Compassionate Conservatism?

[Rahm]

Last week, Gingrich said that America’s poor children, who live in the poorest places in the nation, have never worked or even been around anybody who has worked.

Such a harsh and alarming comment doesn’t show any understanding, empathy, or experience with poverty, low-income working parents, and how life feels at the bottom when people at the top keep calling you lazy. Nor did they demonstrate any knowledge of the facts — that three-quarters of those living below the poverty line actually have jobs, actually do work, but don’t make enough to support a family.

And it also didn’t help to see Gingrich the next day in New York City with Donald Trump — a man who flaunts his wealth, his sexual philandering, and his skyscrapers that are dwarfed only by his out-sized ego that gives arrogance a bad name.

Newt and Donald together announced their solution to child poverty: Trump sponsored “apprenticeships” for 10 “wonderful children” from those poorest places who would work for The Donald and then succeed, 10 at a time.

Newt even suggested that those same “wonderful children” could replace the unionized janitors at their own schools.

The incident seemed more like a scene from one of Trump’s reality shows than a hallmark moment for a Republican who might have hoped to be called a compassionate conservative. Ever.--Jim Wallis

 

[James Clarkston]

Such a harsh and alarming comment doesn’t show any understanding, empathy, or experience with poverty, low-income working parents, and how life feels at the bottom when people at the top keep calling you lazy.

You should reap Proverbs more often... there, God speaks about how being lazy and being a sluggard leads to poverty.

 

[WayTooManyDaves]

There are many very prosperous people in this country who found success through hard work and determination. Conversely, there are none at all who became successful by cashing entitlement checks.

Among the wealth of child-rearing wisdom to be found in the Bible, we have this famous gem:

Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.
Proverbs 13:24

For modern consumption, this is summarized in the old saying "Spare the rod, spoil the child."

I offer that Gingrich suggests a far more compassionate approach than insisting we "let kids be kids" 100% of the time, and that goes for middle class suburban kids just as much as for kids in the inner cities. Childhood is a time of preparation for adulthood, and being an adult means working for a living. Merely attending school is not adequate preparation for adulthood. The evidence for this is all around us.

I think we would be doing our children a favor by steering their natural inclination to hero worship towards entrepreneurs and innovators, instead of athletes and musicians.

Say what you will about Donald Trump -and much of your criticism is valid - the man understands the value of hard work. And before you criticize a politician for accepting his contributions (he's made headlines for giving money to Mitt Romney since the OP was posted), stop to consider how much money the opposition is taking from people like George Clooney and Brad Pitt. It shouldn't be difficult to see which conveys the more positive message.

 

[ALoveDivine]

You should reap Proverbs more often... there, God speaks about how being lazy and being a sluggard leads to poverty.

Indeed it can. But it is wholly unfair to apply this to all those at the bottom of the social ladder (not that I'm saying you are).

I'm a chef. I work HARD, and regularly. I work with my hands and I'm pretty self-reliant. That said, I only make about nine dollars an hour, I'm in poverty, I'm pretty low on the social totem pole. The fact is, we live in a society were you can work a hard, honest, full-time job doing beneficial labor and STILL be quite poor. The wealthiest people tend to be those that manipulate money and are driven by greed.

We ought to be careful to not fetishise capitalism, which is a faulty and rather brutal man-made system driven by greed. Not saying I'm a socialist, I don't like any system of man, but we ought not to let political propaganda influence us. God has a heart for the poor, this is evident throughout all of scripture.

 

[WayTooManyDaves]

We ought to be careful to not fetishise capitalism, which is a faulty and rather brutal man-made system driven by greed.

The lesson of history is that capitalism is the only system that works. Capitalism isn't faulty; some people in capitalist systems are faulty.

I think it's a mistake to confuse greed with rational self-interest. Since the beginning of time, the most prosperous societies have always been those where people were free to take risks and pursue their own dreams. The alternative always involves coercion.

 

[Lux Aeterna]

Gingrich can be a little harsh, but he does make light of an important point: there is an entitlement culture in the United States that's growing. It used to be that government assistance programs were more like a safety net, but now there are growing numbers of people who are content with relying primarily upon these programs. It's creating a sort of culture of entitlement whereby people are perfectly happy with collecting government money and leaving it at that.

Now, I would certainly NOT say that every poor person is like that. Quite the contrary, I've known many people who are poor but have tried their hardest to find a job and just can't in this economy. But there are some people who are perpetuating an entitlement lifestyle, and it is a serious concern.

 

[blankgirl]

Being poor could be a condition that arises from many factors aside from laziness. It is highly unfair to generalize poverty in that way. Jesus calls us to identify with the poor, not judge them.

 

[BondiHarry]

Indeed it can. But it is wholly unfair to apply this to all those at the bottom of the social ladder (not that I'm saying you are).

I'm a chef. I work HARD, and regularly. I work with my hands and I'm pretty self-reliant. That said, I only make about nine dollars an hour, I'm in poverty, I'm pretty low on the social totem pole. The fact is, we live in a society were you can work a hard, honest, full-time job doing beneficial labor and STILL be quite poor. The wealthiest people tend to be those that manipulate money and are driven by greed.

