A huge thank you to All volunteers for doing what you do!!! A lot of people wouldn't have a Christmas meal (and sometimes gifts) if it wasn't for the goodness of each and every one of you who give of your time and enjoy "paying it forward" Kudos. Gracias.
These volunteers do a lot to help the needy, and their efforts are to be commended. Unfortunately, however, poverty in our community and our nation as a whole continues to grow, due in large part to outdated - and downright wrongheaded - economic policies. A recent Salon magazine article stated the following:
Back before the 19th century, American conservatives advocated what’s known as the “turkey basket” approach to poverty. You help the poor through charitable gestures, like bringing poor families in your community a turkey for Christmas. Poverty was a natural state and part of God’s plan, after all, not a social problem. The poor were orphans and widows and such, and giving them alms was a religious duty. Paul Ryan serves up the latest Turkey-Hand recipe, relying heavily on promoting volunteerism and advocating charity in the place of food stamps to conquer poverty. And if that doesn’t work, hey, folks — just pray! “You cure poverty eye to eye, soul to soul,” Ryan explained to a Heritage Foundation forum. “Spiritual redemption: That’s what saves people.” Well, Mr. Ryan, it didn’t save the nearly 6 million American children who live in homes where there isn’t enough food, a number which will rise if cruel cuts to unemployment benefits are made three days after Christmas. It didn’t save the 7 percent of all workers who earn wages that leave them below the poverty line of $18,530, while the CEOs of McDonalds, Disney, and Coca-Cola make over 25 million dollars a year. With the GOP’s latest attempt to confront poverty by depriving 1.3 million jobless Americans of unemployment benefits and requiring hungry people to urinate in a cup in order to get food stamps, it’s obvious what today’s conservatives really means when they talk about compassionate conservatism: conservative compassion. We know where the real turkeys are.
A huge thank you to All volunteers for doing what you do!!! A lot of people wouldn't have a Christmas meal (and sometimes gifts) if it wasn't for the goodness of each and every one of you who give of your time and enjoy "paying it forward" Kudos. Gracias.
ReplyDeleteYes, we owe them a debt of gratitude.
DeleteThese volunteers do a lot to help the needy, and their efforts are to be commended. Unfortunately, however, poverty in our community and our nation as a whole continues to grow, due in large part to outdated - and downright wrongheaded - economic policies. A recent Salon magazine article stated the following:
ReplyDeleteBack before the 19th century, American conservatives advocated what’s known as the “turkey basket” approach to poverty. You help the poor through charitable gestures, like bringing poor families in your community a turkey for Christmas. Poverty was a natural state and part of God’s plan, after all, not a social problem. The poor were orphans and widows and such, and giving them alms was a religious duty.
Paul Ryan serves up the latest Turkey-Hand recipe, relying heavily on promoting volunteerism and advocating charity in the place of food stamps to conquer poverty. And if that doesn’t work, hey, folks — just pray! “You cure poverty eye to eye, soul to soul,” Ryan explained to a Heritage Foundation forum. “Spiritual redemption: That’s what saves people.”
Well, Mr. Ryan, it didn’t save the nearly 6 million American children who live in homes where there isn’t enough food, a number which will rise if cruel cuts to unemployment benefits are made three days after Christmas.
It didn’t save the 7 percent of all workers who earn wages that leave them below the poverty line of $18,530, while the CEOs of McDonalds, Disney, and Coca-Cola make over 25 million dollars a year.
With the GOP’s latest attempt to confront poverty by depriving 1.3 million jobless Americans of unemployment benefits and requiring hungry people to urinate in a cup in order to get food stamps, it’s obvious what today’s conservatives really means when they talk about compassionate conservatism: conservative compassion.
We know where the real turkeys are.
http://www.salon.com/2014/01/02/compassionate_conservatism_is_back_%c2%a0and_just_as_ridiculous_as_ever_partner/