Earlier this week, my Congressman, who I did not vote for, put his foot in his mouth (again), and it irritated me so much, that I felt compelled to send him an email. This is not something I do every day, but in this case, I felt strongly enough to stand up and say something. In an interview with CNN, said Congressman implied that low income folks need to choose better, and not buy the new iPhone when they could buy healthcare instead, saying that it was a matter of self reliance and prioritizing properly. Now, for full disclosure, said Congressman is a member of the LDS Church, as am I. The church preaches and teaches self reliance, and I certainly believe in that. That is not my concern with his comments. My concern is that they are nowhere couched in reality when it comes to the priorities of folks on low incomes.
Having been at times considered "low income" myself, and having friends who are currently in this same boat, I can vouch that an iPhone is not even a gleam in the eye when you're trying to put food on the table, pay rent, and keep the lights on and the furnace going. Any technology you may have was either purchased second hand, or gifted as a hand-me-down, or is on the "minimum payment pay it off in 30 years" plan. And if you're not fortunate to work for an employer who can afford to cover most of your health insurance premiums, you may choose to go without (even "cheap" insurance costs many thousands of dollars per year, especially for families). So to imply that all poverty is a result of foolish choices shows both a lack of understanding, but a lack of charity as well.
Quoting from the Book of Mormon:
"And also, ye yourselves will succor those that stand in need of your succor; ye will administer of your substance unto him that standeth in need; and ye will not suffer that the beggar putteth up his petition to you in vain, and turn him out to perish.
"Perhaps thou shalt say: The man has brought upon himself his misery; therefore I will stay my hand, and will not give unto him of my food, nor impart unto him of my substance that he may not suffer, for his punishments are just—
"But I say unto you, O man, whosoever doeth this the same hath great cause to repent; and except he repenteth of that which he hath done he perisheth forever, and hath no interest in the kingdom of God.
"For behold, are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have, for both food and raiment, and for gold, and for silver, and for all the riches which we have of every kind?
"And behold, even at this time, ye have been calling on his name, and begging for a remission of your sins. And has he suffered that ye have begged in vain? Nay; he has poured out his Spirit upon you, and has caused that your hearts should be filled with joy, and has caused that your mouths should be stopped that ye could not find utterance, so exceedingly great was your joy.
"And now, if God, who has created you, on whom you are dependent for your lives and for all that ye have and are, doth grant unto you whatsoever ye ask that is right, in faith, believing that ye shall receive, O then, how ye ought to impart of the substance that ye have one to another.
"And if ye judge the man who putteth up his petition to you for your substance that he perish not, and condemn him, how much more just will be your condemnation for withholding your substance, which doth not belong to you but to God, to whom also your life belongeth; and yet ye put up no petition, nor repent of the thing which thou hast done.
"I say unto you, wo be unto that man, for his substance shall perish with him; and now, I say these things unto those who are rich as pertaining to the things of this world....
"And now, for the sake of these things which I have spoken unto you—that is, for the sake of retaining a remission of your sins from day to day, that ye may walk guiltless before God—I would that ye should impart of your substance to the poor, every man according to that which he hath, such as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and administering to their relief, both spiritually and temporally, according to their wants."
(Mosiah, Chapter 3 verses 16-23, 26)
I think we can all agree that healthcare here in the U.S. is a complete mess. It's ridiculously expensive, not to mention complicated with a multitude of government regulations. I work in the Insurance industry, and I know whereof I speak. Rather than implying that we're in this mess because poor people can't make good decisions, how about we start a conversation that follows the methods outlined in Mosiah, and make the conversation more about charity than economics.
Having been at times considered "low income" myself, and having friends who are currently in this same boat, I can vouch that an iPhone is not even a gleam in the eye when you're trying to put food on the table, pay rent, and keep the lights on and the furnace going. Any technology you may have was either purchased second hand, or gifted as a hand-me-down, or is on the "minimum payment pay it off in 30 years" plan. And if you're not fortunate to work for an employer who can afford to cover most of your health insurance premiums, you may choose to go without (even "cheap" insurance costs many thousands of dollars per year, especially for families). So to imply that all poverty is a result of foolish choices shows both a lack of understanding, but a lack of charity as well.
Quoting from the Book of Mormon:
"And also, ye yourselves will succor those that stand in need of your succor; ye will administer of your substance unto him that standeth in need; and ye will not suffer that the beggar putteth up his petition to you in vain, and turn him out to perish.
"Perhaps thou shalt say: The man has brought upon himself his misery; therefore I will stay my hand, and will not give unto him of my food, nor impart unto him of my substance that he may not suffer, for his punishments are just—
"But I say unto you, O man, whosoever doeth this the same hath great cause to repent; and except he repenteth of that which he hath done he perisheth forever, and hath no interest in the kingdom of God.
"For behold, are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have, for both food and raiment, and for gold, and for silver, and for all the riches which we have of every kind?
"And behold, even at this time, ye have been calling on his name, and begging for a remission of your sins. And has he suffered that ye have begged in vain? Nay; he has poured out his Spirit upon you, and has caused that your hearts should be filled with joy, and has caused that your mouths should be stopped that ye could not find utterance, so exceedingly great was your joy.
"And now, if God, who has created you, on whom you are dependent for your lives and for all that ye have and are, doth grant unto you whatsoever ye ask that is right, in faith, believing that ye shall receive, O then, how ye ought to impart of the substance that ye have one to another.
"And if ye judge the man who putteth up his petition to you for your substance that he perish not, and condemn him, how much more just will be your condemnation for withholding your substance, which doth not belong to you but to God, to whom also your life belongeth; and yet ye put up no petition, nor repent of the thing which thou hast done.
"I say unto you, wo be unto that man, for his substance shall perish with him; and now, I say these things unto those who are rich as pertaining to the things of this world....
"And now, for the sake of these things which I have spoken unto you—that is, for the sake of retaining a remission of your sins from day to day, that ye may walk guiltless before God—I would that ye should impart of your substance to the poor, every man according to that which he hath, such as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and administering to their relief, both spiritually and temporally, according to their wants."
(Mosiah, Chapter 3 verses 16-23, 26)
I think we can all agree that healthcare here in the U.S. is a complete mess. It's ridiculously expensive, not to mention complicated with a multitude of government regulations. I work in the Insurance industry, and I know whereof I speak. Rather than implying that we're in this mess because poor people can't make good decisions, how about we start a conversation that follows the methods outlined in Mosiah, and make the conversation more about charity than economics.
Comments