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Economics, Voting Rights, Death Penalty Among Top Black Stories of 2011
TriceEdneyWire.com) – At least 10 top stories that disparately impacted African-Americans in 2011 are carrying over into the New Year, forecasting continued struggles, but also new hope for 2012.
Among the top stories headlined by the Black Press in 2011 are the consistently high unemployment rate; President Obama’s leadership in the killing of September 11 mastermind Osama Bin Laden; the controversial execution of Georgia death row inmate Troy Davis; the Black vote under attack; the Dr. King Monument dedicated on the National Mall; and Obama’s health care plan goes before the U. S. Supreme Court.
The following are synopses of those and other major Black stories from 2011 with implications for 2012:
1. Black Unemployment: After monthly jobless rates that fluctuated like a roller coaster, Blacks ended 2011 – as usual - at the top of the unemployment list. Last March, the Black unemployment rate hit 16.5 percent, the highest in more than a decade. Then, in October, it dropped from 16 percent to 15.1 percent, the lowest in two years, only to shoot back up to 15.5 percent in November while simultaneously dropping for Whites. The American Jobs Act, proposed by President Obama late last summer in a joint session of Congress, failed to pass the U. S. Senate, but was broken into pieces, some of which passed, included an extension of benefits for unemployed workers and an extension of a payroll tax holiday. In 2012, members of the Congressional Black Caucus have vowed to continue fighting for several jobs bills they have proposed.
2. Death of Osama Bin Ladin: President Obama was widely lauded for the success of a U. S. Military operation, May 2, that killed al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, the master mind of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The President made the announcement in a late night national television broadcast from the East Room of the White House after which thousands of Americans spilled into the streets, celebrating a decade after the plane attacks killed nearly 3,000 men, women and children in the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon in Northern Virginia, and Shanksville, Pa.
3. President Obama’s Health Care Plan Goes to the U. S. Supreme Court: The nation’s highest court revealed in October that it will decide by the end of June 2012 whether President Obama’s “Affordable Care Act” is constitutional. The court will review the President’s signature legislative accomplishment to decide whether the law’s requirement for all Americans to buy insurance is constitutional. Among the benefits, the White House says the plan will result in lower health care costs for millions of families, including the African-Americans community which has the greatest health and health care disparities of all racial groups.
4. Black Leaders Declare War on War on Drugs: A national forum aimed to declare war on the 40-year-long “war on drugs” culminated into a campaign to continue pressuring Congress and the White House to end the campaign that – according to statistics - has severely damaged Black communities nationwide. The initial forum, held June 17 at the National Press Club, was organized by the Institute of the Black World – 21st Century, led by Dr. Ron Daniels and featured Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr., U. S. Rep. John Conyers, Congressional Black Caucus Foundation President/CEO Elsie Scott, among other Black leaders. Disparities include African-Americans as 62 percent of drug offenders sent to state prisons, while representing only 12 percent of the U. S. population.
5. Troy Davis Executed: After a nearly 20-year battle for his life, supported by hundreds of thousands of people who ultimately signed petitions, Georgia death row inmate Troy Davis was executed by lethal injection Sept. 21 after a stay of execution was denied by the U.S. Supreme Court. The 1991 conviction of Davis for the murder of a police officer had been long the focus of civil rights leaders who proclaimed his innocence. The fight for justice, led by the NAACP, was largely based the recantation of seven of nine witnesses after the conviction. Anti-death penalty advocates have vowed to continue the fight against death as a punishment; especially in cases in which evidence is presented that destroys the prosecution’s case after the person has been convicted.
6. Historic Martin Luther King Jr. Monument Dedicated on National Mall: “The Stone of Hope”, a towering statue of Civil Rights hero Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was officially dedicated on the National Mall Oct. 16 after Hurricane Irene caused a postponement on Aug. 28. President Barack Obama, members of the King family, and a string of major civil rights icons spoke at the dedication and stars such as Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin performed. The four-acre site is the first dedicated to a Black man on the National Mall. It is viewed as a monument to past civil rights gains, but also a symbol of racial progress that must be made in years ahead.
