We still have a long ways to go toward a just economy—but Congress could make the problems worse. Congressional leaders want to change programs and policies that ensure basic living standards for tens of millions of people, keeping them from falling into, or deeper into, poverty and economic turmoil each year.
By most measures, the United States is a country of wealth and abundance. Yet, for many people, the U.S. economy isn’t working.
Every day, people in our communities experience the frustration and indignity of struggling to pay the rent and put food on their table. They are one major expense away from insolvency, even if they are working. They may technically be part of the “middle class”—and yet still are just getting by.
Others are trying to get by on even less. One of every eight people in our country lives in poverty. One and a half million households earn less than $2 per person per day—more than double the number from just two decades ago.
In the richest country in the world, everyone should be able to eat three meals a day, have a roof over his or her head, and access health care. In addition, everyone should have opportunities to learn, work, and grow. A just economy is built on this foundation of economic stability and opportunity.
Congress needs to hear your support for programs that ensure everyone can meet their essential needs.
We all contribute to this economy. Individuals seek out work or education. Entrepreneurs start businesses and run them responsibly. Charities help people who are in need. And, underpinning it all, the federal government sets sound economic policies, supports job creation, and creates programs to catch people in danger of falling through the economic cracks.
Today, these federal programs ensure basic living standards for many individuals and families facing hard times.
Before the creation of Social Security in 1935, more than half of elderly women lived in poverty. Today, fewer than 10 percent do. Programs to provide access to affordable health care (Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program for low-income families; Medicare for elderly people; the Affordable Care Act) ensure quality health coverage for millions of people. The food stamp program (now known as SNAP) helps low-income families buy groceries.
We still have a long ways to go toward a just economy—but Congress could make the problems worse. Congressional leaders want to change programs and policies that ensure basic living standards for tens of millions of people, keeping them from falling into, or deeper into, poverty and economic turmoil each year.
Congress is already moving to repeal the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), which would leave as many as 30 million people without health insurance. Approximately 11 million of those people benefited from the ACA’s expansion of the Medicaid program to provide health coverage for people teetering on the edge of poverty. Without the Affordable Care Act or a comparable replacement, people will delay care and people with a pre-existing condition or who are sick or disabled will be unable to find coverage.
Congress is also considering major changes to Medicaid and SNAP. This spring, we expect proposals that would fundamentally alter these programs, leading to benefit cuts and reduced effectiveness.
At one level, these debates are about the particulars of these programs, how much they cost, and how well they work. At another, they are about the role of government itself.
The U.S. government should pursue just policies that allow everyone in our country to reach his or her full potential and contribute to our society. When people are hungry and can’t get food, when they are sick and can’t see a doctor, when they need shelter but can’t afford a place to live, justice remains undone.
The federal government has a responsibility to help. Private charities and churches can’t create a national safety net alone. State and local governments don’t have the resources to ensure that everyone in the country is taken care of. The federal government’s role is critical—and if it erodes now, it will be very difficult for this country to recover.
The good news is that Congress can protect and even strengthen the federal government’s commitment to providing people in economic distress a basic standard of living and a secure economic foundation for us all.
FCNL lobbyists are making the case with members of Congress, but our elected leaders need to hear your voice too. They need to hear strong public support for federal programs that help people with low incomes meet their most basic needs. They need to hear your stories: have you or someone you know been helped by federal programs? How do these services benefit your community?
Our country’s wealth and abundance can go to support our communities, prevent people from falling deeper into poverty, and give everyone a foundation for opportunity. How our government helps people who are in need is a measure of our nation’s character, our moral grounding, and our commitment to justice for all.
