Christmas finds half of Americans can’t eat to live, while rich enjoying holidays

DEADWOOD, Ore. – They wish someone would give them enough food so they can “eat to live,” but being homeless and without a job has become a sad way of life for many in Oregon and throughout the nation today just nine days before Christmas.

“I think Santa would be angry at them when we are poor,” said a 46-year-old out of work logger, named Scott, outside his tent here in Deadwood, where his family and dozens of others along a river bank can’t eat to live. Down the road is another family living rough in a tent by a stream just nine days before Christmas. Life is very hard for those who don’t have means for a proper Christmas here in the deep woods of western Oregon; while this state still has the dubious title of having the highest number of unemployed and homeless in the nation. In turn, Scott quips that right now, on Dec. 16, 2011, it’s hardly a time to say something like “Merry Christmas.” Meanwhile, the rich in nearby Eugene and other locations around the country -- where there’s heat and shelter – are enjoying the good life over this Christmas season while not wanting to face the holiday “buzz kill” that so many are suffering.

Poor died a risk factor for those who can’t eat to live

The big health concern for these folks living rough around Eugene – “as it gets colder, damp and rainy outside is simply getting enough in them each day,” explains Brenda, an “Occupy Eugene” protester from nearby Eugene who’s now helping to feed the hungry here in Deadwood on a frosty Thursday.

Brenda then turns silent. “If anyone out there can help the poor this Christmas, at least give them some good food to eat.”

In turn, this 60-something volunteer composes herself for a long day ahead of making the rounds to bring food and a bit of joy to those who’ve become “invisible” in today’s society.

“We bring them lots of bread, bottled water and fruit that the stores donate. But it’s never enough,” added Brenda during a recent Huliq interview.

Cenus warns America in trouble

The U.S. Census reported shocking news Dec. 15 that “nearly half of Americans are now considered to be poor or low-income. That news is “causing real concern in our community where we’re trying to help the homeless, but we know if the Republicans get in they want to cut food stamps and emergency aid for these people.”

“Squeezed by rising living costs, a record number of Americans — nearly 1 in 2 — have fallen into poverty or are scraping by on earnings that classify them as low income,” reported usnews.com Dec. 16, while also noting how the latest census data “depict a middle class that's shrinking as unemployment stays high and the government's safety net frays. The new numbers follow years of stagnating wages for the middle class that have hurt millions of workers and families.”

Meanwhile, there's been no love, compassion or empathy from the so-called Republican "Rat Pack" that's making a run for the White House by spending billions on ads to persuade voters in Iowa and other states that they have the right stuff to lead America.

"They give no quarter to anyone but the rich they protect," states one hand-made sign that hangs on a huge Douglas Fir tree here in Deadwood that's become a sort of "Christmas Tree" for the local homeless who exist "off the grid" and in fear of police in nearby Eugene who are begining to crack down even harder on the local "Occupy Eugene" protest site that's also become a camp for area homeless.

GOP aiming to hurt poor even more

One doesn’t have to go any further than listing to the Tea Party’s Michele Bachmann who noted that “No one owes you a living,” while echoing the Republican party view that the government must stop handouts for the poor.

"Safety net programs such as food stamps and tax credits kept poverty from rising even higher in 2010, but for many low-income families with work-related and medical expenses, they are considered too 'rich' to qualify," said Sheldon Danziger, a University of Michigan public policy professor who specializes in poverty -- in a usnews.com Dec. 16 report -- while Danziger had more to say about things to come in this country as the poor population grows.

"The reality is that prospects for the poor and the near poor are dismal," Danziger added. "If Congress and the states make further cuts, we can expect the number of poor and low-income families to rise for the next several years."

In turn, usnews.com noted how Congressional Republicans and Democrats “are sparring over legislation that would renew a Social Security payroll tax cut,” part of a year-end political showdown over economic priorities that could also trim unemployment benefits, freeze federal pay and reduce entitlement spending.

