Jesus Christ would be crucified Today.

In 1940, Woody Guthrie wrote a song about Jesus Christ. In it, he describes Jesus as a carpenter, who helped the sick, poor, hungry and hurt. He describes him as a man who trumpeted the poor, who went to the law and preachers of his era and told them to sell their riches and give it to the poor, and was crucified for it.

I know it's trendy to talk about how Republican policies often contradict much of what Christ stood for, despite being cozy with the religious right, but this isn't a new criticism of politicians. It's important to understand that much of what we consider progressive, the first New Deal, was actually a huge bailout for big businesses. It had nothing to do with helping the little guy. It's the same criticism modern progressive level against the bank bailouts, and it's absolutely true. That first New Deal was all about saving the hides of businessmen. That's why FDR was so heavily criticized. He was criticized by Huey Long. He was criticized by Upton Sinclair. And he was criticized by artists like Woody Guthrie.

Jesus Christ was a man who traveled through the land
Hard working man and brave
He said to the rich, "Give your goods to the poor."
So they laid Jesus Christ in his grave.
Jesus was a man, a carpenter by hand
His followers true and brave
One dirty little coward called Judas Iscariot
Has laid Jesus Christ in his grave
He went to the sick, he went to the poor,
And he went to the hungry and the lame;
Said that the poor would one day win this world,
And so they laid Jesus Christ in his grave.

He went to the preacher, he went to the sheriff,
Told them all the same;
Sell all of your jewelry and give it to the Poor,
But they laid Jesus Christ in his grave.
When Jesus came to town, the working folks around,
Believed what he did say;
The bankers and the preachers they nailed him on a cross,
And they laid Jesus Christ in his grave.
Poor working people, they follered him around,
Sung and shouted gay;
Cops and the soldiers, they nailed him in the air,
And they nailed Jesus Christ in his grave.

Well the people held their breath when they heard about his death,
And everybody wondered why;
It was the landlord and the soldiers that he hired.
That nailed Jesus Christ in the sky.
When the love of the poor shall one day turn to hate.
When the patience of the workers gives away
"Would be better for you rich if you never had been born"
So they laid Jesus Christ in his grave.
This song was written in New York City
Of rich men, preachers and slaves
Yes, if Jesus was to preach like he preached in Galillee,
They would lay Jesus Christ in his grave.

The problems we have today aren't new and the hypocrisies of our politicians isn't novel. FDR was no saint. And most politicians would find Christ's demands unreasonable. Still, for much of what Woody was singing about, I'm a Christian.

When did we forget these important lessons?

When did we begin to believe it was fair to tax the richest less, and tax the less fortunate more?

When did we begin to believe that self deportation was an answer, when it really causes the economy to shrink dramatically?

When did we begin to believe it was okay to cut tax exemptions on the middle class to raise revenue?
When did we start electing officials that want to tax the least most, and the most least?

When did we decide it was okay to start imprisoning the poor in debtors prisons again?

When did we decide it was fine to work people like slaves, providing them no job or personal security?

When did we forget the Jeffersonian emphasis on small landowners, and put their political power in the hands of big business?

The modern debate, the modern era, is caught up now in the great political debate of our generation. To whom does the political power of the United States belong? Does it belong to the wealthiest few, hiding behind shadowy organizations and contributing untold amounts to their anointed candidates? Does it belong to their corporations and the donations they make? Should the future of the United States belong in the hands of a few dozen wealthy?

Because if so, then this is not the America envisioned by Jefferson and the founding fathers. Government may have not been intended to interfere greatly in business, but neither was business meant to interfere greatly in government. Today, it seems as if only one half of that statement is heard in America. While corporations loudly balk at any notion of oversight, they pay piddling wages, demand longer hours and exploit the neediest for more. All along, they continue to interfere in government, contributing dollar after dollar. The same dollars that are being generated by the workers they overlook.

No, businesses are neither inherently evil nor good, but where their actions infringe on the natural rights of the people, then the government that the people enacted to protect them should take up their cause. Government is not only an abstract entity, controlled by homogenous groups that do not differentiate. If that were true, then it would not matter to your tax rate who was voted into office. If would not matter to whom you entrusted your health care, or who decided the availability of your contraception. If government was entirely homogenous, the way in which institutional bodies treated you on the basis of your skin color would be equal either way. If government was entirely homogenous, your ability to see a loved one in the hospital, on the basis of your sexual orientation, would be the same either way.

