Courtesy of an article at Come And Make It, I came across this video. I found it interesting and informative; and, based on many years working in "the projects" from time to time, and volunteering at a homeless shelter, and working with prison inmates who pleaded poverty as an excuse for their crimes, I think it does a reasonable job at exposing why inner-city or "ghetto" poverty is a real issue.
Recommended viewing.
There's a lot more to poverty, of course, and much more that can be said. However, this video does a pretty good job of examining poverty in the context of the United States, and in particular of our cities. It doesn't give enough attention, IMHO, to the "poverty industry" of NGO's, consultants, therapists and others who make a good living out of "managing" or "addressing" the causes, effects and reality of poverty, without ever doing anything to resolve the issues they identify - because that would cut off their income, and nobody (at least, from their perspective) wants that.
How far can one go in helping the poor without making them so dependent on that help that they lose all incentive, all desire, to get out of poverty? How much can one give people without them coming to expect that everything in life is a "gimme", and nothing is "I've got to work to earn this"?
*Sigh*
Peter
12 comments:
Poverty is the natural state of man, and it takes work to make things otherwise. Unfortunately, it also takes a lot less effort to destroy someone's work, or steal the fruits of their labor, than it does to do the necessary work to either create or maintain wealth.
Jesus said the poor will always be with us. Every race, ethnicity, nation, community, school has its bottom 10% - people without the ability, focus, drive to manage life for themselves. The question is just how much do 'we' supposedly 'owe' them? And at whose cost? How much does society 'owe' the child who unfortunately suffers from a debilitating genetic disease or inherets food allergies? How much does society owe to keep a 90 year old alive until 91, or a massively preterm baby? The successes are all 'feel good' stories, but at what cost - and on what moral grounds must everyone fund them?
There are a lot of people that will be on the short, steep slope to poverty now that Uncle Sugar is putting his checkbook away.
Those that have been running programs helping the homeless, mentally ill and chronically unemployed while making 6- or 7-figure salaries should have a leg up on their peers.
The dangerous ones are those living off the monthly-regenerating debit card that doesn't regenerate this month.
Cargo cult........
Re: that "poverty industry."
While front-line individuals may actually be altruistic and do actual "good, the structural NGOs and "not for profit" entities (check out some of their Form 990s on "charitynavigator[dot]org") so very often follow Eric Hoffer's theory that: what starts as a movement (or charity) => becomes a business => and turns into a racket.
...for exactly the reason(s) you describe: no one wants to be so successful that they eliminate their reason for being.
Take the following Pres. Reagan quote, replace the word "government" with "NGO" or "non profit," and it's just as timely and relevant.
“No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth!”
There will ALWAYS be "the poor". No matter what people, agencies and governments do.... or don't do. The vast majority of poor are poor for a simple reason. They make poor choices. Poverty, especially in a first world country, is nearly always a choice. And all the "aid" in the world will never change that. And the more you subsidize poor people the more poor people you will have. The ugly reality is "the poor" is nothing but an excuse for unscrupulous people to steal from those who can and do and PRETEND to give to those who won't or can't be bothered to.
@ the 1st Anonymous
that's called Government, more particularly the IRS
Poverty IS an institution not only in the US, but world-wide, bring in BIG bucks for those in charge...
There's no one right answer, but I feel like my church has programs that do tend to help lift people out of poverty more than the average - the Perpetual Education Fund, which was set up to help people in 3rd world countries get education in useful or needed skills and professions - they're expected to return to their countries and make a difference; our fast offerings, which go toward local needs (we fast from two meals once a month, then give the amount of the two meals we didn't eat - or more - to the local leaders, who can then help pay various types of bills that might sink an already struggling family into poverty); and our Bishop's Storehouse system, which allows us to feed the hungry in our local and international communities using food that we grow, harvest, and package with a mostly volunteer labor force. We also use the latter in emergencies to help feed people of any denomination who are hungry and in need.
Oh, yeah, and then there's various self-reliance programs that teach people basic budgeting and life skills.
Indeed, the poor will always be with us, but that doesn't mean we can't or shouldn't try to help lift them out of it, or that a decent proportion of people wouldn't rather have the dignity of working for their living.
Government intervention isn't the way to go, though. Helping others help themselves doesn't always work; there's plenty of people that only want handouts. But some people truly do just need a hand up.
Our schools teach squat about financial discipline.
They teach financial dependence.
And the obvious difference between those needing a hand up, and those who want handouts is ????
"There will always be the poor" if only because we will redefine what "poor" means.
Except for the homeless, most of the "poor" in the US live a life better than kings did a couple hundred years ago.
In what other time in history have the poor had a problem with being too fat?
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