However, the Republicans are aiming to cut more from social programs that aid the poor; even while more than 60 million Americans won’t have any sort of merry Christmas this year or next year, or the year after that, adds Brenda who says “we can’t find enough food to feed all these people.” And she added, “this is just one place outside of Eugene in the forests of Deadwood.”

Christmas finds record number of Americans in “real emergencies”

Robert Rector, a senior research fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation, questioned whether some people classified as poor or low-income actually suffer material hardship. He said that while safety-net programs have helped many Americans, they have gone too far, citing poor people who live in decent-size homes, drive cars and own wide-screen TVs.

"There's no doubt the recession has thrown a lot of people out of work and incomes have fallen. As we come out of recession, it will be important that these programs promote self-sufficiency rather than dependence and encourage people to look for work,” explained Robert Rector, a senior research fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation in a Dec. 16 usnews.com report.

In turn, Rector doesn’t buy the GOP view that the poor in America “live in decent-size homes, drive cars and own wide-screen TVs.”

In fact, usnews.com reported that “mayors in 29 cities say more than 1 in 4 people needing emergency food assistance did not receive it. Many middle-class Americans are dropping below the low-income threshold — roughly $45,000 for a family of four — because of pay cuts, a forced reduction of work hours or a spouse losing a job. Housing and child-care costs are consuming up to half of a family's income.”

People “can’t live like this”

The struggling Americans include Jimmy Brower and his three kids who live in a barn near Deadwood. “My wife died, and I have these kids to support. When she was alive she joked that we’d have a Christmas like Jesus did in a barn.”

“I can’t live like this,” added Brower, while his oldest son Jeff, 18, now walks the nearby highway collecting cans and bottles for the 5 cent deposit. In turn, Jeff says “it’s getting cold out there to do it,” while pointing to an injured arm after getting clipped by a passing truck the other day when he was desperate to find enough bottles and cans to “maybe get some Christmas things.”

“About 97.3 million Americans fall into a low-income category, commonly defined as those earning between 100 and 199 percent of the poverty level, based on a new supplemental measure by the Census Bureau that is designed to provide a fuller picture of poverty. Together with the 49.1 million who fall below the poverty line and are counted as poor, they number 146.4 million, or 48 percent of the U.S. population. That's up by 4 million from 2009, the earliest numbers for the newly developed poverty measure,” added the usnews.com report, while stating how this “new measure of poverty takes into account medical, commuting and other living costs. Doing that helped push the number of people below 200 percent of the poverty level up from 104 million, or 1 in 3 Americans, that was officially reported in September.”

GOP members have food, health care and money

Brenda and other “Occupy Eugene” protesters and homeless caregivers take issue with those GOP and Tea Party members who decry “Obama Care” when they have health care, food to eat, money in the bank while enjoying the good life this Christmas making cookies, shopping until they drop and boozing it big time.

In turn, Catholic Online stated Dec. 16 that in addition to Oregon – with the highest unemployment (some communities here have 20 to 30 percent of the community without work) and homeless, other states, such as “Arizona, New Mexico and South Carolina, along with states in the South and West had the highest share of low-income families. By raw numbers, such poor families were most numerous in California and Texas, each with more than 1 million.”

Moreover, Catholic Online noted that “children were most likely to be poor or low-income, about 57 percent followed by seniors over 65. By race and ethnicity, Hispanics topped the list at 73 percent, followed by blacks, Asians and non-Hispanic white. Also, housing and child-care costs are consuming up to half of a family’s income.”

While the GOP warns that it must cut government spending – with the poor the likely target for welfare and social security cuts when the Republicans hope to take the White House, the Senate and the House for their proposed “hat trick,” the result, say homeless volunteers such as Brenda here in Deadwood, is “pure horror during this Christmas and into the new year.”

“I know those numbskulls running for president said they will have the last word when it comes to cutting government. But I will tell you this – love, it’s the final word because these are people, children and isn’t this Christmas we’re talking about?

Image source of a Charles Dickens character that is loathsome and hungry without food or proper shelter over Christmas; from an 1870 illustration that mirrors today’s poor in America. Photo courtesy Wikipedia

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