How Not to Help the Poor
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This is helpful:
Anthony Bradley writes:
Anthony Bradley writes:
If there's one lesson from the "war on poverty" programs the US government instituted in the 1970s it is that government programs were the primary source of the destruction of the black family and the erosion of the dignity of the black men in particular in low-income urban areas. Good intentions ain't enough. The federal programs pushed out the church and destroyed many black communities. It took about 20 years to see the effects of well-intended but stupid government programs. The crazy notion that "we just need to get the right government program" is fantasy.HT: Z
posted by JT at Wednesday, October 22, 2008
11 Comments:
"The war on poverty cuckolded the man ... the father's role -- beyond just insemination -- became absorbed by .. the welfare state"
That's insightful.
That was a helpful video clip. It makes me want to see more. It also makes me think about the ultimate end of a more socialist type state where provision for one's family and the value of work so often starts to be played down. What will that do to all men, and will that result in a similar result overall? As a person in Canada I see more and more state driven things that unintentionally seem to be pushing that direction, and I wonder where it will lead.
Unfortunately, many well meaning christians also seem to wish for a bigger government as master. Is this just a cultural oxymoron, or a theological impossibility?
While I appreciate the point of the video, I tend to think it is an over-simplification of the problem. Well intentioned but misguided government programs may be significant contributors to the breakdown of poor families, but there were (and are) a lot of other socio-economic and cultural factors swirling around at the same time, e.g., the sexual revolution and changing views of marriage, the morphing of the US economy to begin service-based and now information/technology-based, etc. etc. Hence, I don't think one can definitively say that the welfare system is the main instigator of this problem. That's not to say a welfare state is a good idea, however.
I'd have to look into the history more, but I'm a bit skeptical that the state pushed the church out of caring for the poor. It seems more likely that it was supplementing the church's work (or picking up where the self-involved church was slacking), which then allowed the church to decrease its efforts since the poor were being taken care of. More of a gradual, lazy takeover rather than a perforce governmental push. But that's just speculation.
Amen! (to Anthony Bradley's comments)
If the church stopped caring for the poor, that's our sin to deal with. We can't allow the state to stop us from performing our mission -- blaming the government is a pretty awful excuse for our own failure.
I agree with with Chase, and must point out that this engages in quite a bit of historical revisionism. Let's make sound logical points rather than twist facts around, or else concede the point and move on.
Anthony Bradley rocks.
Nice clip. I suggest reading "The Decline of African American Theology: From Biblical Faith to Cultural Captivity" by Thabiti M. Anyabwile. It provides great insight from a cultural perspective.
chase,
At least in the circles I grew up in, many Christians saw it as helping the poor to get the government to provide programs to assist them. Now that is in Canada, but I see some similar thinking, although not always stated outright, from certain Christians South of the Canadian border as well. Now just to be clear, I disagree with that view I was surrounded by when I grew up, but I know it is out there.
I to say AMEN. People caring for people is going to be the most effective politics we will ever find, these were the politics of Jesus.
BUT i'm not sure how much that aids the conversation of this day, the "who should i vote for" conversation. I am not sure that i write off this political issue just because i believe it will most effectively be address by the people, by the Church. I still think it needs to be an issue of importance when we think about who we vote for.
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