But it is not, will not be, because government is not homogenous. It is not abstract, it is your vote in action, it is your voice. In this year we make a decision for four years. Will we imprison the least of us for the crime of being poor? Will we raise taxes on those with the least and reduce health care benefits to those who need it, simply to create more wealth for the wealthiest?

This is America. A land of opportunity, a land of visions and a land of dreams. There are people who scoff at those who cling to ideals, who dare to dream. There are those who laugh at the notion of hope. Without the ideals, what is America? Americans who dream, who hope, do not hope for free rides. They do not hope for free money. They hope for a chance to better themselves, to work hard and be paid justly for their effort. They hope to live without government telling them who they love is wrong, or telling them they have to sacrifice in order to give the wealthiest more.

This is an America whose Hope is to achieve, to succeed and provide for its children. This is an America that does not want to be judged on the basis of its skin color, its gender or its orientation. This is the America that hopes, that dreams, that sees the best it can be. Its people do not always agree with one another, but they understand that to tolerate diversity is a strength, not a weakness.
This is an America that defies the old stereotypes. Because more than once in history, people have been accused of growing weak for tolerating different races and ideas. It was the accusation against Italy and Spain, and was the same accusation made against the colonists in New England. These were times when to associate with people of different color and background meant that you weakened yourself. We no longer believe these things. So why bring back up these old accusations and prejudices? Why resort to centuries old lies?

Because one group has ideals, and dreams, and seeks answers. Another has only the old lies that have bound people for centuries. America's greatest moments were not built on the backs of those who refused to move forward, but on the backs of those who labored for one another, who helped each other to progress. These people argued for change, argued for better treatment, argued for equality. We are children of that spirit, and we will either pass on that torch to another generation, or quietly accept the voice of stagnation and decline. The choice, as always, is ours.

Texas Lost: Homeless Children and the Education they won't Receive

If you haven't had a chance to read the Texas Republicans' stance on minimum wage, I don't blame you. It's written into their party platform, which is a frightening piece of writing containing stances that were current about a century ago. Fortunately, their position on it is brief and easily repeatable here:

"Minimum Wage – We believe the Minimum Wage Law should be repealed."

What's truly unfortunate about Texas Republicans is that they aren't the only group of Republicans trying to swim away from providing better wages to the least fortunate. While the Democratic Party is busy trying to help those in need with better wages, Republicans are literally driving away from any constituents bothering to ask about higher payments.

However, while debates about minimum wage and the economy seem to be little more than political games for Republicans to pander to their constituents over, there are some very stark realities for those living in Texas who are barely getting by. From Galveston today:
 
"Lailani is one of about 650 homeless students beginning their second week of classes in the Galveston school district. Almost 10 percent of the district's students have been identified as homeless.

While Galveston's situation is unusual because of the lingering effects of Hurricane Ike, the number of homeless students is increasing nationally and in Texas even as resources to help those students dwindle.

.....

Over the past four years the national number increased by 57 percent, to about 2 million, and by 151 percent in Texas, to about 85,000, said Ralph da Costa Nunez, president of the Institute for Children, Poverty and Homelessness in New York."

Previously discussed has been the growing situation in Texas in which education funds have been slashed at both the K-12 and collegiate level, as well as the cuts to healthcare and services for the poorest. This has combined with a growing number of homeless. In Galveston, that number reaches nearly ten percent, and leads to a situation in which individuals are nomadic, without steady social support or opportunities for education.

Lack of housing that stems from underpayment combines with a lack of social services, forcing families into a nomadic lifestyle. Children are forced to move schools multiple times, providing little consistency. Meanwhile, the schools they do attend are likely to have become victim of Texas' cruel budget cuts, providing substandard education services to those already on the margins of society.

Senator Jane Nelson wrote recently that 115,000 Texas receive aid as part of TANF, welfare to the neediest few. That's less than 1% of the population, in a state with some of the harshest requirements to get on welfare. For many in this state, that leaves them in limbo, unable to receive assistance, underpaid, and forced to stay on the move.

Texas is creating an entire generation of underserviced, undereducated citizens. This wouldn't be new for Texas, which has one of the worst graduation rates in the entire country, and also has a higher rate of drop outs than the national average.

