Poverty reality 
 

By Jim Killebrew

[August 12, 2014]  A quote form Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) reads as follows: "You tell me. What kind of morality is it when Congress gives tax breaks to billionaires and large corporations, but cuts nutrition programs for kids. At a time when millions of Americans are struggling economically, we have more wealth and income inequality than any other major country--and the gap between the super-rich and everyone else is growing wider."

In his 1964 State of the Union Address, President Lyndon Johnson said, "Our aim is not only to relieve the symptom of poverty, but to cure it and, above all, to prevent it. No single piece of legislation, however, is going to suffice." In the past 50 years since the President declared war on poverty the United States has spent trillions of dollars to eradicate poverty. A United States House of Representatives Budget Committee Report entitled, The War on Poverty: 50 Years Later, reported there are at least 92 different federal programs directly focused on helping the lower-income Americans. In fiscal year 2012 the U.S. government spent 799 billion dollars on those federal programs.

The problem with the federal programs, as well as the supplemental state programs, is the lack of accountability in collecting any meaningful data to determine the effectiveness of the programs in helping people rise above poverty status. In fact, some of the programs actually make it more difficult for many to move out of poverty. For sure, some of the money used in programs like cash aid, education and job training, energy, food aid, health care, housing, social services and veterans programs, there are many who are helped. For many, however, it has become more of a dependency program that has generationally resulted in a hand-out more than a hand-up.

Most people in our country want everyone to have a decent, productive life. There are more programs for the poor than ever before. The government currently spends more than 500 billion dollars a year on the poor. The poverty level for 2014 has been set by the government at a dollar amount of $23,850 total annual income for a family of four. That model family is defined as two parents and two dependent children. Adjusted for inflation the consumer price index is the measurement of poverty in America. The U.S. Census Bureau in 2012 recorded over 16% of the U.S. population lived in poverty; this included almost 20% of children, which was an increase from the 14.3% recorded in 2009. In 2009 the number of Americans living in poverty was approaching the highest levels recorded in the 1960s when President Johnson initiated his "War on Poverty."

Of course these figures only represent what the taxpayer through the government is providing. These figures do not represent any of the multiple millions of dollars, perhaps in the billions of dollars the faith groups across the nation are providing for the poor in their local towns and cities. In the account in Mark 14 when a woman came to Jesus to anoint Him with a costly oil, His disciples were critical of her and thought she was wasting the expensive ointment and thought it could have been sold for a large sum of money and given to the poor. Jesus answered and said, “Leave her alone. Why are you bothering her? She has done a good service for me. For you will always have the poor with you, and you can do good for them whenever you want. But you will not always have me!" (Mark 14:6-7)

The most recent Census reported the number of people in poverty as "The nation’s official poverty rate in 2011 was 15.0 percent, with 46.2 million people in poverty. After three consecutive years of increases, neither the poverty rate nor the number of people in poverty were statistically different from the 2010 estimates." So, just as Jesus said we will always have the poor among us. But Senator Sanders is now telling us, "At a time when millions of Americans are struggling economically..." we need to do more.

There seems to be a disconnect between what the Senator said and what we all see as a reality. We are being told by the liberal talking points that Americans are not struggling economically anymore. The word from the Administration is that the economy has bounced back, the President has created more jobs than ever before and inflation is not a problem. We are told the stock market has risen to the highest level ever under this President and people are better off now that they have ever been before. We have been told that this President has created more jobs than were created after WWII. There has always been income inequality throughout world history in any country ever studied. With all the economic advancements the President and his Administration claim to have made, how can Senator Bernie Sanders possibly be right in making this statement.

If this is true does that mean all the other stuff about the recovery in the economy is not true?

[By JIM KILLEBREW]