7. Black Vote Under Attack: A clarion warning came from dozens of national civil rights leaders who say established and proposed new voting laws around the country amount to an attack on Black voting rights just as the 2012 presidential contest gets underway. The NAACP announced in November that over the past year “34 states have introduced voter suppression legislation, with laws passing in 14 of those states and bills pending in eight. These suppressive laws take many forms, but in each case they disproportionately impact people of color, working women, blue-collar workers, students, seniors, and immigrants.”
8. First Black President Continues to Face Race Hate as He Seeks 2012 Re-election: Hate experts continued to express serious concern as racial attacks continued to mark the first term of President Barack Obama. Public expressions of concern escalated following the Nov. 16 arrest of Oscar Ortega-Hernandez, 21, charged with attempting to assassinate the president for his shooting at the White House with an assault rifle. Officials’ contend that the motive in that case was not proven to be race-related, but rather anti-government. But hate experts, including the Southern Poverty Law Center, which documents hate incidents, say regardless of that suspect’s motive, Obama has consistently remained under escalated threat because of his race since before his election Nov. 5, 2008. The Secret Service gave Obama protection earlier than any other candidates and they’ve said Obama’s had more threats against him than any other president.
9. The Rise and Fall of Herman Cain: Herman Cain, a Godfather’s pizza executive, initially dismissed as an insignificant GOP candidate for president, suddenly rose to national prominence as he surged to the top of the GOP polls last fall. His candidacy peaked just as he appeared at the National Press Club Oct. 31 as news broke of several sexual harassment allegations against him. He denied the charges, but also revealed his threat to truth as he denied that widespread hate against Obama has anything to do with race. Cain’s campaign fizzled as the harassment charges intensified and he resigned from the race Dec. 3 while denying an alleged 13-year extramarital affair.
10. Occupy Protesters Win Support, Alliance from Civil Rights Leaders: What started as a group of mostly young White protesters on Wall Street late last summer, quickly spread to cities across the nation as protesters set up tents in public parks to decry unjust economic policies against the 99 percent of Americans who are not considered rich. Despite winter, the Occupy Movement caught fire and is increasingly winning the support and involvement of traditional civil rights leaders. Most recently, a group of Black clergy, led by former NAACP Executive Director Benjamin Chavis and the Rev. Jamal-Harrison Bryant, pastor of the Empowerment Temple in Baltimore, announced the formation of what they call “Occupy the Dream”. Starting Monday, Jan. 16, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. birthday holiday, Chavis says the group will hold protests at Federal Reserve Banks in 10 cities around the nation with hopes to spread “the message of income equality, economic justice and empowerment.” The mission aims to diminish Black unemployment by strengthening and promoting Black-owned businesses as an extension of Dr. King’s “Poor People’s Movement cut short when he was assassinated April 4, 1968. Chavis says, “Now that we have the monument, it’s time to rekindle the movement that the monument represents.”
Haiti: Seven Places Where the Earthquake Money Did and Did Not Go
By Bill Quigley and Amber Ramanauskas
Despite billions of dollars in relief and recovery aid donated to help Haitian earthquake victims, tent camps for the homeless, similar to this one, are still a common site nearly two years later.
(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Haiti, a close neighbor of the US with over nine million people, was devastated by earthquake on January 12, 2010. Hundreds of thousands were killed and many more wounded.
The UN estimated international donors gave Haiti over $1.6 billion in relief aid since the earthquake (about $155 per Haitian) and over $2 billion in recovery aid (about $173 per Haitian) over the last two years.
Yet Haiti looks like the earthquake happened two months ago, not two years. Over half a million people remain homeless in hundreds of informal camps, most of the tons of debris from destroyed buildings still lay where it fell, and cholera, a preventable disease, was introduced into the country and is now an epidemic killing thousands and sickening hundreds of thousands more.
