Religious activists were out Wednesday protesting federal budget cuts to programs for the poor — which come at the same time Congress is contemplating extending tax cuts that mostly benefit the wealthy. But The Washington Post noted that those protesting on behalf of the poor did not include conservative religious groups led by James Dobson or Jerry Falwell.
The article raised an interesting question: “Why in recent years have conservative Christians asserted their influence on efforts to relieve Third World debt, AIDS in Africa, strife in Sudan and international sex trafficking — but remained on the sidelines while liberal Christians protest domestic spending cuts?”
Some conservative groups told The Post that they are focusing on their priorities — abortion, same-sex marriage and seating judges who agree with them on those issues.
Posted by Melissa Cooley
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33 Comments
When you are narrow minded, it is hard to think of anyone or anything other than yourself.
Relieving Third World debt, AIDS in Africa, strife in Sudan and international sex trafficking is not thinking of anyone but yourself???
The media once again spins a story to make conservative Christians look bad. Truth be known, these wealthy people who are helped by the tax cut are also the deep pockets that are funding many of the charitable programs that help the poor. Churches and Christian relief agancies do a much better job of caring for the poor and homeless than the government does. There is just too much fraud, red tape and waste when the government is involved in anything.
That being said, I also believe that the Dobson & Falwell groups do spend way too many of their resources on political issues, when their efforts would be so much more effective if they would just spread the love of Jesus.
Three reasons come immediately to mind:#1 Because most of the time the “cuts” being protested are not really cuts, but rather reductions in the rate of growth of spending.
#2 Most conservative Christians would rather give privately than to have the government as the distribution means. It is inefficient and it uses money raised involuntarily through taxation. Liberals on the other hand, always like to spend other people’s money.
#3 Because on a global perspective, the income levels defined as “poor” in this country are not really poor. Thus the focus is more on people in this world in need of lifesaving aid.
Then I assume you’d be for the government eliminating its support for faith based initiatives.
Brian, I don’t have a real strong feeling one way or the other. I suppose that,if the money is going to be spent anyway, faith-based organizations are probably as good as anyone and better than most to deliver the goods and/or services. BTW, how in the world did you arrive at that assumption based on my post above?
The government does a decent job taking care of those who need to be taken care of, much more than any charitiy or church organization. Cutbacks will seriously compromise the well being of many disabled folks. We went through this several years ago, and for me, observing the results were devastating. One of my former patients even died as a result of the cutbacks. It’s always the weak and vulnerable who get hit the hardest.Back on subject. It’s my perception that the right wing fundamentalists don’t protest the cutbacks because they have the impression those who recieve “welfare” are lazy people who just want to take advantage of the system so they don’t have to work for a living. Nothing could be further from the truth. Those that will disagree with me need to climb out of their ivory towers and get out in the real world a little to see for themselves. Believe me, it ain’t pretty.
Outlander,
Well, you seemed to be saying that the government should un-involve itself to as great a degree as possible from the lives of citizens since most things it does can be done better outside of government.
Therefore, it seems a natural extension of your position that government should eliminate these initiatives and return the money to the private citizen.
Outlander is absolutely right. There is no “Cut”. It is just political spin for those orgainizations who benefit by taking federal dollars and giving it to help others, but not before they get their chunk first for salaries, operation and capital cost.
Last year there was more money allocated to the food stamp program then there was people in need for it. This is usually a good sign, because it shows that there are people making a living and don’t require assistance. But the Department still asked for more money and every government department does.
It goes like this. Each year they request a 10% increase in their budget from the previous year. Congress says no, I’ll give you 5% instead. They still get more money than last year, but just less than they wanted or asked for. But in the media propaganda, this is considered a cut where millions of people are effected and people will strave.
You people need to quit it.
This blog is an excellent example of how effectively the right-wing has spread its propaganda, and how ineffective the opposition has been in countering that world-view.
Kansassam–”Churches and Christian relief agancies do a much better job of caring for the poor and homeless than the government does.” Gee, where’d you hear that, KSam, Pat Robertson’s 700 Club . . . right before he asks for “donations”?
The most effective anti-poverty program ever in the US is without doubt Social Security. It reduced poverty among the elderly from over 40 percent to under 10 percent. The Salvation Army, God love ‘em, can’t come close to that.
