NAVIGATING THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD

I found some really great stuff this week. I am glad we are pushed to find ten resources as it forces me to really get creative in my searching. I found a few in particular that I think are helpful to our group. I focused this week entirely on general economic issues such as welfare and the working poor, these topics interest me. If big business (Walmart or whatever) has a seemingly singular focus on itself and if it's CEO's are getting rich at the expense of the rest of us. Then generally those working at big companies in the lower level positions are the working poor. The welfare system is how we have chosen to handle the issue of poverty in the last 50 years or so. These two factors seem to play much into economic poverty in our country. Factor one: big business is out for itself and seeks to have profit go to the top small percentage of those who work at the higher levels. Factor two: welfare is a system that is fairly dehumanizing and does nothing to truly end poverty in our country. Since much of our discussion of evil this week reveals itself in systems that dehumanize. These are two nearly unchecked "systems" which seem to me to be dehumanizing.

This guy I had never heard of named Dr. J. Larry Brown gave an address that I posted called: Poverty and Inequality: Albatross or Opportunity? I found this to be such an interesting article. He says that in the middle of the last century a war on poverty was waged. The problem was that instead of dealing with systematic issues or making the war AGAINST poverty. We, instead, in the U.S. made it a war against THE POOR.
Here is a direct quote from that article, "For a period of time we really were gearing up to fight a war against poverty. But it got way-laid by two factor. One was the Vietnam War that ate up needed resources and distracted our leaders. The other was faulty ideology. Instead of fighting a War on Poverty, we fought what Bill Ryan called a War Against the Poor. Rather than taking steps to see that policies were changed to give poor people true opportunity, and rather than focusing on private and public structural barriers to meaningful participation in our democracy – major outside factors, in other words, that hamper the poor – we instead decided that we needed to change the poor. They needed to be counseled, constrained, educated and dealt with (as if they are children)..."
This article was a revelation for me. We do view the poor as the problem rather than as a result of some larger problem which is systemic in our country. With the statics of those who are poor increasing, we need to start addressing the larger issues in our country that prohibit everyone from resources they need and access to a voice to talk about their disparity of circumstances. We DO treat them as if they are children. We pity them rather than attempting to give them a more just world. This along with the book "Nickle and Dimed," which I recommend reading regardless of this project, really give a human perspective to the injustice of having working poor people in a nation of such enormous wealth. It seems to me that much of the words of the minor prophets which are words from God are dealing with this very issue: hording wealth and flaunting it. We have a system failure not simply people who should work harder. That is startling and therefore maybe should be a focus in our economic policies as a nation.

The second person I found on this issue from the perspective of large investment/big business was financial analyst John C. Bogle. I posted his soon-to-be-released book and two articles from his website. His book is going to be released in November. This is what is said about his upcoming book: "Bogle argues for a return to a governance structure in which owners' capital that has been put at risk is used in their interests rather than in the interests of corporate and financial managers. Given that ownership is now consolidated in the hands of relatively few large mutual and pension funds, the specific reforms Bogle details in this book are essential as well as practical. " His book deals with the soul of capitalism. I found it at first because the title seemed so appropriate. He seems particulary interested in reestablishing small business' which redistribute wealth and financial security. This is in line with my thoughts on some of the previous Walmart statistics. He is a financial analyst who advocates for distribution of wealth and he thinks this will stabilize our economy. If American Capitalism only benefits the rich then we need to do something about it. This seems like a huge sort of structural issue. How can we tackle that from a grass roots kind of thing?

1. Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America
by Barbara Ehrenreich (ISBN: 0805063897)
2. The Working Poor: Invisible in America
by David K. Shipler (ISBN: 0375408908)
3. Tyranny of Kindness: Dismantling the Welfare System to End Poverty in America
by Theresa Funiciello (ISBN: 0871135787)
4. The Battle for the Soul of Capitalism
by John Bogle (ISBN: 0300109903)
5. The Political Economy of Inequality
edited by: Neva Goodwin, Kevin Gallagher, Laurie Dougherty (ISBN: 1559637986)

Two articles by John Bogle on this website: http://www.vanguard.com/bogle_site/bogle_home.html

The Ownership of Corporate America -- Rights and Responsibilities
Remarks by John C. Bogle Founder and Former Chairman, The Vanguard Group20th Anniversary Meeting of the Council of Institutional InvestorsApril 11, 2005Washington, DC

What Went Wrong in Corporate America?
Remarks by John C. BogleFounder and Former Chairman, The Vanguard Groupat the Community Forum Distinguished Speaker SeriesBryn Mawr Presbyterian ChurchBryn Mawr, PAFebruary 24, 2003

Other Articles:

Economic Injustice: America's New Leading Export
By Jason Miller
Metaphoria, July 2005, Volume 12 Nr. 26, Issue 161
weblink: http://www.metaphoria.org/ac4t0507d.html

Poverty And Inequality: Albatross or Opportunity
By Dr. J. Larry Brown
Tri-State CAA Conference, Cape Cod, MA on May 19, 2004
weblink: http://www.centeronhunger.org/pdf/MassCap.pdf

Website on Assets and Social Policy:
http://www.assetinstitute.org

Hello to all my friends from around the country possibly reading my blog... just a prayer request. Tonite my mom suffered a minor stroke (it is her third total in the last 10 years). There is the possibility this may prevent her from driving and doing her favorite pasttime: reading. She is in the I.C.U. at Arcadia Methodist Hospital. Please pray she recovers fully from this. Thanks!

Golden Parties
Exodus 32:1-14; Psalm 106:1-6, 19-23; Philippians 4:1-9; Matthew 22:1-14"It appears that Ms. (Paris) Hilton’s blond ambition knows no bounds," says a May 2 article in The New York Times. "She commands anywhere from $150,000 to $200,000 to appear at a party for 20 minutes. ‘If it’s in Japan I get more,’ she said.
"Why would the Israelites’ worship of the golden calf in Exodus 32 seem bizarre to us? We get daily updates on the latest golden supermodel or partygoer. The worship of the self has a "rich" tradition. Moses interceded to get God to reconsider allowing disaster to befall an unfaithful people (Exodus 32:11-14). Who will speak for us?"They made a calf at Horeb," remembers the psalmist, "and worshiped a cast image" (Psalm 106:19).
This kind of idolatry abuses the poor who struggle for basic needs. But, the psalmist reminds us, there is another way: "Happy are those who observe justice."At God’s banquet, the key word is everyone. Paul says, "Let your gentleness be known to everyone" (Philippians 4:5).
In the gospel reading, Jesus says, "Go therefore into the main streets and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet" (Matthew 22:9).In that party called "the kingdom of heaven," many are called—the mentally challenged and the Oxford scholars, the unemployed and the Paris Hiltons. "Many are called, but few are chosen," Jesus says (Matthew 22:14). The nice part: We invite everyone and leave the choosing to God.
Boundaries and Crossings. by Robert Roth. Sojourners Magazine, September/October 2005 (Vol. 34, No. 9, pp. 48-49). Living the Word.

Hey all... Pray for me

I start a new fitness program for the next two months.

Check it out: http://www.bootcamp-fitness.com/

EEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Justin:
Creative use of Fitzgerald. Yes, I agree we have become people about the quick money and pleasure as seen in the Great Gatsby. I also liked the article that told me a bit about the injustice in Iraq which startled me to see how much hasn't improved since we have "liberated" them. It still so much seems about power and oil this whole war/ American imperialism. The new urbanism stuff you found is especially helpful. I started with some of the founding thoughts on it and you took it more from a grass-roots who is doing now and why approach which I liked.
Michael
Thanks for pointing out which articles/books would help whichever one of us in the group's personal interest/niche. You cited some good racism stuff, especially the two articles from GlobalExchange. I also liked that you cited articles that pointed out the greater and greater disparity between the poor and rich. I think that should be a focus for us. Maybe even for media to see what consumer products focus on which demographics.

Those are my comments for now...