It turns out that almost none of the money that the general public thought was going to Haiti actually went directly to Haiti. The international community chose to bypass the Haitian people, Haitian non-governmental organizations and the government of Haiti. Funds were instead diverted to other governments, international NGOs, and private companies.
Despite this near total lack of control of the money by Haitians, if history is an indication, it is quite likely that the failures will ultimately be blamed on the Haitians themselves in a “blame the victim” reaction.
Haitians ask the same question as many around the world: “Where did the money go?” Here are seven places where the earthquake money did and did not go:
(1) The largest single recipient of US earthquake money was the U.S. government. The same holds true for donations by other countries.
Right after the earthquake, the US allocated $379 million in aid and sent in 5,000 troops. The Associated Press discovered that of the $379 million in initial U.S. money promised for Haiti, most was not really money going directly, or in some cases even indirectly, to Haiti. They documented in January 2010 that 33 cents of each of these U.S. dollars for Haiti was actually given directly back to the U.S. to reimburse ourselves for sending in our military. Forty two cents of each dollar went to private and public non-governmental organizations like Save the Children, the UN World Food Program and the Pan American Health Organization. Hardly any went directly to Haitians or their government.
The overall $1.6 billion allocated for relief by the U.S. was spent much the same way according to an August 2010 report by the U.S. Congressional Research Office: $655 million was reimbursed to the Department of Defense; $220 million to Department of Health and Human Services to provide grants to individual US states to cover services for Haitian evacuees; $350 million to USAID disaster assistance; $150 million to the US Department of Agriculture for emergency food assistance; $15 million to the Department of Homeland Security for immigration fees, and so on.
International assistance followed the same pattern. The UN Special Envoy for Haiti reported that of the $2.4 billion in humanitarian funding, 34 percent was provided back to the donor’s own civil and military entities for disaster response, 28 percent was given to UN agencies and non-governmental agencies (NGOs) for specific UN projects, 26 percent was given to private contractors and other NGOs, 6 percent was provided as in-kind services to recipients, 5 percent to the international and national Red Cross societies, 1 percent was provided to the government of Haiti, four tenths of one percent of the funds went to Haitian NGOs.
(2) Only 1 percent of the money went to the Haitian government.
Less than a penny of each dollar of U.S. aid went to the government of Haiti, according to the Associated Press. The same is true with other international donors. The Haitian government was completely bypassed in the relief effort by the U.S. and the international community.
(3) Extremely little went to Haitian companies or Haitian non-governmental organizations.
The Center for Economic and Policy Research, the absolute best source for accurate information on this issue, analyzed all the 1,490 contracts awarded by the U.S. government after the January 2010 earthquake until April 2011 and found only 23 contracts went to Haitian companies. Overall, the U.S. had awarded $194 million to contractors, $4.8 million to the 23 Haitian companies, about 2.5 percent of the total. On the other hand, contractors from the Washington DC area received $76 million or 39.4 percent of the total. As noted above, the UN documented that only four tenths of 1 percent of international aid went to Haitian NGOs.
In fact Haitians had a hard time even getting into international aid meetings. Refugees International reported that locals were having a hard time even getting access to the international aid operational meetings inside the UN compound. “Haitian groups are either unaware of the meetings, do not have proper photo-ID passes for entry, or do not have the staff capacity to spend long hours at the compound.” Others reported that most of these international aid coordination meetings were not even being translated into Creole, the language of the majority of the people of Haiti.
(4) A large percentage of the money went to international aid agencies, and big well- connected non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
The American Red Cross received over $486 million in donations for Haiti. It says two-thirds of the money has been contracted to relief and recovery efforts though specific details are difficult to come by. The CEO of American Red Cross has a salary of over $500,000 per year.
Look at the $8.6 million joint contract between the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) with the private company CHF for debris removal in Port au Prince. CHF is a politically well-connected international development company with annual budget of over $200 million whose CEO was paid $451,813 in 2009.
