The fate of a nation depends on how it treats its vulnerable members.
When we think of some unfortunate people, we tend to think, “That’s too bad. But it’s not my problem.” This couldn’t be more wrong. It’s everyone’s problem.
There was a time when this was not obvious. Coronavirus changed that. Coronavirus has taught us, with stark clarity, that if one person is sick, we are all at risk.
No one is more unfortunate than the homeless. We need to take care of them for our own protection. We can’t leave the homeless to languish on the streets. They would risk not only contracting the virus themselves, but also spreading the virus throughout the city.
We can’t herd them all into a single facility. They would spread it to each other. That would put an extra burden on the hospitals and the already overburdened doctors and nurses. They must be placed, each individual, in a separate room in a hotel.
There are about 3,114 homeless in Utah. Expensive? That’s too bad, but it’s not — oh, wait!
We were not prepared for coronavirus. We could have been. We were warned. This has been recognized. Could we have been better prepared for the homeless problem? The problem is not merely about those already homeless. The problem is also about those at risk of becoming homeless — renters, for example, the low-income ones. Many of these are on welfare.
If you think they should get off their seats and get a job, I have news for you. They all have a job. They have to have a job in order to have the privilege of getting welfare. At least they did before coronavirus. Does anyone see what’s wrong with that? If they have a job, they shouldn’t need welfare. So who’s really getting the welfare?
There are two minimum wages, one for most jobs, another for those who work for tips. The regular minimum wage is $7.25, and the last time it was raised was in 2009. The wage for "tipped" minimum wage is $2.13, and it hasn't been raised since 1991. We are tolerating this.
Is this our problem? Think about it. Workers are also consumers. When the boss starves his workers, he is starving the entire economy. Rick Hanauer, a successful entrepreneur, says that a minimum wage of $15 would add $45 billion to the economy.
That’s how much we were losing before coronavirus. Businesses were losing it in profits. Government was losing it in taxes. And that’s not all. Thousands of high-tech jobs were unfilled because no one is trained for them. They are high-paying jobs. More lost to the economy.
When things look good for us, we don’t notice how things might be bad for others. A boom economy is good, like a shiny red apple. But there has always been a wormhole in the apple. There are always those left behind.
Among those left behind today are former factory workers and coal miners who have lost their jobs to artificial intelligence and see no hope of getting them back. They take solace in alcohol, drugs and suicide. America turned her back on them. In desperation they voted for the man who now sits in the White House.
The Electoral College tipped the balance. But don’t blame the Electoral College. It wouldn’t have happened if we had cared about those people.
So we got a wrecking ball in the White House. We had it coming. Every day in the papers I see condemnation of that man. But we are no better. And I Include myself. It was St. Paul who said, “Wherein thou judgest another, thou condmnest thyself; for thou that judges does the same things.”
This is as true today as it was then.
But I see hope. The recent nationwide outburst of protests over the police killing of George Floyd was unexpected, but long overdue — by 400 years. When the conscience of America awakens, it makes changes, and it proves that change is possible. And more change is necessary.
Coronavirus can teach us that being our brother’s keeper is protecting ourselves. We have demons to slay. But before we can slay those demons, we need to confront our own inner demons.
Leon Johnson is a resident of West Valley City. He is a member of the Pioneer Park Coalition.
from The Salt Lake Tribune https://ift.tt/3b7ihWu
August 28, 2020 at 06:45AM
0 Comments