Archive for the 'Politics and Commentary' Category

Aelix Cunningham Says Fight Poverty

Monday, May 21st, 2007

I saw the following letter-to-the-editor by a 13-year-old named Aelix Cunningham on statesmanjournal.com:
What comes to mind when you hear the word “poverty”? Do you ever think that someday you too might be living in a world full of poverty? Open your eyes because this very moment someone is more than likely dying from poverty.
According to […]

Industrial Megaculture’s Catastrophic Impact

Wednesday, May 9th, 2007

While reading a book (not about poverty) today, I came across a very interesting passage that I want to post on the blog. In their book, Waorani: The Contexts of Violence & War, Clayton Robarcheck and Carole Robarchek wrote the following:
At this point, perhaps we should make clear our position with regard to missionaries and […]

Jeske & Poor Nicaraguan Villagers

Sunday, April 15th, 2007

In a recent commentary, Christine Jeske explains how she and her husband learned from poor villagers Nicaragua. I include an excerpt:
One special influence to us was a man who quit grad school to move to El Salvador, where he lived through a civil war. He challenged us, “Don’t go somewhere thinking you have the answers. […]

King’s Dream for an End to Poverty Goes Unfulfilled

Saturday, April 14th, 2007

Lethia Swett Mann recently wrote an article describing her hope that one day we will fulfill King’s dream:
Four days before his death, on March 31, 1968, at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., Dr. Martin Luther King said, “There is nothing new about poverty. What is new is that we now have the techniques and […]

Christian Charities Blow the Whistle

Saturday, March 17th, 2007

Christian Charities in the UK demand government address poverty:
“Keep your promise to the poor” – that was the challenge from Christian charities to the UK Government at the launch of the Blow the Whistle campaign in Westminster this week.
World Vision Chief Executive Charles Badenoch said that the Government could have taken moral leadership when it […]

Extreme Poverty in USA Increased 26% under Bush

Friday, March 2nd, 2007

Andrew Gumbel writes about the widening poverty gap:
The number of Americans living in severe poverty has expanded dramatically under the Bush administration, with nearly 16 million people now living on an individual income of less than $5,000 (£2,500) a year or a family income of less than $10,000, according to an analysis of 2005 official […]

Taxes Fund War Instead of Social Services

Wednesday, February 7th, 2007

Catholic Online reports on criticism of the contrast between President Bushes cuts to social spending and his increases in military spending:
The proposed $2.9 billion U.S. government budget proposed by the Bush Administration is a moral document that misses the mark in reducing poverty, with draconic cuts that will hurt America’s poor families, said the president […]

Hunger Threatens National Security

Tuesday, January 30th, 2007

Julianne Malveaux recently wrote an elegent article connecting national security with hunger. I include an excerpt:
The war in Iraq, President Bush has said, is “of enormous importance to American security.” There’s another kind of security our president might want to focus on - food security at home.
To be sure, he mentioned hunger and poverty in […]

Poverty in America Affects Millions

Monday, January 29th, 2007

Jeff Swicord recently wrote an excellent article exploring poverty in the United States. I include an excerpt:
They are a common sight in inner-city America: homeless people, living in the streets and going hungry. To most Americans, this is the face of poverty.
Population experts and those who work at trying to help the poor say […]

Address Underlying Causes Of Poverty

Sunday, December 17th, 2006

…the underlying question is: Why are we providing help for the needy only by treating the symptoms of poverty and hunger? What happens when the holidays pass and the poor are back where they were last year and the year before?
Being charitable and caring at any time of the year is wonderful. But if we […]