty Speech.
Poverty
So what is poverty? Most people I know would consider
poverty as some sort of financial disadvantage – someone who cannot afford
something like food, light or heat. The US government agrees and they, “use a
set of money income thresholds that vary by family size and composition to
determine who is in poverty”. So is poverty only a financial situation, or
are there other types?
Also who is responsible to help people in poverty? Before I
lay out my case to you, I want to set the record straight. There
is NO CHOICE between helping people in poverty and doing nothing. The
only choice what is the best way to help and EMPOWER them and to do it without
harming another individual. The aim here is to help bring people in poverty up
a level, NOT bring others down.
Family
Breakdown & Loneliness
When you look at all the broken families today,
would you consider some of their situations impoverished? What about
a single parent family who have no support from friends or family?
What about a kid who has no family and cannot find foster parents? What
about an elderly person with no family to mind them and check in with
them as the days get shorter and colder? Or what about the people who simply have
no friends or family to talk to? Think how many people who will celebrate
this Christmas alone? Is this situation a form of poverty? If it
is, how should the government help fix this? Should it hire people to check in
on all lonely people and have a chat? Should it offer advice on changing
nappies or how to deal with puberty? Or can all this be fixed with more money???
Unemployment
America has maintained an unemployment rate of at least 7% since
December 2008 and that does not include the amount of people who have stopped
looking. What happens to an individual who has worked their whole life,
became successful but now cannot find a new job. I could guess at some
professions in America but I will give you some real life examples from
Ireland. There are many very talented people who have worked in banks and
insurance because of down-sizing now cannot find work. There are people
with trades like plumbers and electricians who have worked their entire
lives but now with little or no chance of a new job. Or what about people
from the older generation – what chance has someone in their 50’s got
in the current market of gaining employment when there are so many people
younger and with a fancy degree? Is unemployment a form of poverty and
again how should the government fight this? Should it create more jobs in the
nanny state and accommodate everyone who wants to work regardless of the need? I
think you see a pattern now and I could also have mentioned poverties of
education, spiritual and morals. BUT….
Is
there a bigger Poverty?
In my opinion there is a bigger poverty than ALL these
combined and very few ever even consider it. I firmly believe the biggest poverty today is HOPE. I
believe in the power of the human spirit because we are all unique and capable
of great things. I think it is safe to say everyone reading this has dealt with
some huge personal tragedy in their life – like losing a loved one. I
believe hope plays a huge part in overcoming this because while the pain is
great at the moment and always there, over time we adapt and life becomes
easier. However today what hope do people have? For the first time, a
lot of Americans do not believe their children will be better off than they
were. I know a lot of people today who think, life right now is as good as it
gets. What hope does someone who is long term unemployed have? What
hope does an elderly person who has no family have? What
hope do the next generation have when all they are told to be part of
the collective and witness society always trying to bring down successful people.
Solution
So what is the solution? I believe returning to America’s
founding principles of individualism will be a start and encouraging MAXIMUM
FREEDOM AND MAXIMUM
RESPONSIBILITY (Glenn Beck talks about this at length). Anytime someone
talks about problems and poverty being the responsibility of the government, I
encourage you to remind them what I was told as a kid, “Anytime you point your
finger at someone else, there are three pointing right back at you” and you
will have the answer. The answer to these poverties or problems will always be
the same.
It is not up to the government to STEAL and ROB one person who is
somewhat successful to help an individual who is not. Every individual
has a responsibility to society in the way that interests them most – some will
help the homeless, others special needs and others cancer research etc.
We should let individuals get involved in any way they see fit. We also need to
work together in our communities and realize there is a HUGE role to be filled
by our Churches to help each other. It also costs nothing to offer hope and
encouragement to people. The ultimate aim always has to empower the
individual, promote self-sufficiency, and offer a hand up NOT a hand out.
Lastly if you take nothing from this article, please
consider this. We all have a lot of work to do with the next generation. We
need to explain to them that the world is no longer your oyster and to shoot
for the moon and the stars – that is so 1960’s….. We need them to explain
the universe is theirs for the taking and the only limit on them and us is the
one they set for themselves!!!
Reliance and dependency on Government to solve the problems described above
have failed. Taking billions from others
and trickling it down to those in need has failed. The problems outlined above
have gotten worse since Lyndon Johnson's great speech about the "War on
Poverty". We lost the war.
Period. Now is the time!
Useful Links
Lyndon Johnson War on Poverty Speech – http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1964johnson-warpoverty.html
Description of Poverty – http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/about/overview/measure.html
Unemployment Rate – http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052748703338004575230041742556522
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