Poverty in America

It’s increasingly tough in the US for ordinary people like George Bush and Tony Snow.

Mr. Bush, asked in an interview what his plans were for retirement, said, “I’ll give some speeches, just to replenish the ol’ coffers … I don’t know what my dad gets — it’s more than 50-75 [thousand dollars a speech] … Clinton’s making a lot of money.”

Perhaps it’s understandable that the guy is so focused on making money. After all we all know how tough it is when you’re down to your last $21 million, as Bush is.

And then there’s poor Tony Snow, who’s struggled for years to get by on the pitiful $186,000 he made annually as Bush’s press secretary. Again, we can all imagine how hard it is to scrape by on such a paltry sum. “I ran out of money,” he said. (Of course Mr. Snow has had health problems, but fortunately the excellent health care package that the White House offers will have saved him from utter bankruptcy).

Okay, sarcasm over.

The median household income in the US is $48,201, according to a report on the latest census figures. The poverty level for a family of four is a shade over $21,000. Now the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in the Boston area — not the most expensive part of the country — is currently $17,028. Add in utility bills bills and that takes you close to $21,000. So “poverty” in America is roughly defined as the level of income where a family of four in a major city can afford a roof over their heads but can’t afford even to eat. According to the the NYT, last year 36.5 million Americans were living in poverty.

This strikes me as a major moral problem. The US is fabulously wealthy, but the median household is just scraping by, and millions are suffering. The right wing answer to this — “get off your ass and get a job” — is completely facile. These people have jobs for the most part. Some of them have several jobs. If you think I’m exaggerating about conservatives’ cluelessness regarding the realities of everyday life for many Americans consider the following dialog:

President Bush: You work three jobs?

Woman: Three jobs, yes.

President Bush: Uniquely American, isn’t it? I mean, that is fantastic that you’re doing that. (Applause.) Get any sleep? (Laughter.)

“Get any sleep?” Priceless.

Yes, it’s uniquely American. In no other western country are you likely to find someone working three jobs. And even with those three jobs there’s a good chance that the woman President Bush had his clueless conversation with can’t afford to go to the doctor and would be bankrupt if she had to have a stay in hospital.

47 million Americans lacked health insurance coverage last year — this year the figure will be even higher. President Bush is adamantly opposed to the plans that many states have to expand the health cover that they make available to children whose parents can’t afford insurance. States are currently allowed to enroll children whose family income is up to 200 percent of the poverty level — $41,300 for a family of four (still well below the median income). At $41,300 a family can afford to rent an apartment, eat, run a car, and pay for essentials and a few luxury items, but health insurance — typically $1,200 a month for a family of four — is unaffordable. Only earning three times the poverty level would a family not be hard pressed to afford health insurance, the cost of which has been rising faster than inflation (or wage gains) for many years now.

One in four Americans say their family has had a problem paying for medical care during the past year [2006], up 7 percentage points over the past nine years. Nearly 30 percent say someone in their family has delayed medical care in the past year, a new high based on recent polling. Most say the medical condition was at least somewhat serious. NCHC

It’s simply appalling that families are forced to delay treatment for serious medical conditions because they can’t afford healthcare. This is just unthinkable in Canada or Europe.

A further expansion of State Children’s Health Insurance Programs would begin to reach people who can just about afford health insurance, and of course this would reduce the amount of money that health insurance companies earn, explaining Bush’s opposition. The ten largest health insurance companies in the US together made $21.2 billion profits in 2003. The latest figures I could find indicate that they made $6.98 billion profit for the first six months of 2005, representing a 21.2 percent jump on the same period in 2004. We’re told that the surging cost of health insurance is due to increasingly sophisticated technologies finding their way into hospitals, but clearly these rising profits have to be part of the problem.

So what we have is a multimillionaire who places the welfare of other multimillionaires above that of children. It’s morally obscene, especially coming from someone who purports to be a follower of Christ. Which part of “It’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven” does Mr. Bush not understand?

And is President Bush unfamiliar with Deuteronomy?

For the poor will never cease to be in the land; therefore I command you, saying, “You shall freely open your hand to your brother, to your needy and poor in your land.”

I’ll say “Amen” to that.

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