We Should Blame Bad Policies, Not Bad People, for Poverty

To the Editor:

It is obvious from his claim that poverty is at root a moral and spiritual problem, not an economic one, that the Rev. Robert A. Sirico has never been poor (“The Poor Need More Than What Government Can Provide,” Letters to the Editor, January 29).

Although some poor people may lack the moral and spiritual gyroscopes that Mr. Sirico considers to be essential to economic success, many more have followed the rules — finished school, raised families, worked hard — only to find that the current economic system rewards none of these. The fruits of prosperity fall to those who already have the wealth to keep that tree well-watered.

As Kevin Phillips so convincingly demonstrated in his book The Politics of Rich and Poor, distribution of wealth toward the already-haves and away from the have-nots is a political process. Government policies have pushed the cost of the higher education now required to land a decent job beyond the reach of the middle class, much less the poor. Government policies — and Wall Street — reward companies who fire thousands of blue-collar workers while they pay executives multimillion-dollar salaries.

Government policies keep the minimum wage far below the minimum cost of supporting oneself, much less one’s family. Government policies force poor mothers to abandon their preschool children to work at jobs that don’t pay enough to cover child-care costs. Government policies reward creditors (those with wealth to invest) and punish debtors (wage slaves who must borrow to live).

Yes, indeed, the poor will always be with us, as long as Mr. Sirico and his fellow travelers insist on blaming the poor for their lot.

Lisa Aug
Frankfort, Ky.