Spare Change: The Enemy is Poverty
By D.J. Blu (Public Domain Article)
Problem Statement:
War and violent consumption practices threaten rapidly diminishing healthy biomes and demands reasonable containment.
Background:
As the human population continues to rapidly expand, it is critical that caring, sharing and prioritization to end poverty become keys to reduce suffering. What is an adequate definition and measurement of wealth or ideals like success that more objectively accounts for the public’s health, safety and welfare? Many social ills boil down to the examination of lifestyles, ethics, and behaviors.
Poverty is culturally created and defined and expressed in numerous ways. Gross materialism and abject poverty are the result of socialization and hierarchies of power and wealth inequities that are largely tolerated instead of being challenged or sufficiently reformed. Perhaps poverty, as allowed human suffering, is not some accidental consequence. Could it possibly be a manufactured phenomenon often mistakenly presumed to benefit an alleged ruling class? Is it possible poverty may be the result of a lesser explored phenomenon of dominance, inferiority or an overarching expression of fear? Why does poverty appear more pronounced in western cultures versus the middle-east or eastern cultures generally even though wages are much lower in lesser developed countries? What excuse does the wealthiest country on earth have for allowing so many measures of poverty and social decay to persist within our own backyards? The problem of poverty limits the enjoyment of liberty and weakens the prospect of justice for all. Therefore anyone aspiring to further practice democracy should embrace peace as the solution to better drive investments in human development. Peace addresses quality of life concerns which are equal if not more important than investment in security alone.
Poverty involves factors of identity, neglect, health, rehabilitation, cultural values, communications and economics. However, explanations for unmet needs in the midst of plenty is largely an efficiency and fairness problem stemming from an underdeveloped recognition of the basic equalities of life. Poverty is an unforgiving painful expression of failed moral values that supports impoverishment, encourages cycles of violence and depends on the tolerance of dehumanization and victimization. Poverty is one of many control mechanisms that assumed supremacy/dominance relies on in general to keep power inequities in place so that some can have more than others.
Hoarding and the theft involved from wars has led many (internal and external) enemy combatants labeled formerly as terrorists by the U.S. government, to attack the USA to highlight demands for change and levy revenge. One notable attack was the event of 911 inspired largely by the preaching of militant Osama Bin Laden (formerly Central Intelligence Agency trained asset) in his lesser known manifesto A Letter to America.
On a more simplistic level, the annual defense budget of the USA and increasingly less transparent investments in war enterprises versus scant spending by contrast on critical infrastructure, social security programs, education and healthcare has caused deep rifts and concerns. Prioritizing defense spending over meeting the needs of people or the urgent planetary repairs needed, fuels the escalating wars that will simply produce more poverty. Thus, it is recommended here that ending wars through diplomacy and reinvesting in tangible Peace can dramatically reduce poverty.
Cultural Values and the Social Role of Poverty
Poverty is the bi-product of collective decision making and behavior. Can we discern what causes some cultures to reinforce dehumanizing behaviors like banishment, punishment, hoarding, and alienation more than others? Do values account for the difference in the degree that banishment, punishment, hoarding, and alienation are practiced or reinforced?
Amorality and destructive behaviors may be correlated to an absence of care, a lack of empathy and are characterized here as developmental flaws. How do we measure social progress, wellness, and guard against preventable social decay?
Ethics
Are conditions of mass madness, corruption, impoverishment, dehumanization and preventable inflicted illnesses becoming tolerated norms? The poles of right and wrong action are mediated by the force of consequence. Setting and enforcing reasonable limits to human behavior because we are error prone promotes survival and social harmony. Granted, there are historical circumstances where intolerance and prejudice have been invoked to wrongfully oppress populations behind harmfully biased notions of right and wrong, but we can’t allow those horrible displays mask the positive benefits of ethics. Some basic social agreements regarding ethics and their relationships to survival that we can potentially call upon to reinforce positive social change deserves our serious attention at this particular point in human development due to our recent technological advancements which have given us unprecedented abilities to manipulate and harm the world upon which we all depend.