We ought to be careful to not fetishise capitalism, which is a faulty and rather brutal man-made system driven by greed. Not saying I'm a socialist, I don't like any system of man, but we ought not to let political propaganda influence us. God has a heart for the poor, this is evident throughout all of scripture.

Why don't you define 'capitalism' for us? I have found a great many people do not understand what free markets are about, who claim capitalism is based on greed but fail to realize 'greed' does poorly in a free market but thrives when men erect governments by which they can impose their will and values on their neighbor (if one has a cogent argument for doing things their way, persuasion should be all that is needed to get the support of most men ... if you have to resort to compulsion perhaps 'your way' needs to be rethought). God does has a heart for the poor but He tasks us as individuals and the church to care for the poor; He DOES NOT give government that duty.

 

[clanless]

You should reap Proverbs more often... there, God speaks about how being lazy and being a sluggard leads to poverty.

MANY things lead to poverty. Laziness is just one tiny reason for it.

 

[Publius]

Last week, Gingrich said that America’s poor children, who live in the poorest places in the nation, have never worked or even been around anybody who has worked.

Such a harsh and alarming comment doesn’t show any understanding, empathy, or experience with poverty, low-income working parents, and how life feels at the bottom when people at the top keep calling you lazy.

I take it you've never been a social worker. I have. I worked in the poorest parts of Camden and Philadelphia. Much as I can't stand Gingrich, he's telling the truth. There are children who are born into a welfare culture who have no idea what it looks like to see a parent go off to work and has no understanding of a world that doesn't revolve around the monthly welfare check.

That's not racist, it's not a lack of understanding, it's not a lack of experience or empathy. It's just the way things are.

The incident seemed more like a scene from one of Trump’s reality shows than a hallmark moment for a Republican who might have hoped to be called a compassionate conservative. Ever.--Jim Wallis

So, it's not compassionate to want to help poor children?

 

[WayTooManyDaves]

MANY things lead to poverty. Laziness is just one tiny reason for it.

Q: How can a lazy person escape poverty?
A: By winning the lottery.

(Although I suppose one possible alternative answer might be "By marrying into money." Then again, that's really the same as winning a lottery, isn't it?)

Hard work won't necessarily get you out of poverty, but 99.999% of the time you won't get out of poverty without it.

Of course, what you say is partly true: There ARE other reasons for poverty besides laziness. But if you can't conquer laziness, none of the other reasons matter.

 

[blankgirl]

The issue is not about the CAUSE. In John 9:3, Jesus discounted the importance of the presence of "sin" that could be a possible 'cause' of someone's blindness, and healed the blind man instead of judging him. He also treated the prostitute with compassion, even though she was obviously in sin (John 8:11).

 

[AgapeBible]

What about people who are disabled and can't work? I can't work becasue of a mental disability, and in this economy it is extremely hard to find a job any way. I would like to go into the business of selling my artwork. My mother also gets a disability check, but she is older, in her early 60's. My dad is old enough for regular social security, but he still works part time sometimes. My parents are by no means lazy and we have some money saved. My parents have always been wise with money. They save money. It takes not only hard work to get out of poverty but brains, if you spend all the money you have or get in debt you will never get out of poverty, you have to save your money.

 

[Rahm]

Conservative Compassion? Conservatives prefer gun rights and military force? Especially first strike? What about forgiving our enemies--and turning the other cheek, and loving our brothers? No Conservatism is anything but survival of the fittest--and those are the ones with cash! It should be one for all and all for one. Of course many do not realize that we all come from a common progenitor--made according to the scriptures in God's image.

 

[dbcsf]

Last week, Gingrich said that America’s poor children, who live in the poorest places in the nation, have never worked or even been around anybody who has worked.

The incident seemed more like a scene from one of Trump’s reality shows than a hallmark moment for a Republican who might have hoped to be called a compassionate conservative. Ever.--Jim Wallis

There are definitely poor people who have had jobs which do not pay well. I have been there myself.

Increasingly there is another breed of poor people growing in number in our society, the "laggards". I know people in my town who collect SSI for "mental retardation" or "ADHD". They are quite capable of working. They are taking the easy way out.

Most Americans are fine with taking care of poor people who are disabled, or elderly. Most Americans are fine with taking care of poor people in a fiscally responsible manner.

I am against taking care of laggards, and of taking care of anybody in a fiscally irresponsible fashion. The current welfare system takes care of both genuinely needy people, and laggards. Increasingly, they are not doing it in a cost effective manner.

Kids learn by example. Kids who have parents who work learn about work. Kids who grow up with laggards for parents become laggards.

I do not have a single parent, grandparent, aunt or uncle who ever took money from the government in the form of welfare, food stamps, or section 8 housing. We have been poor, but we have all turned out ok, and we pay our own bills. This is how we were all raised. This is what was expected of us.

I think we all know Gingrich and Trump enough to know they are not talking about the working poor. They said as much in the piece you quoted. They have respect for people who work, no matter what they earn. I know I do.

They are talking specifically about families who do not know any other lifestyle, citizens who have been bred to be dependent on taxpayers.

I do not know that there are any easy answers. Living in a small country is very different than living in a huge industrialized country. We do require a bureaucracy to act as a middle man, apparently.

I do know that compassionate conservatism does nothing for laggards. They are dispassionately left to fend for themselves.