American Poverty

One in seven Americans lives in “poverty.” You’ve heard the sentence. Everybody has heard the sentence. Start talking about spending reform of any kind and you will hear the sentence. It is such a common talking point from the left and media elite that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. Is this true? Who are the people in poverty and is the definition used by our government the same as Merriam-Webster’s-“the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions.”?

For many, the term poverty brings forth images of malnourished people living in dirty squalor or of homeless people eating in soup kitchens. Poverty suggests an inability to provide a family with basic nutrition, clothing and shelter. It suggests ragged citizens, in long lines, at health fairs searching desperately for needed care. Poverty basically denotes miserable living conditions and desperate people. Who wouldn’t want to reach out and help them? You certainly would. I certainly would. When the media tells you 14% of Americans live in poverty, is this how they are living?

According to the US Department of Energy, as of 2005, the average person living in poverty (note “average” and not every case as liberals will point out) has fourteen common items in their households:

*Air conditioning, a clothes washer, clothes dryer, ceiling fans, cordless phones, two color televisions, cable or satellite TV, a DVD player, refrigerator, and oven and stove, a microwave, and a coffee maker.

In addition to these items, poor families with children also usually had a computer, an Xbox or Play Station, and a cell phone. Remember these are items found in the typical poor household. These are the median lower 14% of our society. These are the folks we are led to believe have next to nothing. So, maybe the poor have stuff but still live in dilapidated squalor? Not according to the U.S. government’s own housing assessment.

     “Poor Americans are well housed and rarely overcrowded.[20] In fact, the houses and apartments of America’s poor are quite spacious by international standards. The typical poor American has considerably more living space than does the average European.”

     “Forty-three percent of all poor households own their own homes. The average home owned by persons classified as poor by the Census Bureau is a three-bedroom house with one-and-a-half baths, a garage, and a porch or patio.”[22]

Our own government says “The typical poor American has considerably more living space than does the average European.” Not the poorest European but the AVERAGE one. Thank you to capitalism for lifting up so many out of the depths of despair.

The living standards reported here are far different then the dire ones portrayed by liberal activists and our mainstream media. This is so unfortunate for the truly poor and desperate among us. Their own plight diminished by the false representations presented by our media and political elites. There are people living in some awful conditions in this country. Nobody disputes that. These people need our help. They need our generosity. We should give of our time, talents, and energy to help those truly impoverished to find a way out of their terrible living conditions. If we stand by and do nothing, as individuals, to help the truly poor our wealth condemns us to empty lives of just sitting back and playing with our toys. The poor will always be among us. Let’s stop asking government to intervene and go out ourselves into the world and SERVE them. Only then, will the truly poor get the help that can change their very existence.

Greedy U.S.A.

I keep hearing about greedy people these days. Pundits keep pointing to them as one of the solutions to our debt crisis. They make so much money, if we just taxed them more, they will never miss it and our debt crisis will be minimized. It seems the Warren Buffets’ of the world don’t pay their fair share. They don’t pay their workers enough. They don’t dole out enough in benefits. They are out to stomp on the rights of working men and women everywhere. They don’t deserve their money so it’s perfectly acceptable for others to determine who needs it more. I hear so much about these people I almost feel like there are more of ‘them’ then there are of ‘us.’ I’m left wondering if maybe capitalism does equals greed.

I’m further confused by the haphazard way in which greed is defined. Oil executives are greedy profiteers but bottled water manufacturers seem exempt from the label. Smartphone retailers load up monthly plans with various layers of fees with nary a complaint, but banks and other financial institutions profit on the backs of the common man. Drug companies are evil, but nobody mentions high-def TV profits. These stereotypes of evil oil, bank, and drug companies are ingrained in the culture by media elites who want divisive attitudes as a means to justify their social engineering. Even those of us who don’t believe it, still first think “big oil” when greedy executives are mentioned.

In a properly functioning capitalist economy, individuals make decisions based on their own self interest to produce goods and services which benefit their fellow man. There are two components to success: acting in your self interest and benefiting others. They are not mutually exclusive. When either part of the equation is missing, generally speaking, a person’s overall income will be lower than others who do both. The key to success then is doing something to benefit other people. This by very definition cannot be greedy behavior. This is perfectly rational. The best part is society benefits from all these individual decisions. In capitalism, most of the time, people cannot be successful unless they SERVE other citizens. Serving is the key to success. Ironic isn’t it? You don’t hear that on CNN do you?

Greedy people live everywhere. Greed exists in every institution, every government, every nation, and ultimately every human being. Greed is a part of the human condition and it cannot be extinguished. No matter what type of economic system studied rich and poor will be found. The gift of capitalism is its ability to collectively channel our “greedy” individual decisions into outcomes designed to benefit others. It is not a perfect system. It is better than anything else out there. In other economies there is no two way street. There is just greed. Let’s reconsider bashing the rich and spend our time figuring out how to better serve our fellow man so we might one day be rich ourselves.

Leadership: Who me?

Every single one of us has influence. Every single one of us is a leader. We can lead right where we are today. No waiting for the perfect time. No waiting for the perfect situation or perfect job. We have influence today with the people around us: family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, hurting people all waiting for a leader to step out and exert a positive influence in their lives.
Is all this really true? Have you given much thought to the people watching your daily actions and how you treat other people? Leading is really serving. Leading is not about self but about others. I believe every single one of us can serve and so we are all leaders. It doesn’t matter if you are a waitress, a painter, a manager, or a CEO we all have influence on the people we rub shoulders with.

These are sobering thoughts because they mean we all have a responsibility to use our influence for the good of our God and those people placed in our path. ‘Responsibility’ is a dirty word in our society. It implies effort. It implies struggle. It implies an imposition on our time. I believe lack of responsibility is a major reason why we have so few leaders. Most people make decisions on how the outcome affects them. Most people want their own needs met. Few spend their lives in service to others while forsaking themselves. So our families, schools, companies, churches and government suffer as potential leaders hide in the back and let others rule of us in authority.

Our government is seriously messed up. It is filled with politicians bent on ruling over us instead of serving us. So many leave for Washington with good intentions and they get drunk on power, perks, and authority. They lose truth and integrity in the quest to maintain power and control. The electorate hungers for a true leader. We long for somebody to tell us the truth irrespective of party affiliation. We long for somebody to serve the people without regard for the next election. We want someone to make the difficult decisions in the fairest manner possible without regard for polls and the latest re-election strategy.

Leadership is not a title. It is not a lofty position in a company. Leadership is servitude right where each one of us lives. You are a leader. You have influence. Don’t waste it. Begin serving others right where you are. Stop waiting for government to fix everybody’s problems. Stop waiting for others to step forward. Move out and lead right now. Our country will not be fixed until 300 million of us are each individually leading in our circles of influence. When many people step out and begin to lead, our nation’s fabric will be changed and I believe we will experience blessing beyond what any of us can imagine.

Don’t wait another day. We truly can change the world if we are bold enough to step out and assume the responsibility, and privilege, each of us has to make a difference and serve others.

“When the godly are in authority, the people rejoice. But when the wicked are in power they groan.” Proverbs 29:2