Poverty can be viewed as a symptom of inadequate family and supportive health systems. Education, the strengthening of ethics and improved mental health care are paramount in combating poverty. Productive rehabilitation and proven treatment strategies versus penal systems are more humane and more cost effective.
The immediacy and urgency of poverty calls for humane responses that provide homes, food, clothes, jobs, counseling and medical attention. After studying homelessness, I conclude that many people are only a paycheck away from finding themselves in a terribly desperate situation. In fact, many people live without any savings or other adequate support networks. How can progress and reforms in economics better utilize and distribute resources in a manner that minimizes suffering?
Evaluating ideas like hoarding, the control and distribution of resources, the roles and responsibilities of intervening forces, and use of war makes poverty a complex problem. Reducing want or need requires the willingness of world citizens to participate in designing and implementing the necessary changes and particular processes we find helpful in alleviating and preventing crises. UC Berkeley professor Sim Van Der Ryn presents the need for sensible planning in his book Ecological Design. Dr. Helen Caldicott of Physicians for Social Responsibility points out in her book Nuclear Madness that we need to get our priorities straight and take appropriate actions, otherwise none of the important issues we wish to address will matter, because there will be nothing left to defend if we have a nuclear war or even mere nuclear accidents/spills alone.
We Share in Common
All people need social interactions and to be cared for in order to be physically and mentally healthy. Affection is a human need, thus, invisibility, alienation, and untouchable associations practiced towards the impoverished are damaging to their spirit and their will for survival.
Many homeless people suffer in isolation, lack self esteem, and often have treatable illnesses. They are grossly stereotyped as drunks, lunatics, losers, criminals, and are even considered public nuisances by some. Are such labels used as defense mechanisms to rationalize the reluctance of observers to act responsibly or to share the tasks and the resources needed to adequately address the problem of poverty? Unfortunately, people selfishly practice discriminations that rationalize their claims to resources, making scapegoating and irrational thinking a convenient means of avoidance. Hoarding and other more violent practices are often portrayed as necessary evils. The tolerance of mass madness creates poverty in the midst of plenty. Empowerment is the answer to oppression and apathy specifically.
Ahimsa, the philosophy and practice of non-violence is based on compassion, responsibility, accountability, logical reasoning and empathy. This ancient peace practice reinforces the problem-solution community development model, mental wellness theories, and ultimately serves as a useful tool to improve survival and the quality of our lives. At its core is the ethic of being committed to minimizing and preventing suffering as Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King JR. and Jesus and many others bravely demonstrated. The resolution of poverty and other forms of direct or indirect violence, involves refining ideas and practices of non-violence that are capable of providing useful solutions. The self-evident benefits that transpire from peace far outweigh the demented and exaggerated victories of war. With peace casualty counts decline and all life becomes valued and protected restoring relative harmony and balanced equilibrium.
Isolation
Could the habit of separation, division, or individualism make it harder for us to understand our neighbors or our natural environment? For example, at the public’s request, police are routinely arresting the homeless. Shop owners complain to the police and want laws that prevent street people from sleeping in their storefronts. A vast amount of time, energy, and resources are spent confiscating grocery carts, personal belongings, and arresting homeless people. Ironically, many of the public spaces such as park grounds and benches formerly utilized by the homeless in San Francisco have been re-designed to ensure a less comfortable and less hospitable accommodation. Yet, if we decided to invest in shelters, mental health care and employment training programs our community would enjoy the benefits of winning some important victories in minimizing and relieving human suffering. Not only would this be a more efficient use of our resources, our response would be more humane and the outcomes of treatment would be measurable in positive results versus tax dollars wasted on incarceration. We need to free up law enforcement to combat violent crimes. By making a greater commitment to mental health services, and addressing and prioritizing the needs of nonviolent offenders we may encourage successful community reintegration and discourage repeated offences.