CHF’s connection to Republicans and Democrats is illustrated by its board secretary, Lauri Fitz-Pegado, a partner with the Livingston Group LLC. The Livingston Group is headed by the former Republican Speaker-designate for the 106th Congress, Bob Livingston, doing lobbying and government relations. Ms. Fitz-Pegado, who apparently works the other side of the aisle, was appointed by President Clinton to serve in the Department of Commerce and served as a member of the foreign policy expert advisor team on the Obama for President Campaign. CHF “works in Haiti out of two spacious mansions in Port au Prince and maintains a fleet of brand new vehicles” according to Rolling Stone.
Rolling Stone, in an excellent article by Janet Reitman, reported on another earthquake contract, a $1.5 million contract to the NY based consulting firm Dalberg Global Development Advisors. The article found Dalberg’s team “had never lived overseas, didn’t have any disaster experience or background in urban planning… never carried out any program activities on the ground…” and only one of them spoke French. USAID reviewed their work and found that “it became clear that these people may not have even gotten out of their SUVs.”
Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton announced a fundraising venture for Haiti on January 16, 2010. As of October 2011, the fund had received $54 million in donations. It has partnered with several Haitian and international organizations. Though most of its work appears to be admirable, it has donated $2 million to the construction of a Haitian $29 million for-profit luxury hotel.
“The NGOs still have something to respond to about their accountability, because there is a lot of cash out there,” according to Nigel Fisher, the UN’s chief humanitarian officer in Haiti. “What about the $1.5 to $2 billion that the Red Cross and NGOs got from ordinary people, and matched by governments? What’s happened to that? And that’s where it’s very difficult to trace those funds.”
(5) Some money went to for profit companies whose business is disasters.
Less than a month after the quake hit, the US Ambassador Kenneth Merten sent a cable titled, “THE GOLD RUSH IS ON”, as part of his situation report to Washington. In this February 1, 2010 document, made public by The Nation, Haiti Liberte and Wikileaks, Ambassador Merten reported the President of Haiti met with former General Wesley Clark for a sales presentation for a Miami-based company that builds foam core houses.
Capitalizing on the disaster, Lewis Lucke, a high ranking USAID relief coordinator, met twice in his USAID capacity with the Haitian Prime Minister immediately after the quake. He then quit the agency and was hired for $30,000 a month by a Florida corporation Ashbritt (known already for its big no bid Katrina grants) and a prosperous Haitian partner to lobby for disaster contracts. Locke said “it became clear to us that if it was handled correctly, the earthquake represented as much an opportunity as it did a calamity…” Ashbritt and its Haitian partner were soon granted a $10 million no bid contract. Lucke said he was instrumental in securing another $10 million contract from the World Bank and another smaller one from CHF International before their relationship ended.
(6) A fair amount of the pledged money has never been actually put up.
The international community decided it was not going to allow the Haiti government to direct the relief and recovery funds and insisted that two institutions be set up to approve plans and spending for the reconstruction funds going to Haiti. The first was the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission (IHRC) and the second is the Haiti Reconstruction Fund (HRF).
In March 2010, UN countries pledged $5.3 billion over two years and a total of $9.9 billion over three years in a conference March 2010. The money was to be deposited with the World Bank and distributed by the IHRC. The IHRC was co-chaired by Bill Clinton and the Haitian Prime Minister. By July 2010, Bill Clinton reported only 10 percent of the pledges had been given to the IHRC.
(7) A lot of the money which was put up has not yet been spent.
Nearly two years after the quake, less than 1 percent of the $412 million in U.S. funds specifically allocated for infrastructure reconstruction activities in Haiti had been spent by USAID and the US State Department and only 12 percent has even been obligated according to a November 2011 report by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO).
The performance of the two international commissions, the IHRC and the HRF has also been poor. The Miami Herald noted that as of July 2011, the $3.2 billion in projects approved by the IHRC only five had been completed for a total of $84 million. The Interim Haiti Recovery Commission (IHRC), which was severely criticized by Haitians and others from its beginning, has been effectively suspended since its mandate ended at the end of October 2011. The Haiti Reconstruction Fund was set up to work in tandem with the IHRC, so while its partner is suspended, it is not clear how it can move forward.
