Thursday, July 12, 2012

Trickle UP Economics


These are the people I care about. Us, you and me, my kids and your kids. 

Think of the inner cities and the rural areas of the country. Hopeless kids in despair. No job prospects. They often turn to drugs and crime.

Think too of the unemployed. They are losing their homes, many already have. They are defaulting on debt obligations. Depression folks is not good for America.

To end this Depression, we need to invest in Americans. Put Americans to work. Instead of budget cuts, we need to be hiring millions of young people and unemployed Americans. We need to put the country back to work

Work is every bit as much a right for the American People as Health Care is. And if the Government has to be the employer of last resort, so be it.

If we invest in Americans by putting them to work, the wealth then will begin to trickle up. Mortgages can be paid, folks can buy cars, young people can pay down tuition debt and we can all start to pay down our debts a bit more. The rich folks still get their money with "Trickle UP Economics". It is just that we get to pay our bills and live out our modest lives with some dignity. 

What is wrong with that idea? We shouldn't have Unemployment Bureaus. We should have Employment Bureaus. We shouldn't have Unemployment Insurance. We need Employment Insurance.

Let help Americans. Let put everyone who want to work at jobs that will help us pay our bills. 

Don't insult my intelligence. There is nothing wrong with this idea! 

When we saved the Banks and Financial Institutions with TARP funds, we transferred our tax dollars to the rich. Now it is our turn. 

It is time to transfer some of that money back to us.

Put Americans to work.

There, I asked nicely. 

Don't try my patience. I won't be so nice if you keep taking away our homes and pushing us further and further into debt and despair.

I asked nicely.

Don't make us mad.

Labor Day is not that far away....you wouldn't want 30,000,000 unemployed Americans taking to the streets would you? You can figure this out quickly you know. When the Big Banks etc were in trouble you said they were too big to fail. What of us? What are we? We are too many to fail. You cannot write off our cities, our young people and our rural areas and the rest of us. 

We want jobs!

Jobs!

We want Jobs!

Jobs!

I cannot make it much simpler than that.

Jobs!

2 comments:

Mary Mazzoni said...

Fr. Paul - your blog is a breath of Ruach - God's grace. Thank you!

This post prompted me to remember a post I recently wrote on Facebook. I pasted it below.

Thanks for giving voice to God's love - with your words and with your life.

Shalom,
Mary

Spent the evening, as I do twice each month, at our Community Table. For about 7 years now, we gather and break bread together. People of all ages. Many have worked hard physical jobs all their lives, others are young with children and working minimum wage part time jobs without benefits. Others have significant disabilities - mental health needs, physical or intellectual disabilities - and though they try - don't have jobs at all.

At the table, we come to know each other, to develop friendships. None of us "perfect" - but all of us created in God's image. My friends at the table are finding it very hard to get by these days. Many people share small, ill-maintained apartments owned by absentee landlords. Choosing between rent or shoes for growing children or prescriptions for chronic illnesses. A doctor's visit or heating oil delivery or water bill puts them over the edge for the month - and essentials like food are out of reach.

At the table there's food from the food bank, a home-cooked meal, laughter and listening ear to share with friends. When I go to the table, I am renewed. Not because of anything I give - but because of all I receive. During the Great Depression - people were given the dignity of work (WPA) - and neighbors who worked helped neighbors who couldn't work. This past month, our state ended the safety net "general relief" program for adults unable to work - and the media is full of all sorts of rhetoric.

I'm not interested in politics - but I am interested in being part of a society in which human beings are valued and relationships are valued and everyone has the opportunity for dignity, respect, food, shelter, and the opportunity to contribute to the common good as best they can.

I also care about the people I've come to know at the table. They are no longer faceless stereotypes to me. They are people I care about. Friends. And, (funny how God works) - when I show up at the table, I find myself fed in ways I'd never imagine. I do believe this is what Jesus means in Matthew 25:40. I meet Christ at the table.

"Fr. Paul" Bresnahan said...

Mary, thank you for this wonderful post. I had hoped it might have had a wider reach...but at least it reached your heart. How wonderful. I've helped to build soup kitchens, food pantries, and a homeless shelter. I've helped work with battered women and families. I've been to the Community Table several times and you are absolutely right...it is in the relationships we build that Grace is found. It is tragic that there is so little help, the "safety net" has gaping holes. And there are those who want to cut more jobs, and give even less help. What a tragedy!