What are the answers to the poverty problem?
Many types of suffering are preventable. Careful observation, persuasion, and necessary non-violent interventions periodically advances humanity based on cultural revolutions. Using everyday as an opportunity to set and achieve goals that fulfill personal and collective purposes is an intentional process that harnesses will power. The process begins by being called or awakened to inner and external needs and desires and finding healthy ways to express and meet those needs and desires. Matching or developing necessary skills, defining and living purpose and the rate of exchange economically rewarding you for doing what you love is a challenge in any environment. The difference between a productive nonviolent contributor and one that is lost reinforcing destructive ends depends on the level of practice achieved by the lifestyle of the individual. Regardless of the relative position of a person in this process, and greater degrees of separation regarding unhealthy dependencies, addictions, or compromises made supporting corrupt systems, such as paying taxes or using nuclear power to turn on the lights, applying time and resources to productive ends creates more sustainable results.
Due to pervasive bias, clearly understanding the real costs of decisions and selecting better options often requires further reinforcements than mere knowledge alone. It is impractical to assume even in the possession of knowledge or wisdom, that people will behave better. In fact the evidence suggesting that people are not innately caring, vary dramatically regarding ability to be empathetic and are a lot less reliable than one would hope is overwhelming.
The victims of poverty need us to make the commitment to make the necessary changes to reduce suffering. How can rationales that attempt to justify oppression as an acceptable condition be transformed?
The Role of Compassion
Being cared for or about by others and by oneself increases the quality of life of the individual and society. If people are loved, it is more likely that they are going to be able to love and take care of themselves, or rely upon support from family and friends. This hypothesis is supported by the obvious disadvantages which can be observed in people who are victims of neglect.
According to Henry A. Murry, a prominent psychologist, priorities or behaviors are often developed according to the ability of people to communicate, perceive, and respond to their own needs. Today his theory is referred to as the hierarchy of needs. However, if a person is hungry, sleep deprived, or suffering from drug dependency or behavioral disorders, as many impoverished people are, it is less likely that they will have the skill or the strength to act in their best interest. Rather, people can formulate perceptions of needs that are not consistent with their well-being. Kids for example think they need candy, once addicted to sugar, or brainwashed through commercials, but we know that short lived sugar rush is void of nutritional value and that acidic things generally disrupt all systems of the body and can contribute to cancer among many other symptoms.
As a society, we rely on human services, religious, and community organizations to help care for individuals in need, but we are cooperatively facing the challenge of reforming our cultural frameworks to increase and improve the support necessary for good health.
Have we arrived at a point we value property such as the car or home more than the bodies that drive and occupy them? Has the asset become the artificial intelligence and the liability the human? Industries boast we are streamlining, going lean, growing record profit while making those left with jobs appear to be celebrated as frontline high performance leaders. Yet, those same workers are getting denied vacations and expected to be grateful for the routine pay cuts and inflation that have left wages flat for nearly three decades.
It would be an error to underestimate the potential of intelligence, the desire to be free, and the will to survive. People can become empowered in a variety of ways. With adequate support, individuals can learn to live healthier or otherwise improve their circumstances.
Sociological and Psychological issues pertaining to Poverty
What is poverty?
Because the cultural values of the west do not necessarily correspond with other cultures, it is pretentious for us to assume that having no electricity, or refrigeration is a symbol of poverty. We simply must not superimpose our world view on others. I would even venture to say western society as a whole fluxuates in our fixation with materialism. Besides the social value changes that have occurred across centuries, there are changes within an individuals lifetime where the way financial success, wealth, and status is viewed. Yet Capitalist, Socialists and Communist Nation States rely on economic systems that project our gross national product without calculating the real costs that the damages industrial production creates in the process. We produce and compete, but to what end? The dominant values system of our ruling minority assigns privilege and controls the distribution of resources by operating on the assumption that people should be rewarded more or less depending on their position. While this might appear reasonable, in practice we see the gross disparities stemming from our civilizations class systems, tokenism or harmful assimilation processes that don’t value diversity enough, reinforces racism, sexism and even homophobia- the fear of the love of same sex partners- all of which defy reason and obstructs equity and justice.
