Tag Archives: poverty

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Severe Poverty in the USA

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So, in the richest, most powerful country in the world, Severe Poverty is at an all time high. Does anyone else find this terribly disturbing?

From Miami CBS:

The McClatchy Company – owners of the Miami Herald – a CBS4 news partner – went through an analysis of 2005 census figures, the latest available, and found that nearly 16 million Americans are living in deep or severe poverty.

A family of four, with two children and an annual income of less than $9,903 — half the federal poverty line — was considered severely poor in 2005. So were individuals who made less than $5,080 a year.

Oh, and “US Corporate Profits At Highest Levels, Too.”

read more.

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A Poem for the Morning by Mindy

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So I’m sitting at Starbucks with my 2% chai
and this lady comes walking and people stare as she goes by.
She’s about 5 foot 2 and she’s wearing a big coat,
and everybody looks up from their computers and forget what they wrote.

She walks to the counter with her bundle of sacks,
as we sit here rich and white on our new shiny macs.
She’s visibly frozen from the outside right in,
and nobody wants eye contact with her, is this a great sin?

She buys a coffee for here and digs through her pockets
and everyone’s eyes jump nearly out of their sockets.
Could she be paying for her coffee with those filthy worn hands?
her hair matted down under her hood coming out it knotted strands.

She walks to the creamer and adds some to her drink,
and as she does so people are perplexed and sit to think.
So the silence goes on as people just sit and stare,
it’s visibly disturbing just to see her sit there.

She is another soul and I am so distraught,
just thinking about the chai that I just walked in and bought,
without thinking about if I’d have enough for another time,
and still I sit here comfortable and uncomfortable…

I have so much to think about, so much going on in my life.
And I just settled in for a warm drink and started to write,
but now I can’t focus on my qualitative essay due tomorrow,
because here I am seeing a woman being ignored in her sorrow.

And I have to ask myself,..
when I see a brother or sister in need,
am I going to go on in my selfishness in greed?
not thinking about her soul, not having pity on her?
because how can the love of GOD be in me if my insides don’t just stir?

-By Mindy

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Brilliant Guerrilla Marketing: Want to Join?

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One of the fun sites I’m subscribed to is Houtlust, a blog about nonprofit advertising and social campaigns. This was one of the very neat guerrilla marketing (the low cost unconventional kind) tactics I’ve seen listed. I thought it was so cool I figured we should repeat it. Basically they are little image inserts to put inside table tents you see in lot’s of restaurants and coffee shops. I put together the images below.

I figured the best way to sort of track our impact is to put a website at the bottom that I can use as a launching point to organizations we think people should check out. So, we’ll use eikonproject.org, which is actually the name of a group, but the front page will have links to other organizations to give to. What do you think?

If your ready to do a little guerrilla marketing, culture jamming, adventurous fun, then click on the link below and download the pdf. Print off on some card stock preferably with a colored printer and cut those babies out and put them in your nearest coffee shop or restaurant with table tents.
I’ll keep you all updated on how many people check out the site.

Alright Folks, I really need some help here. Post in the Comments if your willing to join me in this endeavor. I want to know how many we put out there and then see how many hits we get on the website (proof that it’s working).

Looking forward to seeing our stuff in action.

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Ahmadinejad’s Letter to Bush

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I received this email a while ago about a letter from the President of Iran to President Bush. It was interesting, but I didn’t think much of it except that it was just a forward someone had written themselves, not a factual letter from the real Iran President.
Well, it turns out the Washington Post believes it’s real, so I’m going with them on this one. It’s a long, but easy to read letter and I would strongly encourage you to do so.

Read the Complete letter here.
Below are some excerpts:

After 9.11, instead of healing and tending to the emotional wounds of the survivors and the American people — who had been immensely traumatized by the attacks — some Western media only intensified the climate of fear and insecurity — some constantly talked about the possibility of new terror attacks and kept the people in fear. Is that service to the American people? Is it possible to calculate the damages incurred from fear and panic?

The question here is “what has the hundreds of billions of dollars, spent every year to pay for the Iraqi campaign, produced for the citizens?”

As Your Excellency is aware, in some states of your country, people are living in poverty. Many thousands are homeless and unemployment is a huge problem. Of course these problems exist — to a larger or lesser extent — in other countries as well. With these conditions in mind, can the gargantuan expenses of the campaign — paid from the public treasury — be explained and be consistent with the aforementioned principles?

Are you pleased with the current condition of the world?

Do you think present policies can continue?

If billions of dollars spent on security, military campaigns and troop movement were instead spent on investment and assistance for poor countries, promotion of health, combating different diseases, education and improvement of mental and physical fitness, assistance to the victims of natural disasters, creation of employment opportunities and production, development projects and poverty alleviation, establishment of peace, mediation between disputing states, and extinguishing the flames of racial, ethnic and other conflicts, were would the world be today? Would not your government and people be justifiably proud?

Would not your administration’s political and economic standing have been stronger?

And I am most sorry to say, would there have been an ever increasing global hatred of the American government?

