At this point it is still too soon to tell the effect of President Barack Obama's address Tuesday on consumer confidence and on the economy as a whole. While we won't know how well his words worked for a while, I think something is immediately clear. He got it right when he said, "You don't need to hear another list of statistics to know that our economy is in crisis because you live it every day." In this simple statement of the obvious, I think Obama hinted, probably unintentionally, at something that should be no less obvious but sadly seems to be. People are what matter.
The numbers are unavoidable. The numbers of jobs lost. The number of dollars the government is going to pump into the economy. The figures are big and scary and are splashed across the papers everyday. But they're just numbers. Big, yes, and scary too. But underneath these sky high numbers are people who are becoming dirt poor. People, like you and me, or maybe not so much like you or me.
Politicians sometimes get so caught up in trying to find a solution to a problem they lose sight of why a problem is a problem. The recession itself isn't the problem. It is only a problem because of the hardships it creates for people. The economy is composed of people. We created it. Strangely though, we don't have full control over it. Still, it's inaccurate to think we don't have any control over it. It's more dangerous still to let it control us, as I think happens on occasion. The reason we have to stimulate the economy is so that it will function in a way that benefits people once again. If our end goal is to benefit people, then it logically follows that our means of achieving such an end should, at the very least, not ignore people.
This isn't to say that people won't have to sacrifice or they're won't be suffering in the short term to ensure long-term prosperity. Sacrifice is necessary because we were living beyond our means before, but sacrifice doesn't mean giving up life's necessities. Just because the times are bad doesn't mean that people should suffer from a lack of food. I think it is shameful that hunger exists at all in America. It is particularly concerning, though not at all surprising, to me though that it would increase during the recession. How can we let people go without sustenance in a country of such wealth? I understand many people's hesitancy to turn to the government to solve social problems based on the phenomenon of freeloaders. I don't deny that discretion is necessary. But really, shouldn't adequate nutrition be a right guaranteed to everyone?
I want to point out a vivid example of what I mean when I urge people not to forget the point in all this. The reason for the economy in the first place is to better humanity. It ultimately fuels growth. The point of the economy is thus to serve people.
Recently New Mexico's largest school district instituted a new food program. Children who don't qualify for free meals, but whose parents have stopped paying the charge for school lunches because they can't afford it, are now being served an alternative lunch consisting of a cold cheese sandwich, fruit and milk. Many other schools have taken similar measures. To be sure, I'm glad these schools are still providing meals at all because apparently not all districts provide meals to children without money, which is a true injustice that requires an immediate remedy.
Still, this alternative lunch program is punishing children for being poor. It is humiliating for children to be pulled out of the hot lunch line and given the cold lunch in front of their friends. But even without taking into account the psychological impact, doesn't this seem wrong? I'm not saying that schools should provide a gourmet lunch to every child but something substantial at least.
The problem lies with those who fall between the cracks-those whose parents haven't lost quite enough yet to qualify for free meals, but who nonetheless can't afford them. More must be done to help these people. No child should have to go hungry. The ramifications go beyond the immediate stomach pains. Hunger negatively impacts children's attention spans and their education suffers. Education is the key to getting a decent-paying job. In the current system, in order to get out of the cycle of poverty, one must, it seems, not get in it in the first place. This, of course, is illogical.
This country was founded on the belief that everyone should have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Isn't the right to food included in a right to life? Isn't having a body that isn't crippled by hunger a prerequisite to all of these? We have our high-minded principles, which we pay lip-service to on a daily basis. On what foundation do they stand? I must echo the sentiment Obama expressed Tuesday when he said, "It's about helping people." Again, this is simple and not particularly insightful, but sometimes it's unintentionally forgotten. We can have our lofty principles only if we remember people created them and without people they are nothing.
The point is that we must endure and persevere. But more importantly, we must not let a changing economy encumber our humanity or our mutual obligation to one another. Food production must continue at the same levels. Cars are a luxury. And bad cars are an environmental hazard. Automobile production can (and probably should) be curtailed. That will mean job cuts in that industry and the pain that comes with it. That is why we need the economic stimulus to create new jobs. We have been making too many cars, particularly too many with bad fuel mileage. The market is setting the industry straight, but we haven't been producing too much food. We don't need fewer farmers. Not only is hunger a global problem, but also it exists right in our own home. So what we must really prevent is the recession from affecting industries that don't need to be reconciled with the market. We can't let fear drive the spiral of recession downward. It's ridiculous really. Yes, banks were foolish in lending money for people to buy homes they couldn't afford. And, yes, the ripple across the market was real enough. But while we might not control the economy, we don't need to let it control us. We need to step back and realize we don't need the economy. I don't mean this literally, of course. But really, the economy can only fall so far. We won't allow it to send us back to the Stone Age, so it's not necessary to panic. I'm not saying times aren't hard. I'm not denying there's a "crisis." But what I'm saying is, if people would take a step back, take a deep breath and think-not harder, but in a simpler, broader way-then maybe they'd see what I see. Maybe they'd relax and the economy could stabilize and turn itself around.
In the meantime, the government must do everything within its power to ensure the welfare of its people. Some spend too much time worrying about number balancing. While the economy is fickle, it will be righted eventually. Then the government can recoup all it must now spend. But the numbers part of the equation is what concerns me least of all. If the whole world is suffering from the dropping numbers, then why doesn't the world collectively write it off? No, this isn't possible. But do you see what I mean? Numbers have meaning only because we, as people, have assigned them meaning. The devil is not coming to collect on national debts at the apocalypse. It's not the end of the world if the numbers don't balance. But it could be the end of someone's world if a child is made to go hungry because her parents can't afford lunch and the government won't provide it because the numbers won't quite work.
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