by Ruth
A. Sheets
Poverty
is the lack of sufficient resources necessary to meet basic needs for oneself
and one’s family. Estimates of the number of people living in poverty in
America vary, but they run from ten to twenty-five percent depending on the
definition used.
Americans are very uncomfortable talking about poverty.
The topic was hardly mentioned during the 2012 campaign. If such a large
portion of the population is in a particular group, it would be expected that
the subject would come up often as the votes of this group would be
courted.
The
votes of the poor are not courted as the votes of members of a particular
religious group, ethnicity, race, or social group are courted. The reason, poor
folks are not expected to vote. And, if they do, their vote is assumed. The
white poor are Republican and the minority poor are Democratic.
Lately,
bills have been introduced in state legislatures to even further limit sufferage
of people in poverty through voter I.D. laws. This is just one of many ways of
keeping poor people from complaining about their situation.
Republicans and some others would have us believe that
people are poor because they want to be. They are too lazy. They don’t work
hard enough. They don’t know how to take care of what they have. They don’t
manage money well. You know all the lines.
Most
people don’t realize that poverty is a trap. Once caught in it, a person or
family can rarely get out without significant help. Then, if they do get some
help, they are called “takers” in a tone of voice that communicates very
effectively the esteem in which they are held.
People
in poverty see the material goods everyone is expected to have, so they work
impossible hours at spirit-breaking jobs to acquire those things for themselves
and their kids. They are told that education is “the way out,” but their
schools are places that no one with money would want to enter on a bet.
Because
people living from paycheck to paycheck cannot accumulate much money at a time,
they fall victim to appallingly unregulated predators like Rent-a-center,” check
cashing companies, sub-prime lenders, and housing rental agencies. These
companies charge extraordinary fees which keep those who are already desparate,
in permanent debt, in substandard housing, if they have a home at all.
Some
Americans like to claim that the United States is the best at everything. Well,
I don’t know if we are the best at poverty, but we are pretty good at
it.
