Polarization
Poverty
Poverty is among the more significant polarizations in our
society; yet, it is rarely, if ever discussed in the news. Its root causes are never discussed. This is one of the more serious defects of
Name Brand News: failing to give an honest appraisal of the poverty situation
in America. This is one instance where
the press could make a real difference; but, does not. Why not?
Because the wicked perpetrators of poverty own the press.
Poverty is also an issue that government could deal
with more forthrightly; but doesn’t. Why
not? Same answer…. Because the wicked perpetrators of poverty,
largely the Shadow Government, own government.
By playing off petty polarization issues that keep us at war with each
other, they sidestep the issue and avoid dealing with it. In this evil, the press commits a real
disservice to the public by failing to expose it.
There once was a time when our government could be
characterized by trust busting, job creation, and true concern for the poor:
not just lip service. Journalists who
had the stones to stand up against such antisocial treatment of the poor, were
marked by the pejorative, “muckrakers”, in an attempt to discredit and
marginalize them: yet, they had the truth on their side, and for a time,
prevailed.
It is not enough that we find better pay for teachers. The working poor, produce a large proportion
of the wealth of this country. Working
poor and other working classes produce all of that wealth: but, it is taken
from them at law by people who do no work, produce no wealth, and are nothing
but leaches and parasites on the economy.
This, we insist, is gross larceny, and terribly unfair: the poor have a
right, the right of creation, to a bigger slice of the pie. Yet, in the bitterest of ironies, a raise for
teachers will only be foisted off on the very poor, who are least able to bear
it… on their backs.
We have noted before that the responsibility for funding all
education rests with those who need the product: primarily the military
establishment; manufacturing; and, the new kid on the block, communications
industry; as well as other industries.
We believe that all such education should be funded by scholarships
awarded by a process of vetting. Since
all education would then be a free ride, wages should never be education
related… they should be contribution related.
The superintendent, and principal does not have a God given right to
higher pay than teachers: leaders were chosen for their administrative gifts;
star teachers, chosen for teaching gifts, may easily contribute more than
leaders to the education system.
Similarly, the working poor may easily contribute more to
society than their bosses do. Still,
wage scales are not the core of the problem; creating a class polarization over
wage scales may ease some of the burden: but, that won’t fix the problem. To fix a problem, we have to locate and deal
with the root cause: which is much harder to do.
The root causes of poverty are hard to discover, especially
since the media continue to obfuscate the problem. The urban legends (lies) surrounding poverty include:
the poor are lazy; they refuse to work; they are uneducated, stupid, and don’t
deserve more. As a matter of fact, the
working poor work far harder than those at the other end of the scale. Many of them cope with broken homes: for
example, working single mothers, trying to feed and clothe children, refusing
to let their children run wild, while they toil: the double burden is
devastating. These don’t refuse to work:
jobs, good jobs especially, are simply hard to find; good jobs accessible to
the poor, simply do not exist for the most part: so to be poor means to be
locked into the drudgery and slavery of minimum wages, in a self-perpetuating
cycle that has no remedy. Don’t try to
tell me that these folks refuse to work; I’ve seen them work, given half a
chance. They’ve been kicked into the
ditch by the cruel accidents of life; while very few are willing to give them a
hand up again. Education? How in the world is anyone holding down one
or more minimum wage jobs, caring for a house full of kids, with no assisting
spouse, no other help, no extra money, and no surplus time, supposed to get an
education. I’ve been there; have
you? Stupid? Most of them are smarter than you are: they
have to be, just to survive. Well, they
shouldn’t have had so many kids, says the self-righteous, pious ass… you’re not
hot blooded, are you?
So why is poverty such an epidemic in America; while gross
poverty characterizes most of the world.
Why is it that, among nearly 7.5 billion people on this ball of dirt,
that many of them will not have a decent meal today, or tomorrow… or ever? Or even a clean glass of water? Many will not have decent clothes. Many will not have a roof over their heads,
much needed medical attention, and all the other burdens associated with
poverty.
Don’t tell me that the root cause is that our many charities
are not doing enough, not working hard enough.
Yes, even our charities are preyed upon by robbers and thieves. Some are even false-charities: mascaraing, being
nothing more than fronts for robbers and thieves that detract from the work of
worthwhile charities.
The root problem is the stagnant glut of power and wealth at
the other end of the scale. The fact is
that roughly thirty to forty thousand people hold, and control the bulk of this
worlds wealth and its power. These few
have the only votes that matter: the rest have lost their franchise. So, much for government of the people, by the
people, and for the people: that’s just an old worn-out dirty joke; the scandal
and shame of modern America.
If these thirty-five thousand had earned their wealth by
hard work and honest toil: more power to them.
They did not! Most of them did no
work at all. For most of them, the rest
of the populace are just so many sheep; fleecing us blind every year, and
butchering us off for dog food when we get too old to produce: with scarcely food
paid in return. Well, it’s one thing to
fleece a sheep; it’s quite another to fleece a fellow human being without paying
a just price for the wool.
What form, specifically, do these giant shears take, that so
easily fleece the world’s poor populace.
Exactly how are the wages of the poor held back by fraud.[i] What scissors separate the wealth created by
one person and drop it into the pockets of another. There are several such inventions devised by
the wicked; so many that we haven’t time or space to discuss them all: but
principle among them all is usury.
A usury rate of only 1% doubles the cost to the poor in only
70 years, roughly a single lifetime… 2%, 35 years; 5%, 14 years; 10%, 7 years;
20%, 3.5 years. The poor have no way to
escape such danger. When the poor seek a
loan, they are saddled with a bad credit rating: they borrow at 20% usury or
more. If they avoid debt, of necessity:
for no one will lend them anything; everything they buy is saddled with a usury
price. Every business, every government,
even many churches are leverage through debt.
The poor cannot buy a hamburger without paying twice its value. If the poor are lucky enough to own a shack
they will pay thrice or more of what it’s worth in thirty-years-time. Our governments are buried in debt. Congress can’t discuss a budget without a 2
to 5% or greater increase. All of these
costs fall on the backs of the poor.
Even if an individual avoids personal debt; the cost of usury is applied
through all goods and services, even government goods and services.
The greatest and most evil polarization in America is the
polarization of poverty caused primarily by usury. St. James blames one class of people….
