POVERTY COMES FROM THE GREED OF THOSE IN PURSUIT OF WEALTH – IT’S A SELF WORTH PROBLEM.

In other words, the lack of self worth, among the rich, often leads to poverty for others. There is nothing wrong with becoming rich and/or wealthy. It’s the lack of responsibility of the rich (in their behavior) that creates poverty. Becoming rich through responsible behavior is not mutually exclusive but you’d never know by the actions chosen by many of that ilk.

Too often, reaching those heights calls for losing one’s sense of self. Where climbing the ladder of success has called for doing things going against who we are as people. There are many who succumb to giving up themselves for the money on many financial levels.  Poverty comes from the greed of those in pursuit of wealth who make drastic choices of making money over the well being of people.

Christ said, IT IS EASIER FOR A CAMEL TO GO THROUGH THE EYE OF A NEEDLE THAN IT IS FOR A RICH MAN TO ENTER THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. During those times, merchants brought their goods into town using a camel. The camel would be loaded to the hilt. The Eye Of The Needle was a tax collecting station where the camel would have to get on its knees, and crawl through a confining space to have their goods assessed for taxes. The difficulty for a rich man to enter the Kingdom Of Heaven stems from behaving in a way to protect and increase their wealth, rather than behaving in a manner where they treat their fellow man in the same way they would wish to be treated in the same circumstances.

In the 90’s there was a big deal made out of the fact that Kathy Lee Gifford was having clothes made in a third world country with low wages and poor working conditions. She was vilified for doing business this way. Fast forward to today, and corporate America (in cahoots with our government) is outsourcing like crazy, doing just what Kathy Lee did, calling it Globalization. They have made the argument that business must be allowed to make a profit (like they weren’t making a profit here – remember the 90’s) as though that is more important than people. What’s worse is how much U.S. citizens have bought into this propaganda to the point of subsidizing the demise of the middle class with their tax dollars to corporate American and contractors.

There is an old naivete among Americans that believes our government will always look out for the better interest of the American people, and jobs are created by rich people making money. The reality is that lobbyists of big business is running our government, and small businesses create more jobs than big business ever does.  Corporate America is killing `mom and pop' businesses.  That's not a good sign.

The salaries of the ceo’s in big business in comparison to those of their workers (who actually do the work) is so far out of whack it’s kept the wages of workers stagnant if not going backward, losing benefits and income reduced by inflation.

The middle class is decreasing in the United States at an ever-increasing rate. Large farms in this country are using a lot of manual labor yet doesn’t pay a living wage to the illegal workers. Not only does this depress the wages of U.S. citizens but continues a life of poor working and living conditions putting more pressure on social services (schools, hospitals, housing, prisons, etc.) increasing the burden on U.S. taxpayers who are struggling to get their own social services. The popularity of this cheap labor has increased within corporate America so illegal immigrants are working in virtually all industries, replacing U.S. citizens all for profit.  Where is the loyalty of our government and American companies outsourcing?

Since the Reagan years, corporate America, with the help of government has been looking to decrease their labor costs and benefits. Strategic moves to weaken the unions, trial lawyers, reduce salaries, cut jobs, new banking laws exploiting consumers, outsourced jobs and illegal immigration has undercut the middle class.

Welfare has been an issue that those in power have used as a means to distract people from who the real culprits of welfare are. Some Whites complain about Black folk on welfare, disregarding the fact there are more White folk on welfare than Black folk (but a higher percentage of Black folk are on welfare than the percentage of White folks). The real welfare benefactors are corporate America, the military industrial complex, and oil companies. There is more money being transferred from everyday Americans (through their tax dollars) to private citizens (in the guise of contractors) to make them rich. These aren’t people getting rich because of a product that people want, like the Ipod. This is money purposely directed to these folks to produce something to receive this money from U.S. citizens for the sole purpose of getting rich. THIS IS NOT THE AMERICAN WAY, YET HAS BECOME PART OF THE AMERICAN TRADITION. THIS DOES NOT MEET UP TO THE IDEALS OF THIS NATION.

These things have been going on for quite some time, but not on the super scale it’s been currently happening. What’s taking place in the U.S. has come because of the excesses corporate America and the military industrial complex have been able to extract from the people of the U.S. through tax dollars in contracts from the government. This occurred along with a very trusting response from the citizenry. The path to Globalization has been one chosen to bring down the middle class in the United States with barely a whimper from the American people. Until now!

Berry Gordy has been looked upon as a sensational businessman in the music business for owning, creating and operating Motown. But the story behind his success stems from how he didn’t want to pay workers what they were worth, financially – from the stars on down.

The restaurant industry is running rampant with this practice.  Many rich folks often make it at the expense of others is what’s happening with Jay-Z, a young guy I admire, that in some ways may be falling the way of so many others who make it off the backs of the real workers.Thomas Zambito, a New York Daily News staff writer, wrote a report stating Manhattan Federal Judge Loretta Preska said current and past servers, bartenders and others who’ve toilded at the downtown sports bar and lounge could be eligible for a payout from a suit certified as class action. It’s said some 20 workers accuse club managers of making them work for tips only, cheating them out of overtime and forcing them to pay for breaks, and spills as well as `walkouts’.

Hundreds of former employees could be eligilbe to collect on this claim if it’s successful. This decision could change the restaurant industry. This practice has been going on long before Jay-Z (and I still like him by the way), but this has been the way folks have gotten rich - by not sharing the wealth.

While the masses are talking about the pittance people receive from welfare, they never look at how big the bottom line has been for those receiving corporate welfare – including the record-breaking profits of the oil industry using taxpayers' dollars.

Wealth is being created by changing the tax code so that the rich and corporate America don’t have to pay their fair share, and giving tax dollars to friends and cronies in private industry through government contracts (federal, state and local). Competition is best for U.S. citizens (for the world). No bid contracts is a rip off of the American people. Monopolies and oligopolies, where a small number of businesses dominate an industry should be made a thing of the past through legislation.  COMPETITION IS THE WAY OF THE FUTURE. 

We also have to get out of the pattern of thinking public service must compete with private industry for talent. WE DON’T WANT THE SAME MENTALITY WE SEE IN THE BUSINESS WORLD, IN GOVERNMENT. WHY? BECAUSE TOO MANY IN PRIVATE INDUSTRY COMING INTO PUBLIC SERVICE ARE STILL LOOKING OUT FOR PRIVATE INDUSTRY AND THEMSELVES.

To keep good folks in public service let them suffer the sacrifice of what public service really is. They will make less in government than in private life. The Founders certainly wouldn’t be looking to make private citizens rich through working in public service.

QUESTION EVERYTHING!  THAT'S WHERE THE TRUTH RESIDES.