“Those who oppress the poor insult their Maker, but those who are kind to the needy honor him.” (Proverbs 14:31)
Critics of the president’s economic policies – including many Christian groups – have warned since George W. Bush took office in 2001 that his efforts would benefit the rich at the expense of the “least of these.” The president has advocated massive tax cuts for the richest Americans and used the money to pay for cuts in services for the poorest Americans. The results have been stark. The Christian Science Monitor reported yesterday:
Despite a year in which the US economy added jobs, the percentage of Americans living in poverty grew from 12.5 to 12.7 percent last year - the fourth straight year it's risen.
In 2001, religious leaders released a statement in which they implored the president and Congress not to follow the Bush plan :
As representatives of the faith community we believe that government is intended to serve God’s purposes by promoting the common good. Paying taxes to enable government to provide for the needs of society is an appropriate expression of our stewardship. We believe the United States of America should have a responsible tax policy for all people, particularly the most vulnerable.
"We are gravely concerned with the current tax cut proposals initiated by President Bush and being debated and passed by Congress. As millions of people – parents and children, the elderly, people with disabilities, and the working poor – are driven to seek charity to meet their most basic needs, we are appalled that the focus of attention in this Congressional session is not on meeting their needs; rather, it is on tax cuts that will mostly benefit the affluent.
Sadly, the Congress adopted the president’s plan and has endorsed even more devastating policies that have helped to push up the poverty level year after year.
The non-partisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities said today:
Yesterday, the Census Bureau released data that showing that in 2004 — the third full year of the economic recovery — poverty increased, the earnings of full-time workers fell, the income of the typical non-elderly household also fell, and the number of Americans lacking health insurance rose. In the past 24 hours, the Administration has made several statements on the new Census poverty and income data that incorrectly claim or suggest that performance on these measures in 2004 was par for the course for this point in an economic recovery.
“The poverty rate seems to be the last lonely lagging indicator of the business cycle,” E.R. Anderson, a senior Commerce Department official, is quoted as saying in today’s Washington Post and New York Times. This is accurate, however, only if one does not consider the earnings of full-time workers, the median income of working-age households, and employer-provided health insurance coverage rates to be important indicators of the nation’s economic health…..
Three years of economic growth following the 2001 recession have not improved the economic circumstances of low- and middle-income Americans, who have seen increases in poverty, declines in income, and increases in the ranks of the uninsured. The economy’s performance in 2004 stands in contrast to prior economic recoveries. Statements by the Administration counseling that all is well in the economy cannot mask the unfortunate reality that the current recovery continues to leave millions of Americans behind.
One has to wonder how a president who claims that his Christian faith guides his policies has so utterly abandoned the “least of these” in favor of the richest and most powerful of these.
Related Post: Would Jesus Pass Tax Cuts For The Rich And Leave The Least Of These Behind?
