International Political Will

It’s a popular and common theme for taxpayers to lament the supposed safety net that welfare and social programs provide for America’s poor. The old advice to “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” and the “rags to riches” myth are embedded in American tradition. Taxpayers repeat the same tired mantras about “poor, lazy people who just keep taking handouts that won’t do anything for themselves as long as we give them money.”

But this is the economic system we have chosen. Capitalism needs a constant supply of unemployed. Corporations in search of ever-higher profits require a significant jobless population in society – a pool of cheaper labor willing to work for lower wages. A society with 100 percent employment cannot exist in a capitalist system because workers will have value and demand to be paid accordingly. If 100 percent employment were to ever happen, wages would rise, private profit would dissolve, and the system would crumble.

A capitalist society will always include people unable to grab onto the bottom rung of the economic ladder. And social safety nets are the only thing keeping these people from dire poverty.

Thus, America’s safety net is a true measure of our humanitarian advancement, and represents a progressive – rather than oppressive – capitalist economy.

There is no doubt that the welfare and social services system in America needs major transformation. But voters, taxpayers, and every American needs to think carefully before pulling the safety net from society altogether.

America’s streets already have homeless men, women, and children. The poor wait for hours outside soup kitchens and shelters.

The mentally ill who are without family are left to fend for themselves on the streets (In 1955, there were approximately 559,000 inpatients in mental hospitals. By the year 2000 that figure had dropped to 59,043.)

Health care is not affordable for many Americans. Many personal bankruptcies are caused by medical bills. A visit to the emergency room can be a financial death nail.

Children in poor neighborhoods have old schools, older books, crowded classrooms, and little access to information technology. They are learning how to compete in an IT world in a chalkboard classroom.

Hunger is a reality for many families. But food closets, food stamps, and government funded school lunch programs are a lifeline.

Unemployment benefits keep many families going when the economy deems someone redundant. These benefits keep the creditors at bay, keep the mortgage paid, keep a roof over their heads, and keep the refrigerator full and the electricity on.

What would an America without a safety net look like?

Ask India. There are no welfare programs in India. There are no unemployment benefits. No food stamps, no enforcement for children to attend school. The health care system is in shambles once you move beyond major cities.

Without a safety net, the poor hit bottom, and they are right there for you to witness their demise. Streets are lined with beggars – most of them are those people least able to provide for themselves: women and children. They eat, sleep, and shit in the same spot on a sidewalk. Clean water is out of their price range.

Disease runs rampant, and simple medical techniques aren’t shared with the poor. Leprosy still claims digits and appendages from the poor. There are no wheelchairs – the legless scoot along the ground, the lame crawl on their hands and knees.

Children share the suffering. Without government assistance, their unemployment means no home, no shelter, and no food. They subsist on the hand-outs of passing motorists at the intersections. School is but a luxury; literacy, mathematics, and basic language skills evade the poor. Begging is a full-time job for everyone in the family.

Perhaps those seeking to eliminate America’s safety net should spend some time on the streets of Mumbai to see what awaits a society that does not catch those that fall through the cracks.

One of the truly great things about America is that we have sought to implement the capitalist system without ruining the lives of the unemployed. We have moved beyond the days of 18-hour shifts, child labor, union-busting and violations of workers rights. The generations before us fought for a society that took care of the basic needs of our poor.

A capitalist state will never create an equal society. But capitalism with good social policy assures that our fellow humans will not be reduced to living like animals because they lack the skills, education, money, or luck to compete.

We say that our government’s number one job is to protect us. In a capitalist society, protection means more than killing terrorists. It means unemployment benefits. It means government assistance for mothers and children. Food Stamps. Health care. Assistance for the mentally unwell. Free schools that provide the same level of education as those in wealthy neighborhoods.

Too often, people confuse capitalism with government. The two could not be farther apart. Capitalism is only an economic system, and can exist under any government – authoritarian and fascist included. But our democracy – of the people, by the people, for the people – exists to protect its citizens and assure their voices are heard.

Regardless of religion, race, gender…or class.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS