Pro-life or pro political and/or religious agenda
Recently, I was at a local art museum. As is often true of museums gift stores, it had an amazing selection of toys for children. Many of them are educational and many encourage children and some of we childlike adults to explore our creative talents. Given time, energy, money, and other resources there is no limit to the opportunities one can make available to one’s own children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or children of friends. If one visits such museums or even the creative playground which my current home city provides at The Gathering Place, one might decide if one can survive the daily violence the United States can be an amazing place to raise children. Indeed, it is for some children. Yet many families who can today provide necessities for their children are only, at most, a few paychecks away from being homeless.
Often, I hear some politicians suggest that private non-profits who have to compete with other non-profits to raise needed funds should be responsible for helping anyone in need, The clear assumption is that children belong to a nuclear family (often a single parent) and it is their responsibility to search for or even beg for help from some of the amazing non-profits who on any given day may or may not have much help to provide. If it is food, one needs and one has managed to qualify for some government food assistance, one will find that unless the nonprofit has access to generous local farmers or is connected with an organization which, in season, which has a community garden, mainly nonorganic food which has tons of sugar, carbohydrates, preservative and other unhealthy ingredients is available. The resulting health issues may, depending on where one lives and what heath care is available through the state medical cards, get attended by a health care professional who may or may not be “blind” to how much he or she is getting reimbursed and may or may not be free of any prejudices towards those who have a medial card.
These and related issues are in the forefront of the concerns of many thoughtful people who may be basically pro-life but cognizant of the fact that often - not always - those most in favor of anti-abortion laws are those who are less than passionate about the need to value the life not only of the fetus but of all persons from the moment of conception to their being laid to rest at the end of their life journey.
In the United States, the minimal livable wage for a family of four, depending nowhere one lives, can be as high as $112,000.00. This amount does not allow for extravagant purchases. (I did not locate post inflation figures for July 2022.) I did find reports which claims that 34% of families in the United States may earn at least 100,000.00. Most reports indicate a median income of $67,000.00 which, as we know, means some are above and some are below this amount. Even if a family is at the $100,000.00 level most are not going to have enough savings to allow them to survive long if because of illness or other reasons they are suddenly unemployed.
How many stay at home mothers are paid an annual salary of $100,000.00 for childcare and home management. Assuming their partner or spouse is making at least $100,000.00 some might be living decently but, if anything happens to their partner, except in rare instances, they cannot collect more than social security survivor’s benefits for the underage children. A few employers cover childcare; a few parents may receive the benefits of a substantial life insurance policy which allow them to continue to care for their children.
How many teachers make at least $100,000.00 a year? Social workers? Mental Health counselors? Amazon’s warehouse workers? Fast food workers? Barista’s?
The bottom line is that those who say sacred life begins at the moment of conception need to “walk the talk” or stop pretending they are interested in human life rather than a political or religious agenda. To be fair there are those who do walk the talk; who are passionate about human life from the moment of conception to the last breath someone takes; who support government programs which ensure a decent wage to cover all levels of physical, nutritional, and medical care no matter what their country of citizenship or origin. Let’s do remember that government programs are simply a way to share common resources.
I do not believe I am proposing any significant increase in our national budget. I am suggesting that we, as a nation, spend the money up front and not in warehousing people or otherwise paying to deal with the symptoms of the fallout from not spending the money upfront. One can easily examine the cost in the United States of Health Care, prisons, policing, and attempts to “catch” those who are misusing meager government funds and those spending billions on projects which keep wealthy political lobbyists happy for a moment.
Written July 7, 2022
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
Recently, I was at a local art museum. As is often true of museums gift stores, it had an amazing selection of toys for children. Many of them are educational and many encourage children and some of we childlike adults to explore our creative talents. Given time, energy, money, and other resources there is no limit to the opportunities one can make available to one’s own children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or children of friends. If one visits such museums or even the creative playground which my current home city provides at The Gathering Place, one might decide if one can survive the daily violence the United States can be an amazing place to raise children. Indeed, it is for some children. Yet many families who can today provide necessities for their children are only, at most, a few paychecks away from being homeless.
Often, I hear some politicians suggest that private non-profits who have to compete with other non-profits to raise needed funds should be responsible for helping anyone in need, The clear assumption is that children belong to a nuclear family (often a single parent) and it is their responsibility to search for or even beg for help from some of the amazing non-profits who on any given day may or may not have much help to provide. If it is food, one needs and one has managed to qualify for some government food assistance, one will find that unless the nonprofit has access to generous local farmers or is connected with an organization which, in season, which has a community garden, mainly nonorganic food which has tons of sugar, carbohydrates, preservative and other unhealthy ingredients is available. The resulting health issues may, depending on where one lives and what heath care is available through the state medical cards, get attended by a health care professional who may or may not be “blind” to how much he or she is getting reimbursed and may or may not be free of any prejudices towards those who have a medial card.
These and related issues are in the forefront of the concerns of many thoughtful people who may be basically pro-life but cognizant of the fact that often - not always - those most in favor of anti-abortion laws are those who are less than passionate about the need to value the life not only of the fetus but of all persons from the moment of conception to their being laid to rest at the end of their life journey.
In the United States, the minimal livable wage for a family of four, depending nowhere one lives, can be as high as $112,000.00. This amount does not allow for extravagant purchases. (I did not locate post inflation figures for July 2022.) I did find reports which claims that 34% of families in the United States may earn at least 100,000.00. Most reports indicate a median income of $67,000.00 which, as we know, means some are above and some are below this amount. Even if a family is at the $100,000.00 level most are not going to have enough savings to allow them to survive long if because of illness or other reasons they are suddenly unemployed.
How many stay at home mothers are paid an annual salary of $100,000.00 for childcare and home management. Assuming their partner or spouse is making at least $100,000.00 some might be living decently but, if anything happens to their partner, except in rare instances, they cannot collect more than social security survivor’s benefits for the underage children. A few employers cover childcare; a few parents may receive the benefits of a substantial life insurance policy which allow them to continue to care for their children.
How many teachers make at least $100,000.00 a year? Social workers? Mental Health counselors? Amazon’s warehouse workers? Fast food workers? Barista’s?
The bottom line is that those who say sacred life begins at the moment of conception need to “walk the talk” or stop pretending they are interested in human life rather than a political or religious agenda. To be fair there are those who do walk the talk; who are passionate about human life from the moment of conception to the last breath someone takes; who support government programs which ensure a decent wage to cover all levels of physical, nutritional, and medical care no matter what their country of citizenship or origin. Let’s do remember that government programs are simply a way to share common resources.
I do not believe I am proposing any significant increase in our national budget. I am suggesting that we, as a nation, spend the money up front and not in warehousing people or otherwise paying to deal with the symptoms of the fallout from not spending the money upfront. One can easily examine the cost in the United States of Health Care, prisons, policing, and attempts to “catch” those who are misusing meager government funds and those spending billions on projects which keep wealthy political lobbyists happy for a moment.
Written July 7, 2022
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
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