This leads to some simple questions Texas politicians have to answer. What are the effects of having ten percent of our population earning minimum wage, and another large percentage earning less than their peers, nationally? Because the effects are systemic. Lower paying jobs means less revenue gathered by the state, leading to less social services. This in turn creates situations like poor Lailani's, in which she must stay nomadic, on the go without hope of any proper education. This in turn will create a new generation of low wage, undereducated earners that will reduce Texas' prospects in the coming era.

It's strange that, nationally, Republicans are hoping to emulate the Texas model by slashing public services while cutting taxes to big business. Rick Perry and the Republican party have already done that, and the result, which we're seeing develop before our very eyes, is a lost generation of Texans. In ten years, when Texas is floundering in a sea of of welfare applicants, it will only have itself to look at. Welfare isn't something that people seek out because it's their highest aspiration, but is instead something created by bad policies and mismanagement of resources. Texas has done that in spades. Will national Republicans keep trying to do the same?

Texas' Recovering Economy that Leaves People Behind

Today in the Houston Chronicle, there was an interesting article about a young woman named Tameka Morris who completed her nursing degree in 2010. Following her completion, she'd hoped to capitalize on it and join the ranks of the professional field. Unfortunately:

"Since graduating in May, however, she's been unable to capitalize on her education. Employers want more experience than she had accumulated, or job opportunities were too far away for her to consider because of transportation issues.

The single mother survives by working two to three temporary home health jobs. In a good month, she earns about $900."

There are a few issues that spring to mind just in reading this small quote. Employers have long been demanding levels of experience at cheap wages, especially since the beginning of the recent recession. Of course, there's also the issue of transportation. While Republicans have put a halt on the construction of infrastructure in the name of budgeting, they've affected the lives of people like Tameka Morris. Time and again, Texas has seen resistance to the construction of new transportation methods like next generation rail systems. Houston is, fortunately, internally developing its own system. However, there are still people, like Tameka, waiting in the wings. There's an even greater half truth hidden in this story, however.

"In the wake of the recession, 41 percent of households headed by single women with children live in poverty - nearly triple the national poverty rate, according to 2010 census data.

And while the economy in Texas has recovered more quickly than in the rest of the country, the state's single mother poverty rate is just as high at 42 percent." (Emphasis added.)

Going back to the early days of the Perry campaign, we've seen these claims of Texas' strong economy and how well it's doing. However, for individuals like Tameka, there is no change. A lack of investment in infrastructure is only one problem that lower income workers are facing. It is true, of course, that Texas is one of the leading states in job growth. The state nearly doubled the nation in the growth of non-agricultural jobs.

However, it is not only the growth of jobs, but the quality of the jobs grown that is important. In that respect, Texas has not been on the cutting edge of development. Time and again the claim has been made that Texas somehow has done wonders for its citizens by slashing taxes on business and by removing protections from workers. Never mind that Rick Perry and the state legislature did this by slashing the education budget, one of the surefire ways of crippling your states future viability.

Texas closed its budget by removing funding for both public education facilities and higher education. Those attending the neediest schools were left with even less resources, and those with the least ability to pay for college were left wondering what to do with their futures. Its graduation rate in high school is one of the worst in the country, ranked somewhere between 46th and 50th, depending on who you consult. Its college graduation rate, however, is indisputably poor, topping out around 50% for four year college attendees. Meanwhile, health and human services, as well as medicaid operators, were left with drastically slashed budgets.

What was the goal of such drastic reduction of aid to the poorest in the population? Was this truly in the name of good business? Because if so, Texas took up the wrong business plan. Nearly ten percent of the state is employed at the minimum wage rate, and many Texas earn less money than their peers around the country working in the same jobs.

So Texas politicians expect the citizens of the state to believe that worse paying jobs, backed by an underfunded education systems and lack of safety nets for the neediest citizens, is somehow the key to the future? Where is the logic? Where is the passion for the state's people? There is a future coming, one in which the great nations of this earth are investing heavily into next generation technologies and resources. We are seeing the advent of new types of cars and energy production, and that wave of technological development isn't awaiting in some flighty, science fiction future. It's here, it's coming now, and will be maturing within a few years. Can Texas honestly expect to be competitive in that realm when its doesn't bother to educate its future generations properly, and funnels its citizens into low paying jobs without any support?

The state, instead, looks to continue a trend of generating underemployed citizens with few options. Women like Tameka Morris are an unfortunate part of the new Texas underclass, a group of skilled individuals who cannot find adequately paying employment due to a variety of circumstances, and who find themselves without the necessary social supports to live safely month to month.