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November 26, 2005

Did Hurricane Katrina Expose Poverty in America, or is the Media Attempting to Save Face?

Who are the real poor in America, and how do we help them?

Two weeks ago, I spent a day visiting with friends from Canada. It is always enlightening to hear the opinion of America's current affairs from outsiders whose only possible perspective can come from the media. They don't live here, so how else can foreigners possibly judge happenings here? During conversation about current events, one of our friends said, “I'm sure you will all be happy when that terrible Bush is out of office. I mean, look at how much he cares for those poor people he abandoned in New Orleans after the hurricane.” Shortly before this comment, I had been reading a Cape Cod Times article that stated much the same. According to many in the media, the primary lesson we should have taken away from hurricane Katrina was the disparity between the “haves” and “have nots” in America. It should be noted that it is the consensus (even within the media) that reports made in the wake of this storm relied more on emotion than on fact. Obviously the press remains desperate to justify this emotionalism, and all too eager to cover up their flawed reporting. This desperation is obvious in their continuing, post-hurricane, poverty coverage.

From my perspective, admittedly safe and sound here on Cape Cod throughout it all, I saw disparities exposed that had little to do with class divisions. Where the media saw a government disinterested in helping the poor, I saw people utterly incapable of helping themselves or each other. The real differences exposed by Katrina were between those of us willing to work and act, and those who equate compassion with dollar signs and government aid. We were exposed to the dramatic difference between those who sit back and wait for help, and those who pull themselves up and take care of business. We also witnessed a local government totally lacking in preparedness to respond to a previously acknowledged transportation problem. Now, we find that reality and the MSM (main stream media) remain in conflict all these weeks later.

Another glaring defect revealed by Katrina is one I have been complaining about since it first occurred: the shameless acts of uncouth zealots who seized on hurricane Katrina in the hours after the flooding to politicize this catastrophe. Within hours of breaks in the New Orleans levee system, MoveOn.org activists were blanketing the internet, chat rooms and message boards with cut and paste propaganda claiming President Bush had cut levee funding. In reality, however, figures from 2001 through 2005 show that Louisiana was the top recipient of Corps of Engineer funding in the country, getting $1.9 billion of the Army Corps of Engineers' $22.9 billion budget. In addition, the three Corps of Engineer flood control projects surrounding New Orleans received a total of $391 million in direct funding during that same five year period. I see another disparity forming here... a disparity in truth. It is interesting that we have NEVER read that truth in print here on Cape Cod (neither had our friends up in Canada). With today's politically biased mainstream media, to find the truth, we must hunt for it ourselves.

Back to the matter of poverty here in America: No right thinking person is going to try to say poverty does not exist here in the United States (or in any country in the world). However, my reaction to both the Cape Cod Times article and my friend's expression of concern for our citizenry was the same. I was ashamed, but I was not ashamed of my government or our President. I was ashamed of the way some of our politicians, many in the media, and liberal activists ignore the causes of poverty here in this country, and will not acknowledge the true scope of real poverty here. The media and our government's harshest critics would prefer we not recognize that our country has some of the most well off “poor” people in the world. They are incapable of discriminating between the real poor in this country, and unproductive members of this society who are living very well despite their lack of motivation or abilities.

By real poverty, I am talking about those who lack the basics. Real poor people lack sufficient nutritious food for their families, transportation (a car or truck) to get to work when needed, and reasonably warm and dry housing. Based on these most basic requirements, America has very few real poor people. The majority of Americans described as "poor" by the media (and our government) now typically have access to transportation (or own a vehicle), have air conditioned homes, a microwave, a stove, a refrigerator, and a washer and dryer. The typical “poor” person in America also has more than one television, has cable or a satellite dish, a VCR or DVD player (many have both), a video game console or computer, and a home stereo. Their home is typically in good condition, and they are not living in overcrowded conditions. They also have access to medical care. The typical American poor family is not hungry and is capable of meeting their essential needs. I am not saying everyone in this country is living the American dream as you and I picture it, but I am saying that we all have equal access to it. The majority of America's poor are far from being “Third World poor” as the media suggests in discussions of poverty. The majority of poor, by the media and our government's definition, are low income people who are living in conditions and with material wealth far superior to the poor in most countries.

Yes, we have families in America who face hardships. There are people (adults and children) among us who deserve far better care than they receive. A third of poor households here in this country face overcrowding, occasional hunger, and difficulty obtaining medical care. I am not disputing that. However, we should be debating the causes and solutions of this problem. The primary cause of poverty here in this country is the breakdown of our families and our communities. Irresponsible consumerism, welfare and the welfare mentality (the “what have you done for me lately” attitude) have done great harm to this country. We must be charitable and compassionate with our weak and our poor, but that charity and compassion are possible and necessary at the local level. The federal administration of our compassion does not seem to be working. For the past five years, federal spending on anti-poverty programs has increased by 41%, and there is no end in sight. The problem keeps getting worse. Perhaps it is time we bring charity back to the local level and seek more creative solutions to lifting our neighbors out of poverty. Government funded welfare is a bottomless pit that we can no longer afford to ignore.