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Remembering September 10th

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This date will go down in history as a tragic one for our world. The cold heartedness that could bring such atrocity to mankind makes ones heart tremble. We pause in remembrance of the tragedy that has occurred. We look forward, gaining strength from those who have been an example of heroism in the past.

The evil of hunger claimed the lives of 40,000 children on 9/10 that did not need to die. They were little ones to whom belongs the kingdom. Their death was not due to the overt hatred and action of ones they would call their enemies. These children died because of the passive complacency of people they might even call friends. There is no monument built at which to lay flowers or say prayers on behalf of these victims. Their names are not remembered on this campus, for we did not know them personally.

Try as we may, we cannot point the finger and say with conviction, “let justice be served.” If there is injustice it is our own doing. If we seek to point the finger we can only look to our own apathy and lack of concern for addressing this tragedy. This catastrophic event that we faced and continue to face is real and it is happening everyday. This is an issue that requires, even demands, our action. History will repeat it self. History IS repeating itself.

We do not mourn this tragedy without hope, we have hope. We have an example and a hope to look to because there are heroes who came before us. Jesus was that example and he IS that hope. He told us to give to the least of these, to love our neighbors; He feed, healed, shared. Like the parable of Lazarus we stand as the rich man with the resources God has given to us and we are not sharing with the poor beggar who is within our reach.

Let me be clear, the events remembered on 9/11 are tragic, and we are right to remember and mourn. For those who experienced the loss of friends or family, I and this community grieve with you. I cannot imagine what it must have been like to witness first hand the loss of a loved one, and collectively with so many in our nation. 9/10 should not be any less remembered. The loss of life that occurred this day was tragic and was within our means to stop. And each day from then until now the same tragedy occurs, and we either never cared in the first place, or have become so desensitized that our heart is numb.

“Love your neighbor as yourself.” These children that are dying are our neighbors, many are our brothers and sisters in Christ. In past centuries we could say we lacked the means and resources to address these issues. Today we do not have that option. If we continue to live in the gross abundance that we have as our brothers and sisters daily die of starvation and disease that we can combat, we are without excuse.
Grieve 9/11 and pray the Lord keep your heart tender and open to His love. Grieve 9/10 and each day, and pray the Lord would turn your heart to a fervent life changing love for those in need. Pray he teaches you his truth, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”

Originally published in the Wheaton Record at Wheaton College. Published also at Relevantmagazine.com and Circle6 magazine.

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A response concerning high gas prices

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I little while back I made a tiny off-hand reference to liking high gas prices, the comment was mentioned by my pastor, I then mentioned it to Mel, who then mentioned it to Gustave, and this was his response:

Dear Ariah,

I was talking to Melissa and she mentioned something offhand to me. She said you think high gas prices are good in that they will help change patterns of American consumption. I am not sure what your whole position is. It was something about a conversation with your pastor.

However, I get riled about gas and energy prices. Perhaps 3 dollar gas will make people get out of their SUV. More likely though, it hurts people without much money. I live in Wheaton. Most people eat the higher cost of gas. However, the refugees I work for have to often choose between gas and clothes or healthier food or the doctor bill. There is no public transit here and commutes often take 30 to 40 minutes. There is no lifestyle change that will help them. Not everyone can just up and move to the city or live closer to work. Not everyone can drive less. Some people can. Many cannot and have to pay the price of high gasoline very dearly.

Another aspect of high gas prices is that it benefits countries who are oil rich. THose are fun places like Sundan, Iran, Venezuela and Russia. None of them are very nice. High oil prices help Putin consolidate autocratic power, help the President of Iran pursue nukes, fuel conflict in SUdan, and let Chavez talk about being the next Castro. The global effects of high gas prices have horrible effects on the freedoms of millions of people as leaders that are not very nice are flush with cash.

High gas prices in the US also act as a tax. They limit economic growth. Money spent on other things now goes to gas. That means less vacations, fewer purcheses, less charitible giving. All these things affect the job market and can cause economic downswings. Who gets laid off when the economy suffers, not the rich guys. Prices for all goods go up as well because transporting them costs more. So everyone pays more for potatoes and milk. High energy prices also lead to infliation and inflation always hurts the poorest the most.

I see little good in high gas prices. Sure it means some people will consume less…maybe. Sure it spurs on R and D for renewable and clean energy (something I support completely). However, the drawbacks in my mind far outweigh the benefits. Anyone who says otherwise has failed to see the human cost and geopolitical nightmare that high gas prices and high oil prices cause. I am not sure what you think about all this, but high oil really gets me going.

Gustave

I thought everything Goose shared was excellent. I’ll post my response in a little bit, but I figured I should keep them seperate since what he said was worth sitting and thinking on.