Then there’s Outlander’s Limbaugh-isms: “Most conservative Christians would rather give privately than to have the government as the distribution means. It is inefficient . . . ”
The cost for Medicare overhead is about 1/25th that of our most efficient private insurer. Likewise the cost of running Social Security is far below any private investment companies fees.
What? Bill O’Reilly didn’t tell you that? But . . . but . . . he’s “looking out for you.”
And then there’s JoeW.–”It goes like this. Each year they request a 10% increase in their budget from the previous year. Congress says no, I’ll give you 5% instead. They still get more money than last year, but just less than they wanted or asked for. But in the media propaganda, this is considered a cut where millions of people are effected and people will strave.”
Have you looked up the programs in question, Joe? Are they cuts in growth as you suggest or are they real cuts?
Don’t bother to find out–start with the conclusion first and then manipulate whatever “facts” you can find to back up that preconception.
That’s the Republican way.
Sorry Galahad… I don’t watch 700 Club. I didn’t hear that sir.. I KNOW that, so you are barking up the wrong tree.
By the way.. in a poll of Katrina victims when asked who provided the best support to them. Answer: The Churches.
Mellisa,You clearly have an anti-conservative Christian agenda. Your post is clearly a smear-job that uses broad-brush generalizations without any real basis for what conservative Christians are doing to help those in need.
Could the conservative Christians actually be helping people rather that protesting at the White House? We’ll know if you’re responsible for “investigating” such matters.
Should have read:We’ll NEVER know if you’re responsible for “investigating” such matters.
KSam–I think there were churches and charities when 40 percent of the elderly lived in poverty, weren’t there?
So obviously it wasn’t enough.
As far as Katrina victims go, I wouldn’t be surprised if private charities ARE helping them more than THIS gov’t, George W. Bush’s gov’t.
He’s created the worst of both worlds–big gov’t that DOESN’T HELP people.
Galahad..Jesus said “we will always have the poor”. So, that tells me we will always have the poor.. the government + churches can only do so much. Nobody said the churches could raise people above the poverty level… but they do help people when they are poor and homeless.
Right, for really big problems like raising people out of poverty and providing people with healthcare and protecting them from pollution and poisons and building roads and fire and police etc, you need a big gov’t.
Thanks for proving my point, KSam.
They must work hand in hand… which is becoming more and more difficult with the “separation” debacle. The problem is when they forget to keep it simple, and enforcing the rules cost more than the aid that is being given. At this point, it is better to let the people keep their money and help each other solve their problems.
I am not anti-government, but I am anti-waste.
Saying that tax cuts to the wealthy is great because they take care of the poor is just silly.Got any stats on private charity donations in relation to tax cuts?Didn’t think so.If social services weren’t cut people wouldn’t have to beg for private charitable help.Ability to pay usually determines how much a person pays for social services, shouldn’t it also work in respect to the tax codes?
Mellisa never investigates anything. like most “journalists” she wants to CHANGE the world, rather than investigate and report solely the facts! Every post she has made is a closed minded ax grinding on conservatives. Her agenda is blatant and doesn’t even dignify a response in most cases. She is probably a complete disapointment to her parents, who being from small town kansas are conservatives and probably go to church every sunday.
TRACY..You sure read alot into my comment that wasn’t there. I didn’t say the wealthy helped BECAUSE of their tax cuts. But they do contribute the most dollars to charity, although I would guess that they certainly keep much more than they give.You can never tax people so much that all social needs could be met. Charitable aid will always be necessary and important.
The tax codes are NOT fair.. I personally would prefer a simple federal sales tax on all non-food items. It seems that whoever buys the most can obviously afford to pay the most taxes. I’m sure there are issues with that as well, but surely there is a better way than we do it now!
Sam,You work with poor people every day! 10% of what they spend in a day may not be as much as what Bill Gates pays, but it’s much, much more vital to their making it through that day! Flat sales taxes are much more beneficial to the rich, and do more to hurt the poor than a graduated system. Exempting non-food items is nice, but it doesn’t address all the other needs of poor people.
One of my patients was raised in an institution. He is mentally ill, retarded, and very physically disabled. He gets $650 dollars a month from social security, and out of that, he pays his own rent, which is $340 per month. He qualifies for $25 per month in food stamps.
Could any of you live on that?