Every time I hear hurricane Katrina (a natural disaster) brought up in stories of poverty and race, my disgust grows. I have read stories that detail how many black businesses were destroyed by hurricane Katrina (yes, it appears natural disaster is a sure sign of prejudice in this country). I have also read countless tales of how the storm affected the poor in New Orleans; but what of all people of every financial level on the entire Gulf Coast? We continue to be told that the poor were abandoned in New Orleans, but what of the hundreds of thousands of people of the same economic status who were able to get out well ahead of the storm? What of all Americans struggling to get by from paycheck to paycheck? The people who were interested in working, those concerned about the possible interruption of their incomes, and those willing to listen to authorities, had no problem getting out ahead of the floods in New Orleans. Yes, there were transportation problems for the weak, sick and handicapped that local authorities should have been prepared for, but that would have been (and has been) an issue for any population, regardless of its affluence.

Hurricane Katrina exposed rifts in this country that go deeper than separation of class and race. Hurricane Katrina exposed the nature of a society that increasingly rejects the worthiness of faith based charities (because it has grown so anti-religious), but feels perfectly comfortable with government hand outs. Government monies (monies that are not even there to spend) have become the preferred method of relief in this growing confusion of money with compassion. Hurricane Katrina also exposed the lengths that liberal activists will go to politicize their agenda. We witnessed this as Jesse Jackson showed up in New Orleans with a bus load of people from Chicago to make a show for the cameras of blacks looking for work. New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin publicly asked how he should deal with a city overrun with immigrant workers... the only workers willing and ready to do the clean up work. There seems to be confusion in our approach to the problem of poverty here in America. We villainize people who are willing and able to work, yet complain that these jobs are not going to a different racial group that does not appear to be present or interested.

Poverty is not a modern affliction. In fact, the modern condition is far better than ever before. However, in his day, Benjamin Franklin addressed this dilemma best in response to laws England proposed to lower prices for London's poor:

“I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it. In my youth I traveled much, and I observed in different countries that the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer. And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer. …In short, you offered a premium for the encouragement of idleness, and you should not now wonder that it has had its effect in the increase of poverty.”

We have made it more beneficial to be on welfare in this country than to work a minimum wage job, yet there are those who are still questioning why we have poverty in this country. There should be no question that poverty exists here, but there should be much debate on how it should be overcome. The first step should be the acknowledgment that it is not blasphemy to critique the priorities and habits of the poor. The only means people have of escaping poverty is a change of habits and a desire to avail themselves of the opportunities here in this country. Aiding that change in habits and instilling that desire should be priority number one. Second, we must take the politics out of the process. Government never belonged in the role of parent to us all (in the business and private sector). The Depression warranted government intervention to assist the country out of financial ruin, but once the floodgates were opened, the money has continued to flow unchecked. Now, we remain a country of dependents, everyone feeling entitled to their piece of the pie. Unfortunately, we will all (rich, middle-class and poor) be the eventual victims of government spending that far exceeds income.

Since the New Deal, positive forward progress (on critical social and environmental issues) seems impossible without being in the government's pockets. It seems nothing of benefit to the human race is worthwhile without government approval any longer. Until we give faith-based charities the admiration we afford government hand outs, and until we learn that charity and environmental stewardship are beneficial in and of themselves and deserve our financial support (at the personal and local level), we will be forced to continue our dependence on government monies (monies our government does not even have to spend) as the provider of incentive for these worthy endeavors. Somehow, we must turn back the clock, return our government to its original purpose, and take back responsibility for governing ourselves and our communities. The current system is broken, and I challenge anyone who has not discovered their own personal way to benefit from the current system to deny this.

There is equality in access to opportunity in this country, but our ability to avail ourselves of this opportunity will always differ from person to person. Certainly, concern for our neighbor should be a priority in this country, but Utopia is not possible, and compassion is not monetary. Most welfare programs have served more as enablers, contributing to the condition of the poor rather than assisting people out of poverty, or helping them through troubled times. It is time we stop treating people as guinea pigs, abandon broken social programs, and begin progress on rebuilding our communities.

We should all be concerned with the health of our economy, as it affects each of us along with the state of all of our fellow citizens. It is only a matter of time before our economy comes to a screeching halt due to our irresponsible spending (and this is obviously not only on social programs). Pork barrel spending and big government must be reigned in. Revising a tax code that is unfair to the poorest among us and penalizes good family values such as marriage should be part of this focus. Those who criticize big businesses for fleeing the United States are often the same people who disregard and encourage the out of control bureaucracy our government has become. Attracting employers back to the United States will necessitate eliminating the bureaucracy and allowing these businesses to make a profit without forcing them to be the support system for their employees' (past and present) every need. We have become our own worst enemies, and the situation is getting worse. Blaming class divisions on politics is contributing to our problems rather than solving them. While fighting to win more benefits for the poor and downtrodden may seem an admirable crusade, we can not afford to remain ignorant of the causes and perpetuate them. The choice is whether we continue as part of the problem, or change our ways to be part of the solution.

Suggested (somewhat related) reading:
Pork Gumbo, The federal tax bill served up by Louisiana legislators

Posted by capecodcyclist at November 26, 2005 05:50 PM

Comments

Posted by: Peter Porcupine at November 26, 2005 06:51 PM

Posted by: Drew at December 1, 2005 06:54 PM

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