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May 4, 2008 at 19:37:04

Who is really responsible for poverty?

by Angela Zayak     Page 1 of 1 page(s)

www.opednews.com

 
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After reading an article in my local hometown newspaper pertaining to a poverty simulation, I was left with mixed feelings that quickly became a rage towards social injustice.   So I wrote a letter to the newspaper editor, and I’d like to share the “food for thought” that my fingers punched out as poverty is an issue that needs immediate attention. 

 

The body of the letter:

Denise Bachman’s article relating to poverty made me both happy and sad.  Although the simulation of poverty that was enacted seemed like an excellent way of driving home the horrors of such an economic status, I was left with the feeling that once again, the community at large is being requested to right the wrong. 

 

Where is our government?  Are we not taxed so that social programs can pull people out of the depths of despair?  Are we not ensured repetitively that if we work hard enough and lead a life free of crime that the “American Dream” is ours to obtain too?  Doesn’t our government see that by allowing corporatism, passing unjust budgets and conducting rampant widespread war, our elected officials have made these ideas become lies?  Our government too has asked the citizenry to pick up the tab via “faith based initiatives” and to “make sacrifices.”

 

Meanwhile there are over 30,000 American refugees in Canada and the country refuses to allow more into the country.  There are also tent cities springing up in America.  Even more horrific, across the globe governments are crumbling under the weight of food riots and people are literally trying to survive by eating sticks and mud.  Where is the global humanitarian effort to stop this barbaric madness? 

 

Could it be that our world leaders do not care about the human “collateral damage” that ensues as they violate workers’ human rights in the name of free trade and capitalism?  And is it possible that “faith based initiatives” only provide funding for fancier churches and increased lobbying power?   Perhaps the community at large is blissfully ignorant of the plight of humans who have had poverty thrust upon them by “the system” and also does not actually posses the values required to take notice and take action.  Maybe our acts of charity are woefully inadequate in the face of the new post 9/11 world’s socio-economic design. 

 

Something is very wrong in a world where disparity between the haves and the have-nots is causing widespread death that the haves just ignore in a narcissistic sociopath manner without guilt as the sickness of greed trickles down from the top.   Instead shouldn’t the world’s communities be demanding that our governments serve humanity instead of serving their own insider self-interests at our expense?

 

AZ entered the working world in 1980 after college, and shortly thereafter got married. She made many career changes, had no children, divorced and remarried, produced a child and divorced again. During this time she also became employed in the construction industry. Starting out as an accounting clerk and fill-in salesperson she eventually became a division manager in a corporation. The corporate atmosphere was not to her liking so she settled into a career as an estimator and project manager for a materials supplier in the commercial construction industry. She feels that her greatest accomplishment has been to sucessfully maintain a career while doing lots of domestic DIY home repair work and raising one now college bound child without an alcohol, drug, STD, or pregnancy related incident! Her interests are vastly varied and she is a seeker of knowledge with a lot of opinions and a little bit of moxy.

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2 comments

I am a 50 yr old husband and father of 2. Both kids are grown and on their own. From a small town in Oregon. Did a short stint in the US Army. Have worked on farms,pumped gas,run oil drilling rigs,construction,repaired industrial machines,drove trucks,managed retail stores,etc.You name it,I've probably done it or been around it.
Wyatt IsttI am a 50 yr old husband and father of 2. Both kids are grown and on their own. From a small town in Oregon. Did a short stint in the US Army. Have worked on farms,pumped gas,run oil drilling rigs,construction,repaired industrial machines,drove trucks,managed retail stores,etc.You name it,I've probably done it or been around it.

The Plutocracy

Sounds like you are thinking in the right direction. You just need to take it to the next level. The FREE WORLD, not just this country are ruled by a governing body, The ELITE! They are a group of uniquely psychopathic people that lack empathy for anyone that they perceive as different or BENEATH them. They see everyone BELOW THEIR STATION IN LIFE to be good for nothing but serving them. They own the media, the governments, both major political parties and everything else you can think of. They have a definite agenda. Their goal is at least an 80% reduction in world population so that when the next ice age, that we are approximately 1000yrs overdue for,(global warming is disinformation)comes, they will have enough servants to take care of them, but not too many to relocate to the equatorial areas that will be the only really habitable places on earth. The ultra rich, old money families have a legacy mentality that requires them to get ready, to preserve their family lines, (actually a biological imperative) even while not expecting to see the end results themselves. In the meanwhile, the rest of the excess population is being thinned through poor health care (breeds survival traits) the vaccines, drugs, bio-engineered diseases and foods that the corporations push on us along with the dumb down drugs(antidepressants), poor Public education, and intentional disinformation from the corporate owned media that keep most US citizens in the dark and/or brainwashed. The really sad part is that average Joe and Jane Citizen really don't care or want to know because they are too busy trying to decide which plasma tv or suv to buy.

by Wyatt Istt (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 1 comments) on Monday, May 5, 2008 at 9:44:05 AM
 


We will either survive until the sun envelopes the Earth in millions of years or we will prematurely expire having carelessly and needlessly forfeited the future of the unborn for the mere accumulation of things man-made. An unemotional, instinctive creature would never have done this.
NfamousWe will either survive until the sun envelopes the Earth in millions of years or we will prematurely expire having carelessly and needlessly forfeited the future of the unborn for the mere accumulation of things man-made. An unemotional, instinctive creature would never have done this.

You cannot protect this government

The only way to solve the problems in Americans right now is through violent revolution. We have protested and lobbied and signed petitions and all of that worthless shit. This needs to come down to a good ole fashioned ass-whoopin' but Americans are cowards. We fear the power of our own government. We fear being raped in prison. We fear not being able to go to the mall or watch our big screen tv's. We not only gave up our civil liberties. We gave up our humanity and there are not enough people willing to reverse the trend. We are now just objects to be disposed of at the whim of the government and corporations. Game, set, match.

by Nfamous (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 63 comments) on Wednesday, May 7, 2008 at 11:08:41 AM
 

 

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