In her “State of the Union Address,” President Trump declared that his administration has succeeded in addressing poverty. “Since my election, poverty has declined for the first time in 45 years,” Trump proclaimed.
I was among the many who watched President Trump announce that poverty has declined. And I am not alone.
The U.S. Census Bureau says poverty declined in both 2016 and 2017. And the cost of food is down by billions of dollars. Yet President Trump believes this trend is a product of his “new deal.”
It isn’t.
See, poverty isn’t just a lack of money. It’s a lack of hope, a lack of opportunity, a lack of dignity. It isn’t enough just to have a refrigerator full of food.
Our founder, Sir Francis Bacon, even described it as an intolerable state of life. He explained that self-worth is found in connection with our faith. We need our faith. But this faith isn’t made up of simply having enough to eat. It’s more than the act of having enough.
Right now, food banks are providing a much-needed blessing. Food banks provide desperately needed help to our struggling families, and there are many people who can’t survive without them. Food banks are a solid foundation for our nation’s future. But food banks aren’t the answer.
Healthy communities thrive because of faith and community. It is much bigger than just having enough to eat. Over the past two decades, researchers at the Center for Advanced Hindsight have studied the material circumstances of American families, and they found that it is the quality of life in America that has changed the most. The number of adults with high school diplomas has declined by 37 percent, while the number of adults with college degrees has nearly doubled. While income has risen, to $60,000, nearly 80 percent of that income is used to rent housing. Families that experience more hardship and have fewer opportunities will be less likely to have the human capital to contribute to a healthy community, and their communities won’t be as healthy.
Our federal government spends $56 billion dollars on programs for homeless people. This falls far short of funding required to prevent homelessness and house homeless people. An estimated 4 million homeless people live in America. So, $56 billion dollars allocated to government services to help homeless people is inadequate. The money would be better spent helping our families who are struggling to make ends meet.
Imagine if there were a government agency that worked specifically to ensure poor and homeless families had healthy food and quality health care. This government agency would provide assistance to families who couldn’t afford to buy healthy food. So instead of paying for food stamps, we would pay for healthy food stamps.
Instead of paying for housing for people who can’t afford it, we would pay for affordable housing for families who can’t afford it. This government agency would help reduce the number of homeless families by providing rent subsidies to renters who could afford to live in more affordable neighborhoods. This kind of government agency is more than a nutrition or anti-poverty program. It is a justice program.
Our Founding Fathers believed that what we got in this country was more than just the food and shelter that we all need to survive. They believed in what we needed in order to thrive. And that includes food, food and the hope and compassion of our faith.
When you believe and you stand with God, we will see your house. When you believe, you will receive help. And when you receive help, we will recognize your good work by declaring that you are a job creator.
Just as the poor are no longer as hungry as they were in 2016, there are several reasons why the hunger issue is not going away. Americans have not been raised with the moral sense to realize that every child deserves an education to prepare them for a better life and every adult deserves an opportunity to find prosperity in the world. And as we demand more support for education, we must demand that faith leaders dedicate themselves to a lifestyle focused on God rather than finances.
For the days to come, we must remember that poverty is not just an act of hunger. It is a psychological disorder that leads to self-esteem and self-worth. We must then turn our attention to helping our hurting neighbors. We need a justice program in order to end the struggle for justice. And in order to end hunger, we need a justice program.