Those people

This morning on NPR I heard a John McCain supporter explain how she’s afraid that the tax plan the Barack Obama has will only give money to those who aren’t working. More specifically, take her hard earned money and give it to those without.

This kind of talk upsets me on many levels. Without going into a full length explanation on my feelings about the root causes of poverty and homelessness, I’d like to add my two cents now about something I don’t think this woman has thought much about. Like could “those people” be her friends, her family or even herself?

A few years ago I read a book called The Two Income Trap by Dr. Elizabeth Warren. It really brought home for me the fact that no matter how secure any of us may feel in our jobs, when that job suddenly disappears, if there is no safety net, a freefall begins. Dr. Warren so clearly painted a picture of how like a set of dominos, everything begins to fail including health and relationships.

She wrote the book to advocate for stronger bankruptcy laws to protect families. That did not happen. She also wrote about the myth of the American Dream—why the prices of homes in neighborhoods with “good” schools were climbing even higher and higher and how families who were so intent on having that better future for their children were willing to take out a mortgage (or mortgages) that were absolutely dependent on both parents working. So again, when one job is suddenly lost, the spiral begins.

I find the attitude of the woman interviewed on NPR to be so selfish. And I do associate it with fundamental Christianity which is sort of mind blowing. Did some of these people miss the whole part about how Jesus loves us all and wants us to help one another? Why does the thought of paying higher taxes or even paying taxes at all to help the greater good seem so nauseating to some? I want our taxes to provide for our son, and your son too. There but for the grace of God go US people.

P.S. Oh, and by the way, Obama’s tax plan will not raise taxes on any one making $250,000 or less. I have to believe that this is pretty much all the people I know—working or not working.