“I will never understand how politicians who call themselves Christian can read the Gospels and then treat the poor and the sick like dirt.” – James Martin, Jesuit Priest

My cousin shared this post on his Facebook page yesterday. Pretty straightforward and to the point. And then someone made a comment asking him to explain how the poor and the sick are being treated like dirt.

So I took a long, very deep breath and began writing.

Dear person:

As the daughter of a preacher, I’ve got some thoughts so I hope you’ve got some time to sit back…

Limited access to healthcare: Many of the places that we take for granted, such as a primary care doctor, can be unattainable for folks who live hand to mouth. Need to visit a primary care provider and don’t have insurance? Good luck finding one who will take you without paying cash up front, unless you go to the county health department (which can take forever to get into) or you go to the emergency department. Those ED visits aren’t free either. You’ll be billed until the cows come home.

Food insecurity: The USDA just halted $500 million in food deliveries to local food banks, which serve those who have limited incomes and the working poor. The shelves at local food pantries haven’t been filled to the brim and this further impacts the help these agencies can provide.

Wages: The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour and has been since 2009. Sure, some states have set a higher minimum but that’s not universally true. Can you live on just over $15K per year if you work 40 hours? What if you have two full-time jobs that pay the minimum? $30K for a year?

Housing costs: If you think insurance and food are issues, wait until you hear about the cost of housing. Try affording much of anything with a job that pays less than at least $15 an hour.

Am I saying that this problem falls squarely on the shoulders of either the right or the left? Absolutely not. There have been systemic inequalities for years that Congress hasn’t seen fit to do a damn thing about because they’re beholden to lobbyists and are more worried about being re-elected or what the occupant of the White House wants than doing what’s right for their constituents.

But I ask you, how are the poor and the sick NOT being treated like dirt?

Thanks for coming to my TED talk.