Poverty

Poverty, what many people in today’s world live in. Some people believe that those in poverty are lazy or uneducated bums, well the truth is, some are, but there are a lot who are not. What defines poverty? Is it living day by day, just trying to get what’s necessary to survive that day? Is it working several jobs just to keep the house over your roof? Or is it living on the streets knowing that you will never get back to wear to were before, knowing that this is now your life because no matter what job you had before, everyone will now label you as a useless vagabond.

            Let’s say a lawyer loses his job and makes some bad spending choices. He didn’t save a lot of money because he never thought he would go without a job for a while, but now it’s been a few years since he’s had a job. His friends have been helping him out but there is only so much they can do for him, and now he is on his own. Because he hasn’t had a job for a few years, no one will hire him, and he stays in poverty. He starts living on the street where people who make a lot less than he did when he was in his prime, look at him like he’s a blemish on the face of society that needs to be covered up with a little make up.

            This is the story of today’s society. Everyone is in a way on “the edge,” because losing your job can happen to anyone and with this economy that could lead to homelessness no matter how rich you are. This is something that needs to be fixed, and with projects like Cardboard City, we can make a difference that will help the homeless. Politicians always talk about helping the middle class, but they forget about those who are homeless, because most do not vote and therefore are not very important in a politician’s campaign. Also because many believe that we need to help the middle class so they don’t drop into poverty, and then once we get the middle class stabilized we can worry about the very poor.

            The church teaches us to practice preferential treatment for the poor and vulnerable. Which is where we “put the needs of the poor and vulnerable at the forefront of our agendas.” Jesus teaches us that “it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven.” Jesus often teaches us to help the poor, to give up our material possessions to help the poor, and to teach the poor the word of God. These missions are still being done by many Christians throughout the world. The church is what helps the poor, if you look around at all the homeless shelters and donations drives, they are mostly done by churches or communities of Christians who want to live out Jesus’ mission. In today’s society it seems that the government has given the job of helping the poor to the churches of our country.

            I believe that we need to help the poor, not by just giving them food and helping them live day by day, but helping them get their life back together and helping them get a job and live independently again. I think that a state government should put in place a law that says that businesses that hire people who haven’t had a job for over a year, get some sort tax cut. This would encourage businesses to hire people who are stuck in poverty, like the make believe lawyer I talked about earlier. I also think that there should be a community started for homeless people over 70, which only runs of donations and volunteer work and sells goods made by the homeless. I would not impose that this community be run by taxes because not everything has to be fixed by the government.