Poverty Must Be Addressed

[kara speltz]

Our financial freedom is absolutely essential. It brings peace of mind, freedom to choose, and the ability to follow your heart when responding to someone's need.

For me, wealth is not about "lifestyles of the rich & famous." It's about having the freedom and the ability to live my life to the fullest.

I understand that the above may be your belief, but let me ask another question. What ever happened to trusting in God? I live in Oakland CA. and $12,000 is enough to live on in California. One of the problems with always making what you consider "enough money" is that you live in the illusion that you earned it. When the truth is, it's all gift. All that we have is a gift of God. When you try to live as simply as possible you are much more aware of how much God really does provide for you.

Living simply isn't about giving up things, but a constant awareness and evaluation of what we really "need," as opposed to want.

Kara

[Zerbie]

Originally Posted by kara speltz

I understand that the above may be your belief, but let me ask another question. What ever happened to trusting in God? I live in Oakland CA. and $12,000 is enough to live on in California. One of the problems with always making what you consider "enough money" is that you live in the illusion that you earned it. When the truth is, it's all gift. All that we have is a gift of God. When you try to live as simply as possible you are much more aware of how much God really does provide for you.

Living simply isn't about giving up things, but a constant awareness and evaluation of what we really "need," as opposed to want.

Kara

I agree with the philsophy entirely. Yes it IS a gift. No you don't earn it by doing things, tho it seems that way. I spent enough time not having enough income to get by without gifts from my parents to know the difference, and I was working hard trying to get more work.

It is also true that one needs a certain amount of financial "wealth" in order to survive this world. That amount varies with the costs of living in one's area. But one must have money for food, $ for means of transportation to the work one does to pay for food and shelter, and we need to pay for medical care. Many of those fortunate enough to graduate colleges graduate with enormous amounts of student debt. Fine if they then obtain employment that enables them to pay it back, but I know brilliant, educated hard working people who do not receive enough in salary from those jobs the education enabled them to get to pay loans, rent, food, and in many cases, health insurance premiums.

There is a balance between what we can create/cause/influence, and what is beyond our influence. With society set up so that big business can profit at the expense of most everyone else, that which we can control shrinks to smaller and smaller territory. There are people who work fulltime jobs, live paycheck to paycheck without receiving medical insurance coverage, and so what happens if that person has a debilitating accident or serious disease? Debt.

You can do everything right and still not have a roof over your head. You can do everything right and still not "earn" enough $ to buy groceries. That is where solutions are urgently needed.

[tdogg]

It is also true that one needs a certain amount of financial "wealth" in order to survive this world. That amount varies with the costs of living in one's area. But one must have money for food, $ for means of transportation to the work one does to pay for food and shelter, and we need to pay for medical care. Many of those fortunate enough to graduate colleges graduate with enormous amounts of student debt. Fine if they then obtain employment that enables them to pay it back, but I know brilliant, educated hard working people who do not receive enough in salary from those jobs the education enabled them to get to pay loans, rent, food, and in many cases, health insurance premiums.

I agree with you Z.

We also have to understand that each of us has our own calling to spiritual faith and works. I have had many opportunities to exercise my faith in God where it didn't seem any options would work. There have been times where I have had little or no food, yet still had to find a way to work to pay my rent, etc.

Some of us may be called to live simple lives on much faith and little cash. Others may be called to a different way to serve our God. It's important that we each meditate and pray on how our God would have us serve him, humanity and our world/earth in general. We all have our individual gifts that we have been blessed with. I believe that they are gifted individually depending on how the Lord would have us live and what He would have us do.

Kara, if you are indeed living fine in Oakland on $12k a year, you are living on much much faith. That's an awesome accomplishment and proof that God is prevalent in your life. He has blessed you greatly!!

[NathanATX]

Poverty statistics: http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/pover...v/hstpov6.html

37,000,000 people below the poverty line.

[Liberal Crozier]

Canadian extreme Tories would love to replicate those numbers in Canada by repeating the lying mantra that government should do nothing but build roads and missiles and tanks for the military. In other words, the mantra and agenda of the extreme American Republicans.

Witness our system where medical treatment is a right of citizenship, and not the privilege of the wealthy and/or well-insured. Most companies are now lowering coverage to 90% and increasing premiums and co-pays for less and omitting certain covered drugs from their lists of approved medications.

Of course, their concern for the elderly is yet another shell game. Medication plans were made by their insurance company friends who made sure that no plan offered would satisfy a senior couples' needs without additional insurance premiums to cover the shortfall. These American neocons are shameless....while as Norquist said, they will completely undo the social compact with American families first begun in 1935 by FDR and amplified throughout the decades, including LBJ and Medicare in 1965. Trust me, no neocon would have done so. In fact the Theocon-in-Chief gives himself and other oligarchic theocrats the billions that Clinton and the Democrats earned from them to create the largest surplus in recent centuries of the American experience.

Madison Avenue writes the copy of care and compassion for the most vulnerable, the children, the sick, and the elderly.....and the Theocons translate that message into resolutions for dirty tricks and do not fund them at all, or inadequately, so as to ensure state compliance and the taxpayer paying more state taxes.....a shell game to keep them in power.

And the irony is this.....they obtain those votes from the most vulnerable in society who are told that they must vote for them in order to hasten the return of Jesus Christ and to destroy the homosexual agenda against the Church and families. Of course, these leaders are secular or cultural Christian neocons.....and are simply amazed how the Falwell, Dobson and Robertson crowd have morphed them into believing that Jesus Christ is a card carrying theocon Republican.

[tdogg]

There is a great editorial on CNN.com by M Ivins regarding our government's failure to raise the national minimum wage. Those who failed to pass this referendum (is that the correct term?) have given themselves hefty raises while ignoring the impoverished for several years.

She gave some interesting stats as well. I'll try to find and post the link, it was a real eye opener for me! Not so easy to ignore these issues when confronted by them!

[tdogg]

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/07/...eed/index.html

[tdogg]

Sorry! - forgot to add, if the link doesn't work, go to cnn.com, then "politics" then Molly Ivins, the top editorial (today anyway).