When I first started listening to this video, I thought it was a lecture blaming the poor for being poor. They are lazy, smoke, eat too much,  generally do not take care of themselves and only have themselves to blame.  Of course, I do not agree with this notion and I point the blame at the people put in power who, more often than not, exploit the poor for their own greed.   The speaker (I feel) did not agree either.  He actually has a solution that a couple large cities have been or will be experimenting with.

I’m going on a tangent here and won’t really discuss whether I think the idea presented will work… I think it definitely has merit..   I want to talk about how the poor are treated in our country…. I don’t claim to have all the answers and that I know what is best for our country, her people and our planet.  But I do know that greed is what often ails us.  It truly is, in my opinion, the root of all evil.  It is greed, the pursuit of power and the absolute apathy for our fellow man that causes us so many problems.  I commented yesterday on a video by Elizabeth Warren on  what many (not all) corporations do with their federal tax breaks.  You can find that Here.  Instead of giving their employees a raise so they can live a little better they buy a yacht or something similar that they don’t really need.  This goes on and on… they keep getting richer and the poor keep struggling and getting poorer.  They get sick, who cares?   No money?  That’s their problem.  It’s a viscous cycle that never ends.  Let’s just kick ’em while their down, shall we?   Greed sickens me.  It really does. It quite literally makes me sick to my stomach and I cringe when I see someone being even remotely stingy,  especially when they have been given so much from life.

Many times the poor and downtrodden are exploited and used as nothing more than disposable work horses. Have you ever heard of the working poor?   Corporations are not alone in exploiting the disadvantaged to their advantage.   I’ve lost count of the number of religious and charity organizations that I feel exploit the poor.  They do so legally and without any regard for their fellow man   They fly in their fancy jets and drive their fancy cars..  All while claiming the moral high ground that it’s what Jesus would want them to do.  Really?  It’s the modern day equivalent of Jesus driving to perform a miracle in a white Rolls Royce…  Do you think he would really do this?   I think not.  You can use the bible to justify just about any stance you could possible take on any subject….    I just choose to cherry pick the verses that agree with my confirmation bias…   like everyone else does,  right?

I remember an Episcopalian priest coming to a family member’s home many years ago basically asking for money. This wouldn’t usually bother me, as religious organizations typically have compassion for the poor.  But this guy did bother me,  why?   He was driving a brand new Land Rover.   Did he care how my family member was doing?   Did he ask?   To the former, I don’t believe he cared how he was doing,  but to his credit,  he did ask.  I’m sure he was just using proper form all in an attempt to fulfill his primary objective,  to leave there with a big check…. or in the least a small one with a monthly commitment.  I remember feeling numb, mentally drained and disgusted after he left.  It left a really bad taste in my mouth…

I guess you can tell,  I just have a BIG problem with people “doing or living well”  off of charity.    Charity is big business,  that’s for sure.  Is it morally right?   I don’t believe so.   I could never mentally reconcile it… no matter how hard I tried.

I quote from the bible itself,

Do not exploit the poor because they are poor and do not crush the needy in court, for the Lord will take up their case and will exact life for life.

— Proverbs 22:22-23

Okay… that’s all I have to say about it now….  All I can do personally is make sure I don’t contribute to what I’m bitching about… in any way, shape or form.

Namaste.