The (Heartless) Conservative View of Poverty

Americans - even many of the poorest - enjoy a level of material abundance unthinkable just a generation ago. (New York Times, 5/1/2014)

Despite this promising opening, the New York Times - in its latest discussion of poverty in America - reverts to true form and serves up three victims of poverty. Let's meet them.

First up we have Tammie Hagen-Noey age 49. What do learn about Tammie? Well, according to the Times, she "tapped at an iPhone as she sat on the porch of the group home where she lives..." Yes, Tammie has an iPhone. We know wealthy people who do not have iPhones, but apparently Tammie deems it a bare necessity. Readers can easily do the math to figure what the purchase and ongoing fees cost Tammie. Just a thought, but would it be cheaper for Tammie to have a basic cell phone without a data plan? Apparently an expensive smartphone is de rigueur for some of today's poor. Next we learn that Tammie "is trying to rebuild her finances, which have been decimated by divorce, government liens and addiction." Sounds like Tammie has made some bad choices along the way. How much, we wonder, has Tammie spent along the way on her addiction? And finally, we see a picture of Tammie in her group home bedroom. Wearing a sleeveless shirt we note that Tammie is sporting a large tatoo. How much did THAT cost? Yes Tammie is a victim. A victim of her own poor decisions, maybe?

Next we meet Tiffany Beroid who is 29 and works at Walmart. Good for her! Tiffany is married and her husband also works. Good for them! So far so good. There is a problem, however. Tiffany and her husband are getting pinched financially the Times tells us because of the high cost of child care. So while we applaud both Tiffany and her husband for their work ethic, we do have to question their decision to have child. An entirely voluntary decision. We know many working couples over the years who have delayed having children until they could afford to do so. Is it the responsibility of taxpayers - including those with no children or those with grown children or the elderly - to subsidize those who have children that they apparently cannot afford?

Finally we meet the also hard-working 38 year old Bobby Bingham. Bobby works three jobs and seven days a week. In that sense, Bobby is our hero. He gets up every morning, puts his boots on and gets to work. There is (again) a problem though. Bobby owes $30,000 in student loans and has $12,000 in credit card debt. How did THAT happen? What caused Bobby to rack up such massive debt? We don't know because the Times does not tell us, but there is, no doubt, some explanation which deserves further examination. Did Bobby too make some poor decisions along the way?

And so while President Obama and fellow Democrats talk incessantly about income inequality, RedStateVT again asks: to what extent are the poor in America responsible for their own condition? Our Judeo Christian heritage calls for compassion for those in need and we heartily embrace (and practice) lending a hand to the less fortunate. Oh, and we also embrace the concept of "tough love."