A couple of days before the inauguration my boss flaps down a column she’s cut out of The Washington Post and says “Here, write something about this, would you?” I read the column, it’s by E.J. Dionne who is notoriously liberal, though he didn’t used to be back when the Post still at least pretended to be a left-leaning newspaper (repeat after me: Woodward and Bernstein) which is largely a screed against President Bush, but Dionne’s remarks about ownership society and the poor jump out at me as relevant to the work the current non-profit does so I write the following:
While President Bush has claimed on numerous occasions to be a uniter not a divider, what is most of interest is his concept of ownership society. He has spoken often of the idea that owning a business, owning a home, and owning stocks will be a boon to public policy. “There’s nothing better than having a society of owners helping to affect the public policy in a positive way, by the way,” Bush said in a May 5, 2003 speech in Little Rock, Arkansas. The question then becomes: how do the poorest of Americans, those Americans who must concentrate their resources to provide for the basic necessities of life – food, shelter, clothing, and healthcare – participate in this ownership society when there is nothing left in their budgets to save for retirement or to buy stocks?
President Bush’s second inaugural address is, as E.J. Dionne points out, an opportunity for him to turn what has heretofore been simply rhetoric into action. On the subject of ownership society Dionne writes,
[President Bush] will never have to face the voters again. He could level with us, admit mistakes and unite our nation. Imagine what Bush could say: … “At home, I have spoken often of an ownership society. I believe devoutly that ownership promotes responsibility. Every American should have a stake in our country. And I ask all of us to acknowledge the barriers that stand in the way of ownership for the poorest members of our society.
“I like to speak plainly, so let’s face it: Poor people can’t save enough or invest because they simply don’t have enough money. They must spend every dime they have to buy food, clothing and shelter for themselves and their children. So instead of pretending that privatizing Social Security will achieve some sort of revolution, I will propose a plan, financed by a partial continuation of the inheritance tax, to have the federal government contribute a specific sum every year to create an ownership fund for every low-income American. Hardworking poor people deserve no less. John F. Kennedy was right: ‘If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.’
It is not enough, though, to look at ways to get poor people involved in ownership society: we must look at what it is about our society and the way it functions that causes poverty. Conferring “ownership” of societal principles and governance based on wealth will only continue to expand the oligarchic character of government in the modern era, a character that is antithetical to the expressed principles of democracy that President Bush espouses around the globe.
While it may be true that there will always be people who have more than others, the basics of life, including full participation in the governance of the country in which you live, should never be a luxury which is doled out based on how much you can pay.
Learn More:
- “What Bush Could Say” by E.J. Dionne, Jr. from Washingtonpost.com (Note: The column may not be available after 01 February 2005)
- Definition: Wikipedia: Ownership Society
- President Bush’s statements on ownership society
About two hours after I send this article out as part of our monthly newsletter mailing I get the following from our receptionist, who has the unfortunate job of going through the “general” e-mail box for the organization:
From: [blanked to protect the moronic]
Sent: Tuesday, February 01, 2005 1:30 PM
To: [blanked to maintain some semblance of privacy]
Subject: [my real name]
I find it rather unfortunate that we let personal political ideals cloud the issues we bring to people to educate them on the ideals of justice.
True justice, in its purest form puts away the indifference an[sic] is concerned for the well being of everyone.
I found it unfortunate that your article ([real title of the article]) was directed towards your personal ideals rather than true justice.
[complaining moron’s name]
Since when did asking questions become “political bias?”
“When you give food to the poor, they call you a saint. When you ask why the poor have no food, they call you a communist.” – Archbishop Helder Camara
I really like the quote from the Archbishop Camara. I had never heard it before, thank you! What I want to know is when talking of helping the poor and disenfranchised became only a left/Democratic issue?