Bluffton Today: Why demonize poor people?
media mentionPosted: April 4, 2012 – 12:23am
By BARBARA KELLY
Lowcountry Liberal
“A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.” These words of Franklin Delano Roosevelt would be a good reminder for some in the Republican Party who have a new sport — demonizing poor people. In this time when the top 1 percent have 40 percent of the nation’s wealth and the bottom 80 percent have 7 percent, it seems like an unduly cruel act to speak about poor people as lazy, or not wanting to work. Most of them do work, when jobs are available. And they pay taxes, despite the rhetoric that they don’t.
The financial share of the top 1 percent is now greater than any time since the 1920’s, according to the Institute for Policy Studies. The top .5 percent own half of the stocks, bonds, and mutual funds, while the bottom 50 percent own only .5 percent.
A report by the Census Bureau says that 50 percent of Americans live either in poverty or at a “low income level.” Then conservative think tanks, such as the Heritage Foundation, come out with inane statements like the one that says poor people have a high standard of living because they have a refrigerator and stove. Where would they like them to cook — over a fireplace?
The poorest 50 percent have an average income of about $30,000. It’s true that some of these families don’t pay much federal income tax, (3 percent) because, as the Tax Policy Center notes “the basic structure of the income tax exempts subsistence levels of income from tax”. But they do pay other taxes. About 10 percent of their income in state and local taxes. (Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy) The Congressional Budget Office estimates that they also pay 9 percent of their income to Social Security Tax, and 2 percent to excise tax. So total taxes for the poor are 24 percent of their income.
Then housing, 27 percent — food. 10 percent — transportation, 6 percent — health care 5 percent, child care, 8 percent — energy costs, 24 percent. This amounts to 92 percent of their income. So they have 8 percent for miscellaneous costs, and everything else. Yes, these are averages, so individual differences do occur. But they sure aren’t living high off the hog, in any case. And they deserve respect, not ridicule.
Less than 5 million out of 70 million in the bottom half received TANF — Temporary Assistance to Needy Families — in 2010. Listening to some Republicans, you would think every hand was out collecting the hard earned tax money of the wealthy. They don’t mention that most extremely wealthy people inherited their money. As did many candidates for president.
Mitt Romney’s $250 million is not something he emphasizes. His frequent gaffes, though, show his inability to understand the plight of the poor. Heck, he’s even stated that he isn’t concerned about them. Rick Santorum, on the other hand, talks about how he wants to help poor people, then goes on to spend much of his time on social conservative issues that, if anything, would hurt them. Keep the women home, have lots more kids. Which century does he live in? Then Newt has a great solution. Give the jobs to the school kids. That makes about as much sense as the moon colony. Or the far out energy program from his over active imagination.
It is said that people really vote their pocketbooks. If that is true, no poor person could possibly vote for one of these candidates. Because not only will they be demonized, they will be cut off from the very programs that keep them alive. Food stamps, Medicaid, unemployment benefits, Social Security. Maybe that’s why so many states are doing their best to see they don’t vote at all.
It’s time to respect those who struggle, and stop the false propaganda about them.