Systems that devalue existence and the mutuality and interdependencies that nature and other life forms share in common are doomed to fail due to there own corruption and disregard for harmony or biological stability.
Some people claim that the impoverished are being justly punished for their own mistakes, and that their suffering is the consequence of their own behavior, not societies at large. Most people separate themselves from the responsibility to aid the sick and other victims and fail to see their role in creating and enforcing the victims condition due to their own inaction motivated by self preservation and lack of skills or resources. There are correlations between higher mortality rates, lower IQ scores, disparities in physical growth, malnutrition, and educational achievement among the poor in contrast with afluent classes in the U.S. Moreover, the declining quality of life experienced by poorer nations do represent a threat to the enjoyment of peace and stability at large. Many religious doctrines promote poverty or detachment as a spiritual attribute or goal.
Values assigned to material products create social conditions that influence, shape, and inform the mode of behavior. For example, teens often are influenced by commercials and associate being slim to being loved. They behave by trying to be thin and struggle with self-worth from the negative self imaging driven largely at young girls hitting there sensitive growing minds. Unfortunately, the values promoted in many popular media sources contradict the needs of life and even threaten or harm life.
Awareness is key to resolving any crises. It naturally follows that the meaning of civilization and its mode of production and development status come into the foreground, as well as the ethical codes, tools, and rationales that create harsh realities. It would be a large step for humanity to acknowledge inadequacies and inequalities that some of our cultural systems re-enforce. Another step is to accept the responsibilities and challenges that creative solutions require. Discourse on poverty can help us come to a better understanding regarding the problems of poverty and impoverishment, but solutions require commitments that involve both reason and direct action.
Homelessness in the United States of America
The homeless population is diverse, but some patterns allow for distinctions to be observed. Some of the population is dependent on alcohol or other substances. A large number are war veterans and many suffer from psychological, or physical disabilities. A number of the young people and women are runaways avoiding abusive homes. Racial and ethnic composition studies of the homeless show that the majority of the homeless population is made up of minority groups. Just under half are white. In the U.S. families with children are the fastest growing homeless population between 2010 and 2020 (U.S. Conference of Mayors, 2009; U.S. HUD, 2009a) (https://apa.org retrieved 7/5/21). According to https://endhomelessness.org black and native groups experience homeless at higher rates in the US.
San Francisco (SF) is reported to have the highest concentration of homeless people in the United States. According to a 1990 Census Bureau tally SF had eight homeless people for every 1,000 residents (with estimated 5,792 homeless observed in SF of total estimated residence 723,959).1 From 1990 to 2017 the SF resident population grew by 17% (to 870,044 people). Homelessness remained stable at less than 1% of total SF residents in 2017 growing to nines homeless people per 1000 residents(with an estimated 8000 homeless counted in 2017 in SF) (https://nytimes.com Cowan J. Nov, 2019 retrieved 7/5/2021). With relatively few homeless people in contrast to total resident population, the question becomes why has homelessness, which reflects a humanitarian crisis, not better managed? The reputation of SF is being impacted and loses from reduced tourism continue to mount. To longer term residents this roughly 28% overall population growth of homeless over 27 years is why homelessness seems so drastically increased on the streets, because it has increased as the total population has increased.
