A letter that every politician and every voter should read

I just received the following letter from a woman, Elizabeth Estrada Lopez, who read the recent post, Affordable housing laws are not a solution. They are a symptom.

I was so impressed by her situation and by her wisdom, I wanted to share her letter, and my response, with you. She wrote:

Lack of money or low wages is a valid point.

Affordable housing is not fair housing.

Many below & poverty level wage people, like myself, who work very hard and need affordable housing, are placed in impoverished areas or areas where there is no public transportation and end up paying more in gasoline to travel back and forth to work & grocery shopping that is it a lose-lose proposition.

People fail to thrive grouped in impoverished communities.

The environment is a daily discouragement creating more stress and low self-esteem. This is my experience and is not a blanket statement that covers the world.

I responded, “Thank you, Ms. Lopez. I hope you don’t mind that I intend to quote you in a future post. You make several good points that I would like to write about. Be well, Rodger Malcolm Mitchell.

She, in turn, wrote, “Yes Sir. I want to help society in any way I can.”

Oh, if only our politicians had the same attitude as Ms. Lopex.

As the article stated, the widespread, false belief that the federal deficit and debt are too high, “unaffordable.” and “sustainable” is fostered and disseminated by the rich to keep down those “below & poverty level” people like you.

The reason is “Gap Psychology, the desire to distance oneself from those below, on any comparative measure.

“Rich” is a comparative, not an absolute, term.  A man having $1,000 is rich if everyone else has $1,000, but he is poor if everyone else has $1 million. So, there are two ways to become richer: Obtain more for yourself, or force others to have less.

Poverty is not a lack of work. Poverty is not a lack of effort. Poverty is not a lack of intelligence. Poverty is a lack of money, and the solution to a lack of money is to give impoverished people money.

Period.

The federal government has infinite money. The federal government could and should give people money. Doing so, would eliminate, or at least dramatically reduce, poverty.

There is another, widespread, false belief, and that is, if the government gives people money, they won’t work.

The rich like to portray the poor as lazy and deserving of their poverty. So in the minds of the rich (and many in the middle-income groups) giving people money is immoral, in that is encourages sloth.

Utter nonsense.

The fact is that by any standard, the poor on average work harder than those above them, economically. No one labors less than the rich except for the very rich.

Sadly, even Modern Monetary Theory (MMT), an economic philosophy that understands the federal government’s unlimited money supply, offers as a solution, something they call a “Jobs Guarantee” (JG). It is a process by which the federal government finds or creates minimum-wage jobs for the unemployed.

The only thing the “Jobs Guarantee” guarantees is that the poor will work hard, stay poor, and live in the impoverished areas you described, and never escape.

Question for economists and politicians: If the poor need money, why give them minimum wage jobs? Why not give them the money they need?

Answer: Because of some deeply ingrained belief that “if given money, the poor won’t work. They need the moral pride that comes with having a job.”

Again, utter, puritanical and paternalistic nonsense. A minimum wage job does not provide morality or pride. It only provides insufficient money, together with the “daily discouragement creating more stress and low self-esteem” you, Ms. Lopez, described.

If a person loses her job, has she suddenly become lazy or immoral? Of course not, but it is a myth the rich like to spread.

Today’s America reminds me of a billionaire uncle who won’t help his impoverished nieces and nephews because of self-proclaimed “moral reasons.”

My heart goes out to you, Ms. Lopez. You write like an intelligent and decent woman, whose poverty is not due to any character flaw, but rather to fate.

When I read a letter such as yours, all I can think is, “There but for the grace of God, go I.

I will send a copy of your letter to a few Senators and Representatives. Perhaps they will think more seriously about how to help the impoverished, and not merely disparage them.

Meanwhile, you and your family, friends, and neighbors, please be sure to vote for the politicians most likely to empathize with your plight, and offer real solutions.

One day, Americans will understand the needs of the poor, the power of our government, and the solutions for the less fortunate. Some may say, “yes, but not now.” I say, “If not now, when?”

Much good fortune to you,

Rodger Malcolm Mitchell

Monetary Sovereignty Twitter: @rodgermitchell Search #monetarysovereignty Facebook: Rodger Malcolm Mitchell …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

THE SOLE PURPOSE OF GOVERNMENT IS TO IMPROVE AND PROTECT THE LIVES OF THE PEOPLE.

The most important problems in economics involve:

Ten Steps To Prosperity:

1. Eliminate FICA
2. Federally funded Medicare — parts A, B & D, plus long-term care — for everyone
3. Social Security for all or a reverse income tax
4. Free education (including post-grad) for everyone
5. Salary for attending school
6. Eliminate federal taxes on business
7. Increase the standard income tax deduction, annually. 
8. Tax the very rich (the “.1%”) more, with higher progressive tax rates on all forms of income.
9. Federal ownership of all banks
10. Increase federal spending on the myriad initiatives that benefit America’s 99.9% 

The Ten Steps will grow the economy and narrow the income/wealth/power Gap between the rich and the rest.

MONETARY SOVEREIGNTY