What to do:
The effort so far has not been based a respectful partnership between Haitians and the international community. The actions of the donor countries and the NGOs and international agencies have not been transparent so that Haitians or others can track the money and see how it has been spent. Without transparency and a respectful partnership, the Haitian people cannot hold anyone accountable for what has happened in their country. That has to change.
The UN Special Envoy to Haiti suggests the generous instincts of people around the world must be channeled by international actors and institutions in a way that assists in the creation of a “robust public sector and a healthy private sector.” Instead of giving the money to intermediaries, funds should be directed as much as possible to Haitian public and private institutions. A “Haiti First” policy could strengthen public systems, promote accountability, and create jobs and build skills among the Haitian people.
Respect, transparency and accountability are the building blocks for human rights. Haitians deserve to know where the money has gone, what the plans are for the money still left, and to be partners in the decision-making for what is to come.
After all, these are the people who will be solving the problems when the post-earthquake relief money is gone.
Bill Quigley teaches at Loyola University New Orleans. He is the associate legal director at the Center for Constitutional Rights and volunteers with the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti. Amber Ramanauskas is a lawyer and human rights researcher. A more detailed version of this article with full sources is available. Bill can be reached at quigley77@gmail.com. Amber can be reached at gintarerama@gmail.com.
Please do not buy bp gasoline or other products until they pay the underserved.
Thank you.
Dick Gregory Arrested and Jailed During Protest at (BP) Offices in Washington DC., Protesting at Ken Feinberg's (the BP Paymaster) office in Washington DC on behalf of 10,000 poor Gulf oil spill claim victims who haven't received ANY of the $800 million compensation as promised by BP.
The Operation People For Peace delegation included (from left to right) Jeffrey Thomas, Dr Art Rocker, Dr E Faye Williams, civil rights activist and former comic Dick Gregory and Jimmie Gardner, chief of Pritchard police outside BP’s offices
The Innocent Faces of Poverty
Al Sharpton
(TriceEdneyWire.com) - In the dialogue over fluctuating markets, plummeting Dow numbers and nervous investors, the one group that is impacted perhaps most directly by everything is virtually left out of the conversation. The poor. Not only have the most vulnerable among us been ignored and further marginalized, but the very face of poverty has transformed in the most shocking of ways. As parents lose their employment, entire families face eviction and health care is an unimaginable luxury, innocent children are tragically becoming an increasing segment of the destitute. According to a new study, 1 in 5 kids in the most powerful nation on earth now live in poverty.
The Annie E. Casey Foundation this week released its findings on child poverty rates from 2000-2009. According to the foundation's research, 20 percent of our youth live in poverty and child poverty rates increased in 38 states during the years indicated in the study. So in other words, there has been a growth of 2.5 million additional kids now living at or below the poverty line -- which, for those who continually want to attack the poor, is only $22,350/yr. for a family of four. Sadly, the economic downfall of the past few years has only exacerbated the problem.
Almost every single day we hear the impoverished referred to as 'welfare recipients' and brandied about as if they were an evil group somehow responsible for our demise. In reality, Wall St. fat cats, predatory lenders and corporations with endless loopholes made a killing and left the rest of us to deal with the debt and mess. There is a great divide in this nation that is growing larger with each passing day. The NY Times recently ran a cover story stating the rich had no difficulty in spending and as a result, high-end retailers literally have waiting lists for items like $1500 shoes. While some are living the life of extravagance, many children won't even have enough clothes to begin the school year - let alone stay warm during the colder months.
There was a time when the word homeless would conjure up images of a lone bearded man walking the streets begging for money. Today, the face of poverty is increasingly becoming young boys and girls dealt an unjust hand in life. As the study indicated, children who are raised under dire circumstances find it difficult to obtain an adequate education, employment and housing in the future. A vicious cycle ensues that leaves everyone to bear the consequences.