If his benefits get cut (and I’ve seen it happen MANY times with people like him)he could end up homeless, which would certainly be a death sentence for him.Those of you who think that charities can take better care of people or that it doesn’t hurt when government programs get cut have no idea what you’re talking about. You don’t live in the real world, either.
A lot of the proposed tax cuts would benefit the oil industry specifically, not just the wealthy. Last quarter all of the oil companies posted record profits, one (Exxon I think) as much as 9.9 billion. Now if they have made record profits and gas is still around 20-50 cents higher per gallon than last year, why do they need more tax breaks? They could easily subsidize heating oil for those unable to afford it this winter, even after repairing the damage from the hurricanes and still make a healthy profit. Have they done anything to help anyone in need? No. Profit is more important than their fellow humans. And the current administration is in bed with them. That is why you see the symmetry in the tax cuts and budget cuts. Bush will cut 1 billion from the budget earmarked to assist the poor to give 1 billion in tax breaks to the oil industry.
I worked at SRS for a while, and second Damoon’s comments. The notion that religious charities take up the slack when government does nothing is a myth. In fact many of them–those more interested in helping the needy than saving their souls–are already stretched to the limit.
And let’s not forget that the INTENTIONAL deficits they’re creating add to a huge public debt for which interest must be paid to the tune of about a half-trillion a year (last I checked) and keeps going up up up.
I give Galahad credit for the best one-liner: “He’s created the worst of both worlds–big gov’t that DOESN’T HELP people.” It might be funny if wasn’t so dismally true.
Now I must run away again. Funny how one comment turns into two weeks of posting. :-)
I’m amazed that Christians even want to do ‘The Lord’s work’ through government and taxation in the first place. It separates the act from the motive. When the government does something aimed at helping the poor then the government gets the credit. A christian’s goal should be to help others see and enter the kingdom of God. People need to see the christians doing the ‘good work’ so that they know who is helping them and WHY they are helping them. Only then will we build the kingdom.
Isn’t Jerry Falwell the one who said Aids was Plague from God. Is that how Conservative Christian get involved in the Aids Issue. Falwell is so nutty that Scalia and Renquist sided with Larry Flynt over him in their lawsuit.
Da,Since Rage has already seconded your comments, may I third them? I too know and have known way too many good people in that guy’s situation. One is dying from a cancer that could have been cured if caught in time, but Medicaid wouldn’t spring for the necessary tests. Of course, they’re more than willing to pay for his chemo, now that it’s too late to be effective.Most of you who denigrate poor people here have no idea how close you are to being one of them. All it takes is one disaster!
So true. None of us can forsee what may be ahead in our lives. Something as simple as a car accident or developing a degenerative disease can totally change a life and make one dependant on “the system” for survival.All in all, I must say that the government does a decent job. Most people who are disabled in this country can live independantly with the right services in place. It saves the taxpayers money, too. Taking care of a someone in their own home is much less expensive than placing them in a long term care facility. After the cuts in Medicaid services a few years ago, I’m hoping the penduleum will swing back that way.
Damoon,I know a little about the poor and homeless, and I will say this: Charitible organizations do not have the money to totally care for the poor. The government doesnt have the efficiency nor the heart to do it either. It would be better if they would/could work together to actually benefit those that need the help. Those who demand the separation of faith based charity and the government are only hurting those that can’t help themselves.
Jed..What you say about being so close we are to being one of the poor is so true. We had a house fire, and have been living in motels the last 2 weeks, with probably 3 or more months to go before we get to go home. Now we could be really poor in a hurry if not for insurance.
I’m sorry for your loss, Sam. I hope you life gets back to normal as quickly as possible.
Sam,Sorry, between the Holidays and the weather, this is a bad time to be homeless, even for a little while. Hope you get things back together soon!
Kind of ironic isn’t it? It gives one more insight into how it feels to have your life quickly changed. We are truly counting our blessings that our family is safe and healthy. Thank you for the good tidings.. they bring me great JOY!
Wouldn’t it be great if we could simply put aside our pride and our differences, realize that we all have strengths and weaknesses, unite our resources, Government Entities and Faith-based Organizations, and focus our efforts on a common goal to help those people in our own Community, State, Nation, and the World, who are in need. We may not be able to solve all the problems or meet every need in this world, but just maybe, together, we can make a huge difference. Amen!
Back, “you may be a dreamer, but you’re not the only one”.