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Understanding Poverty: Language

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Chapter 2, The Role of Language and Story, of A Framework for Understanding Poverty talks about the language that we use and the distinctions between classes as it relates to language. They talk about 5 types of language (Frozen, Formal, Consultative, Casual, Intimate) of which I’d like to discuss two.A Framework for Understanding Poverty
Formal is the language we commonly use in school and work settings. Specific word choice is important, as well as complete sentences. I remember being so annoyed in school when teacher’s asked us to write in complete sentences which really just meant rewording the question to include the answer. At the same time it was very helpful to me learning and practicing the formal register.
Casual register is used between friends and is based on a small vocabulary (400-800 words). Complete sentences are unimportant and non-verbals are very important. Most people use casual register on a daily basis. Whether it be in their home or amongst friends most people from any class can use and understand casual register. Unlike formal register, casual register often differs from group to group.
How does this relate to poverty? The ability to use formal register is a hidden rule of middle class. Those in poverty often do not understand the importance of using formal register. Think about the implications this has for job interviews. The difference between these types of speech and ones ability to switch between them has huge implications for your ability to move freely and successfully through different parts of society.

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A working definition of Poverty

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I’ve recently started reading the book A Framework for Understanding Poverty by Ruby K. Payne. I’d highly recommend it to anyone (but particularly those who work with or live in poverty situations).
I’ll be posting a lot of my thoughts on what I read in the book over the next few days or weeks (it helps me to process information). Today, I want to talk about a definition for poverty.
Commonly when we talk about poverty we usually focus on finances. The national poverty line is measured solely on the income of an individual or family and takes nothing else into account. The first thing Dr. Payne does in her book is lays out a working definition of poverty: “The extent to which an individual does without resources.” This is a clear and simple definition which she goes on to further explain by defining resources as the following:

Financial: Having the money to purchase good and services.

Emotional: Being able to choose and control emotional responses, particularly to negative situations, without engaging in self-destructive behavior.

Mental: Having the mental abilities and acquired skills (reading, writing, computing) to deal with daily life.

Spiritual: Believing in divine purpose and guidance.

Physical: Having the physical health and mobility.

Support Systems: Having friends, family and backup resources available to access in times of need. These are external resources.

Relationships/ Role Models: Having frequent access to adults who are appropriate, who are nurturing to the the child, and who do not engage in self-destructive behavior.

Knowledge of the Hidden Rules: Knowing the unspoken cues and habits of a group.

Already, she has done such a crucial thing in expanding ones understanding of poverty and how it functions. I often point to the lack of support and relationships the poor have to help meet their needs. More specifically I usually point to the support structure that I have in place (family primarily) that would keep me from being out on the streets no matter what good or bad decisions I make.
Hidden rules are another section that speaks volumes to understanding the barriers one has to overcoming poverty. My dad works with people who are chronicly-unemployed and he talks about the need to teach some of the “hidden rules” of being and staying employed. These are things many take for granted and others simply never learned growing up.

This is an excellent book, and I got all that from just the first page!
Lot’s more to come.

Money & Stewardship

Financial Clarification

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This is the third time I am trying to write this post to clarify where my thoughts and views concerning my financial lessons come from. The reason I felt it was important to try and do this was because I feel like a few readers have misunderstood what I am saying and I want to try and make sense of it. Let’s just say I haven’t found the right words yet. Here is my third and final meager attempt.
I feel like some of what I have shared of views on finances have come across as a masochistic, vow of poverty, money is evil standpoint. That is not what I have intended by the things I have written.

I am not a masochist. I don’t like Pain. I don’t think Christ enjoyed pain either, yet for some reason he endured the cross. Like Christ there might be times we sacrifice at our own expense for the sake of others. When I say Christ calls us to give sacrificially I don’t intend 1) for that to be painful, nor 2) to do it for the pleasure of it being painful. If anything I am a hedonist. I believe God created us to love others and he has equipped us with the resources to do that in a lot of ways. I say we give sacrificially because we were created to.

I am not promoting taking a vow of poverty. Christ did say blessed our the poor, but I don’t think he meant we should all try to become poor in order to be blessed. I am not saying become poor for the sake of becoming poor. Yet, I should be open to the possibility that my following Christ call to love and give to the needs of others might result in my becoming “poor” by the worlds standards. Jesus did not tell the rich young ruler to “become poor” but he did tell him to sell all his possessions to meet the needs of those around him. I need to be willing to go there if I am going to carry out Christ call on my life to love those around me.

I don’t believe money is evil. When I say we should practice giving away our money with out so much concern for whose pocket it ends up in I don’t mean to do it because money is bad and you might as well stick it through a shredder. (I should have said buy a bunch of bottles of Root Beer and candy bars and leave them in odd places through out the town). Money is simply a means of trade. We should be sure not to elevate it too highly. God calls us to be a good steward of what he has given us, and I have every intention of doing so. God also calls us to love our neighbors and care for their needs, and I have every intention of doing that as well. These both involve money, but I don’t think they are in conflict with one another.

I’ll leave you with this word picture that hopefully will help you understand my perspective. One day your walking along and God shows up and says: “You are my child and you can have anything and everything in the entire world that you would like.” This is better then winning a million bucks, it’s better then getting a genie and three wishes, you can have ANYTHING. A couple of things to keep in mind though. God says you should love your neighbor as yourself and we’ve got 6 billion of them. He is also not going to make things out of thin air, what you choose is from what is available on the earth currently. The more I take the less that is available to others. And by the way there is a big line behind you (6 billion) of God’s children who are going to choose from what’s left when your done.
So what do you choose?