We often see troubling examples of the indigent in many developing countries around the world, but this crisis is happening right here, right now in our own backyards. In the a country with such vast wealth and resources, how can we allow children to go to bed hungry at night, live in shelters or on the street and then turn around and continue to penalize their parents? Instead of actually creating jobs, many elected officials and those vying to be elected, want to reduce unemployment benefits, eliminate food stamps and continually blame the innocent for our current problems.
As the 2012 campaign kicks into full-gear, so will the anti-poor hate rhetoric designed to do nothing but get many to vote against their own interests. But before we fall victim to the notion of divide and conquer, let us remember that poverty knows no color, and our forgotten children comprise all racial/ethnic backgrounds.
And perhaps most importantly, let us remember the lesson of all the world's greatest religions - stand alongside the weakest amongst you.
Black Man is Murdered by White Gang in Jackson, Mississippi
(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Jackson, Mississippi is reeling from yet another deadly attack on a Black man by whites. The difference is that this time the incident was caught on tape and witnesses have come forward.
On June 26, Deryl Dedmon, Jr. led two carloads of white teenagers from Rankin County, Mississippi to Jackson. The group had been drinking and partying when reportedly Dedmon suggested that they to Jackson to harass some Black people.
The first business they came to was a hotel where a Black man, 49-year-old James C. Anderson, an auto plant work was standing in the parking lot.
According to witnesses, the teens beat Anderson repeatedly, while shouting “white power!” and other racial slogans.
Then a group of the teens entered their Ford F250 truck and drove over an embankment to strike and kill the staggering Anderson. Later he bragged about it to his friends by phone and in person. “He was not remorseful. He was laughing, laughing about the killing,” said district attorney Smith.
A surveillance video also reportedly shows the crime as it is being committed.
Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith says that based on tape and eyewitness testimony he is certain that this is a hate crime. Dedmon's attorney says he sees no evidence of racism in the entire incident. Of all who participated only two have been charged so far. Dedmon is charged with a racially motivated murder and John Rice was charged with assault. Dedmon faces a possible two life sentences for the crime.
Later that morning, James Craig Anderson's family were informed that he had died in a hit and run. It was later, when witness statements were taken that they learned the truth.
“This was a crime of hate. Dedmon murdered this man because he was Black,” said Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith. “The evidence will show that.”
Facing Escalated Jobless Numbers, CBC Chief Promises Fight for Jobs Bill
(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Emanuel Cleaver II (D-Mo.) is blaming Republicans for holding up job growth legislation and promises to continue fighting for a jobs bill.
“After five months of controlling the House, the Republican Leadership continues to prevent critical jobs legislation from being considered and passed. Instead, they have cut funding to critical programs that directly serve our country’s most vulnerable communities, costing hundreds of thousands of jobs and further weakening our economy,” Cleaver said in a statement. “I am fearful that reckless spending cuts will severely undermine and prevent recovery for every American community.”
Obviously recognizing the pending election season and trying to show the best face of Democrats, Cleaver boasted that private sector jobs have grown for the 17th straight month.
He conceded, however, “the overall unemployment rate increased by .1% and unemployment in the African American community has increased again, this time by .1% to a painful 16.2%. Millions are still out of work and families are still struggling to make ends meet.”
Black unemployment percentages that have fluctuated in the mid to high teens for the past three years and in the high 30s for Black teens, have caused some criticism of the Obama administration despite clear drops in unemployment overall. Cleaver promised that the CBC will wrestle with job growth for the rest of the summer.
“As our communities’ unemployment rates continue to hover at treacherous highs, it is clear now more than ever, that we are in need of a serious jobs bill that puts Americans back to work, and back in control of their families’ futures,” Cleave says. “It is even more evident that we cannot rely on the Republican Leadership to deliver. The Congressional Black Caucus is working with great haste from now through Labor Day on a vital jobs initiative program.”
