Poverty is a human right violation

[ratio1]

It seems obvious to me that for someone not to live in the poor is such a basic human right. Surely Jesus does not want us to intentionally make someone poor. Yet we have the USA, supposedly the champion of human rights, have done practically nothing about poverty in the hundreds of years of capitalism. It is not even stated as an explicit goal of government policy to eliminate poverty, let alone actually trying to do it. It seems that the solution by the West for dealing with a human right that is in the too hard basket, is to simply not label it as a human right.

Yet this right to not living in poverty gets much less attention than some other less important rights such as right to vote.
Would you rather live in poverty and have the right to vote? Or live comfortably middle class and not have the right to vote? I’ll choose the latter.
As Joseph Stiglitz pointed out, the assumption that people living in poverty can work harder to get themselves out is simply untrue.
When we have a country that can actually achieve the goal of eliminating poverty, that would be the country that has truly implemented one of the Important Catholic social teaching of looking after the weak.

 

[Cruciferi]

Mark 14:7

“The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want.”

 

[Finn]

It is a very dangerous thing to place a higher value on a comfortable middle class life than the ability to vote - to challenge bad governance.

Where do you think that would inevitably lead?

 

[Cruciferi]

You should check out his other posts. You’ll see…

 

[Finn]

Ah yes, ok. The penny’s dropped.

 

[Learner1969]

These Brothers choose to live in poverty https://www.cfrfranciscans.co.uk/bradford

 

[Mboo]

Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God
Luke 6:20

 

[fide]

Have you heard of Pres. Johnson’s “war on poverty”? And the disaster that proved to be for the poor in this country? It produced a whole new and ugly sense of entitlement among many, and established an enduring prison of poverty, the welfare state, in the inner cities of the nation.

If you can find true saints to govern us, maybe the government could solve the problem. But as long as we have/are sinners, any government will be as corrupt as ever, and as unable to truly help anyone as ever.

 

[tafan2]

. Yet we have the USA, supposedly the champion of human rights, have done practically nothing about poverty in the hundreds of years of capitalism.

You know little or nothing about history. During those hundreds of years of capitalism, the standard of living has gone up, way up for everyone, including the poor. In addition to that, the poverty rate has gone from 24% of the population in the late 1950s to around 12% today. In other words we have reduced poverty by half. We have a public education system that is accessible to all, including the poor.
Finally, we have put in place social programs ranging from food stamps, Medicaid, housing assistance, all in an effort to help the poor.

Please explain to me how all if the above equate to “practically nothing”

 

[Rob2]

Yet this right to not living in poverty gets much less attention than some other less important rights such as right to vote.

@ratio 1 , it is true that the rights of the poor get poor attention from all parts of the affluent West .

We like our creature comforts , and it is a little disturbing when people remind us of the starving poor .

But as St John Chrysostom said , “Not to enable the poor to share in our goods is to steal from them and deprive them of life. The goods we possess are not ours, but theirs.”

The Fathers of the Second Vatican Council taught , " People hounded by hunger call upon those better off…Since there are so many people prostrate with hunger in the world, this Sacred Council urges all, both individuals and governments, to remember the aphorism of the Fathers, “Feed the man dying of hunger, because if you have not fed him, you have killed him.”"

Pope John Paul II asked , " How can it be that even today there are still people dying of hunger? …Christians must learn to make their act of faith in Christ by discerning His voice in the cry for help that rises from this world of poverty."