In San Francisco historic, economic, political and geographic factors have led homelessness to remain unabated over the last thirty years. San Francisco is a desirable place to live. As a result the city has become one of the most expensive housing markets in the world. Redevelopment and gentrification have wiped out the majority of inexpensive housing over the last twenty years. A city sponsored study made in 1989 shows rents have jumped 166 percent for rooms between 1978 and 1988 while the income of city residents rose only 100 percent. In contrast, “inflation adjusted rents have risen by 64% though 2014, but real household income only increased by 18%.” This means inflation is now dramatically outpacing wage growth by “more than double” in the USA (www.apartmentlist.com retrieved 7/5/21 Woo, A. 6/14/2016).
d
Statistics show that year after year our federal government allocates small portions, as low as 2% of the federal budget to welfare and education programs (2019 www.cbpp.org). War Resisters advocates report that around 70% of the federal budget has been spent on national defense related projects during the 90’s. In fact many programs for defense do not show up in congressional budget approval processes in transparent ways. Defense spending is increasingly tied to bills buried in a variety of ways, a fairly new concerning trend in how budget processes work at federal and state levels driven by special interests.
Mental Health
During the Regan administrations rule, drastic budget cuts were made affecting federally funded mental institutions and thousands of patients were released, many ending up on the streets. Some people are obviously in need of health services but denied adequate health care. A Haight Ashbury Free Clinic Jail Psychiatric Services (JPS) report says that, “In 1970, in the United Sates, there were 500,000 state psychiatric hospital beds and 300,000 prison and jail beds. In 1992, there were 100,000 state psychiatric hospital beds and 2,000,000 jail and prison beds. State psychiatric hospital beds have been reduced, and the jails are now the repository for the marginalized mentally ill- those who are homeless, those who lack a support system, those who are poor, those for whom community mental health has failed. Corrections and the streets have become the treatment centers of the chronically mentally ill.” July 2000 JPS Training Video.
The laws surrounding the homeless continue to make poverty a crime punishable. We should evaluate and discuss how the laws of nations contribute to the manufacture and maintenance of the conditions of poverty.
Privacy and physical health are privileges not equally or fairly accessible for many. Rationales and actions that create conditions of poverty or violence should draw scrutiny, criticisms, and be countered by intelligence. That intelligence can inform actions that offer relief and prevent the spread of poverty and war. One possible reason these conditions persists is that there is profit to gain from war. While savings result from solving poverty and reducing violence, no single person financially gains profit from reducing poverty or war. Greater efficiency means less taxes and thus less need for government. This is considered a threat to institutions dependent on war profit, health crisis and incarceration- all correlated to poverty.
Since Gross Domestic Product is a measure of productivity, the measure of savings is not always held as a priority. In the calculus of a profit oriented society, or one ruled by capitalists that attempt to drive behavior to increase net profits, the details of quality of life are compromised as debts passed onto future generations. This distorted pattern of rationalizing violence and poverty is an age old problem and regarded by humanists as theft. Naturalist and other scientist debate this unsustainable model accelerates entropy or inevitable destruction to the point of a no return i.e. total extinction when certain thresholds are crossed needed to sustain life on earth.
Healthy development relies on cooperative and supporting factors that aid healthy growth or otherwise reverse conditions that threaten it. Pollution, species loss, soil erosion, declining regenerative capabilities and adverse genetic deformities demonstrates behaviors need to be evaluated and reformed to be consistent with needs of life.
Dr. Van Potter stated, “more knowledge is the solution to dangerous knowledge.” History clearly shows that there are circumstances when it is necessary to build new systems. Rebelling against unjust systems to firmly announce violations and appropriate citations issued for injustice and the desecration of life is our civic duty.
Fear, doubt, misinformation, or a lack of experience can cause people to rush about with their own bias often operating from false assumptions, distorted impressions, prejudices or ignorance. As a result, clear communication exchanges and healthy relations are more difficult to achieve.
By distributing resources fairly, implementing equal taxation laws and building more efficient and compassionate ethics and social support systems, we will help to ensure that the basic rights of life are protected. Anything less is trespassing against justice, restricting freedom, insulting intelligence and is liable for damages that can otherwise be averted.
Bibliography
1 San Francisco Examiner Nov. 12th Issue 1991
2.San Francisco Examiner Nov. 12th Issue 1991
Sue, Sue, Sue (2000). Abnormal Behavior.
|