The Boat Leaks from the Bottom
By Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr.
(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Poverty is spreading in America. One in five children are being raised in poverty. Millions of Americans depend on food stamps. Some 25 million are in need of full-time work. Veterans are coming home from foreign battlegrounds to an economic desert — and many of America’s homeless are veterans.
Yet the poor are virtually invisible in our political debate. Democrats talk about saving the middle class, while Republicans fret about protecting the “job creators.” In the Republican presidential debate last week, neither reporters nor candidates mentioned the words “poor” or “poverty.”
Not only is the very word “poor” despised, but the broader political order ignores the desperate, ominous message these coal-mine canaries are sending us.
Denial won’t work. This country is like a mighty ship that is taking on water. Some on board are so eager to get rid of the captain that they are prepared to let the whole thing sink. Speaking of his tea party congressional members in the debt ceiling debacle, House Speaker John Boehner said many thought that “a little chaos” might help them get their way. Well, they got the chaos, and now the ship of state is struggling in far rougher waters.
Most, however, seem focused on protecting those in posh cabins, on the upper decks. They are oblivious to water that is flooding in from the bottom. More and more of those in the lower decks are struggling just to keep their head above water. It goes without saying that although the poor might drown first, even those on the upper decks won’t fare well when the whole ship goes down.
The wealthiest Americans know this isn’t right. In The New York Times on Aug. 14, multibillionaire Warren Buffett, one of America’s richest men, calls for us to “stop coddling” the super-rich. “While the poor and middle class fight for us in Afghanistan, and while most Americans struggle to make ends meet, we mega-rich continue to get our extraordinary tax breaks,” Buffett writes. He notes that because he makes most of his money from returns on investing, as opposed to salary or wages on work, he pays a lower effective tax rate than many others in his office. He calls for special tax hikes on millionaires and billionaires — noting that all of them will continue to invest and to make money.
On the political trail, we hear a whole lot of rhetoric designed to rationalize the abandonment of the poor. Repeated tax cuts largely for the rich, two unfunded wars, and the financial wilding on Wall Street blew up our economy and exploded our debt. Yet we’re told we must balance our budget by cutting spending, particularly on the basic programs that poor and working people rely on: Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. “Shared sacrifice” is said to be lowering rates even further on the top end and corporations — they’re only people Mitt Romney suggests — while reducing school lunch programs, slashing funding to poor schools, and cutting affordable housing.
Most remarkable is that those who are the most callous about the poor make the loudest claims about their religious faith. They ignore the story of Jesus’ life. Born in a manger, he fled to Egypt as an immigrant, then returned to his lands as a carpenter. He announced his mission as “Good news for the poor,” vowing service to help heal the brokenhearted and feed the poor. At the same time, Jesus tossed the moneylenders from the temple and suggesting that the callous rich had as much of a chance of getting into heaven as a camel had of passing through the eye of a needle.
Today’s politicians are bowing to the rich young rulers who stage fundraisers and use lobbyists to leverage regulation and laws. Sadly, we too often choose the rich young ruler in the mansion over Jesus in the manger.
The poor have no money, so they don’t make campaign contributions. Their struggle to survive consumes their days, so they often don’t vote. It takes leadership and citizen movement to summon Americans to real shared sacrifice. When Dr. King’s life was cut short, he was organizing a Poor People’s Campaign designed to bring the poor to Washington to demand jobs and justice. The civil rights movement helped convince Lyndon Johnson that the time had come to end American segregation and to launch a war on poverty to build his Great Society.
America can’t be saved from the top down. The cabins on the upper decks are already quite lavish; the ship is leaking from the bottom. The debates on the campaign trail and in Washington must not continue to focus on topside staterooms while ignoring the damage below.
Remember our nation’s character and our moral imperative are linked to how we treat the least of these. Somewhere I read, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”
That invitation is a high moral ground. That invitation is the key to our greatness. It must never be abandoned.
