It is the mantra I have heard over and over: We turned our backs on the poor during the disaster in the Gulf.
But how can we say we turned our backs on them when we have never faced them?
Our government has actively ignored the poorest of the poor, creating a false bottom in defining poverty in this country which has in turn made them utterly invisible.
Time and time again we hear the simplistic phrase, “What they need to do is pull themselves up by their bootstraps”
What about the millions who don’t have boots?
Instead of helping the poor get a better education, ignorant policy makers enforce means testing.
What about the fact the crumbling infrastructures of their schools don’t have the means to even wire a school for an adequate computer system?
There are cries to cut PBS funding because cable television provides educational programming.
What about the millions of Americans who can’t afford cable?
I don’t know anyone who drinks water from the tap anymore and instead of demanding our cities water supplies are safe for drinking, we have accepted bottled water as a way of life.
What about the millions of Americans who can’t afford to pay 2 bucks for a bottle of Fiji?
Look at every aspect of our social policy; healthcare, Medicare, Medicaid, the list is endless, and you will not find a single instance where those who live in abject poverty have been included in the debate or the budget.
Now that Katrina has ripped the curtain back and showed the world this secret America, we can no longer sit back and allow those who have the means to line the pockets of our politicians, create policies that are simply about profit and destroy any chance we have of hopes for a better country for ALL its people
Because remember, millions of Americans don’t have any pockets.
