"You will always have the poor among
you..."
Matthew
26:11
We hear a lot about the poor these days. It is
often mentioned in our political discourse. The Bible talks about the poor many
different times - over 300 to be exact. The Bible also exhorts
us to be concerned about the amelioration of the poor.
So what is poor? Do poor really exist in our country? Many say no. Compared to the world, we have people who are inconvenienced, not poor. For example, as of 2008 the World Bank estimated there were 1.345 billion poor people in developing countries who live on $1.25 a day or less. That is less than $500/year. In 2012, the poverty level in the United States for a family of four is slightly over $23,000/year.
First a bit of personal perspective. I have never lived in an area of abject poverty, but I came close. When I was stationed in the Ryukyu Islands in 1970, the average income of the indigent people was roughly $500 (US) per year. Many of the people lived in huts or small one bedroom homes. No plumbing, no electricity, no heat. The bathrooms the people used were open "benjo ditches". A "benjo ditch" is a primitive solution for the toilet. It is little more than a ditch in which you deposit your waste. These flowed down the street, like a gutter, with an odor like none other. As far as food is concerned, what you could grow by your hut or catch in the ocean was what you ate. There were modest markets where locals who were fortunate enough to work for the United States military were able to trade.
Yet as bad as things were in 1970 on the Ryukyu Islands, they were good compared to large parts of the world today. Three billion people, almost half the people in the world, live to survive day to day. Just like in the animal kingdom where animals spend most of the day foraging for food, many of the world's ultra-poor people are consumed with daily survival. According to UNICEF, in Africa alone, over 15,000 children die every day from starvation or malnutrition. That is a mind numbing statistic. In our country, we have people who are hungry, some even malnourished. However, if someone actually starved to death from not being able to obtain food, it would be front page news from coast to coast.
I have often thought the poor in our country have a distribution problem more so than a resource problem. If you live in a land where there is basically nothing, the best distribution system will be of no help. However in America, we have resources abundant. In fact, we produce so much food, we not only feed our people, but we are able to give over two million tons of food to worldwide charities every year.
It is often said the poorest person in America would be well off on the world stage. Just by looking at the statistics alone, I believe that to have merit. What we can do is help ourselves so that we may be able to help others. In a epidemic the first to get vaccinated are the health providers. They can only help others if they are healthy. We need to be healthy, financially healthy, so we can continue to help those who have nothing. Many who have nothing often watch their children live a shortened and painful life due to the ravages of hunger and starvation.
We have been blessed in this country not only with abundant resources, but also the technology on how to maximize and multiply them. We have proved Robert Malthus wrong many times and have the capacity keep doing it. However, with over 15% of our people living under the poverty level, it impedes our ability to help those who have nothing. In fact, we have some areas in our country where poverty is abject - like the Navajo Nation in New Mexico. To help ourselves, we need to fix our economy and strengthen our distribution systems so we in turn can aid those in countries who have life threatening problems due to resources which are rare or non-existent.
The Bible also tells us to take care of the least of us, to be our brother's keeper. We can do that. We have done it before, and we can do it again. We have the technology to help, we have the resources to share. The Bible is right - the poor will be with us always - but we can sure cut down the numbers.
So what is poor? Do poor really exist in our country? Many say no. Compared to the world, we have people who are inconvenienced, not poor. For example, as of 2008 the World Bank estimated there were 1.345 billion poor people in developing countries who live on $1.25 a day or less. That is less than $500/year. In 2012, the poverty level in the United States for a family of four is slightly over $23,000/year.
First a bit of personal perspective. I have never lived in an area of abject poverty, but I came close. When I was stationed in the Ryukyu Islands in 1970, the average income of the indigent people was roughly $500 (US) per year. Many of the people lived in huts or small one bedroom homes. No plumbing, no electricity, no heat. The bathrooms the people used were open "benjo ditches". A "benjo ditch" is a primitive solution for the toilet. It is little more than a ditch in which you deposit your waste. These flowed down the street, like a gutter, with an odor like none other. As far as food is concerned, what you could grow by your hut or catch in the ocean was what you ate. There were modest markets where locals who were fortunate enough to work for the United States military were able to trade.
Yet as bad as things were in 1970 on the Ryukyu Islands, they were good compared to large parts of the world today. Three billion people, almost half the people in the world, live to survive day to day. Just like in the animal kingdom where animals spend most of the day foraging for food, many of the world's ultra-poor people are consumed with daily survival. According to UNICEF, in Africa alone, over 15,000 children die every day from starvation or malnutrition. That is a mind numbing statistic. In our country, we have people who are hungry, some even malnourished. However, if someone actually starved to death from not being able to obtain food, it would be front page news from coast to coast.
I have often thought the poor in our country have a distribution problem more so than a resource problem. If you live in a land where there is basically nothing, the best distribution system will be of no help. However in America, we have resources abundant. In fact, we produce so much food, we not only feed our people, but we are able to give over two million tons of food to worldwide charities every year.
It is often said the poorest person in America would be well off on the world stage. Just by looking at the statistics alone, I believe that to have merit. What we can do is help ourselves so that we may be able to help others. In a epidemic the first to get vaccinated are the health providers. They can only help others if they are healthy. We need to be healthy, financially healthy, so we can continue to help those who have nothing. Many who have nothing often watch their children live a shortened and painful life due to the ravages of hunger and starvation.
We have been blessed in this country not only with abundant resources, but also the technology on how to maximize and multiply them. We have proved Robert Malthus wrong many times and have the capacity keep doing it. However, with over 15% of our people living under the poverty level, it impedes our ability to help those who have nothing. In fact, we have some areas in our country where poverty is abject - like the Navajo Nation in New Mexico. To help ourselves, we need to fix our economy and strengthen our distribution systems so we in turn can aid those in countries who have life threatening problems due to resources which are rare or non-existent.
The Bible also tells us to take care of the least of us, to be our brother's keeper. We can do that. We have done it before, and we can do it again. We have the technology to help, we have the resources to share. The Bible is right - the poor will be with us always - but we can sure cut down the numbers.
"For everyone to whom
much is given, of him shall much be required."
Luke 12:48
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