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Letters to the Editor: Wealthy Americas thriving at expense of the poor
Volunteers at St. Ignatius Food Pantry bag items as individuals and families in need visit the facility Friday in Chicago. More than 2 million low-income Illinois residents who receive food stamps will soon see their benefits cut. Beginning Friday, a temporary increase in food stamp dollars from the 2009 economic stimulus will expire. (M. Spencer Green / Associated Press)
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Can we have a conversation; a dialog that makes sense of what is happening all around us? Can we find it in our hearts to stop the onslaught against the poor, elderly and working people? Does the slashing of social programs make us a better people? Are we better off paying for the pleasure of the wealthy at the expense of little children?
Surely we can moderate the $870 billion we give the corporate world in subsidies to somehow strengthen the meager $36 billion we use for the food-stamp program. The shame is that we had a democracy that worked hard to strike a balance between the poor’s needs and the greed of the wealthy.
That died with Citizens United. It won’t be long before we see the return of the workhouse of the 19th century and another cast of Dickens characters. Take out a dollar bill and read the caption that says “In God We Trust” and ask yourself, what God are they talking about.
Is it the golden calf that is the worship of money or is it the Judeo-Christian God that demands of us compassion and love for those who are in need? When we look at our problems through the lens of the media, the plight of the poor is marginalized into a numbers game. The idea that the wealthy have been given a pass when it comes to their obligation to pay their fair share in taxes has been buried in the back pages and sound bites that are not being heard.
The wealthy are so consumed with having more than everyone else that they have no problem stealing the meager belongings of those who have nothing. The problem with this thinking is there is a slim possibility that the poor see that they have nothing to lose by openly opposing their own destruction by taking up arms against a sea of uncaring autocrats. Will that happen? Probably not. After all, the masses are spending most of their waking hours figuring out where their next meal is coming from. There is no denying that there is a class war in progress, even if there are those who don’t want to hear it. The shame is that the poor are the only ones who are actually dying. ÂÂ
Surely we can moderate the $870 billion we give the corporate world in subsidies to somehow strengthen the meager $36 billion we use for the food-stamp program. The shame is that we had a democracy that worked hard to strike a balance between the poor’s needs and the greed of the wealthy.
That died with Citizens United. It won’t be long before we see the return of the workhouse of the 19th century and another cast of Dickens characters. Take out a dollar bill and read the caption that says “In God We Trust” and ask yourself, what God are they talking about.
Is it the golden calf that is the worship of money or is it the Judeo-Christian God that demands of us compassion and love for those who are in need? When we look at our problems through the lens of the media, the plight of the poor is marginalized into a numbers game. The idea that the wealthy have been given a pass when it comes to their obligation to pay their fair share in taxes has been buried in the back pages and sound bites that are not being heard.
The wealthy are so consumed with having more than everyone else that they have no problem stealing the meager belongings of those who have nothing. The problem with this thinking is there is a slim possibility that the poor see that they have nothing to lose by openly opposing their own destruction by taking up arms against a sea of uncaring autocrats. Will that happen? Probably not. After all, the masses are spending most of their waking hours figuring out where their next meal is coming from. There is no denying that there is a class war in progress, even if there are those who don’t want to hear it. The shame is that the poor are the only ones who are actually dying. ÂÂ
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