Deep Thoughts

I had a very interesting conversation with Brandon on our way back from dinner tonight. I don't remember exactly how we got on the subject, but we were talking about free public education and how everyone in our country should be able to get an education through 12th grade for free. He was surprised that we weren't paying for him to go to school, to which I replied that, well, everybody pays in the form of taxes, and I launched into an explanation of property tax and property worth.

I mentioned something about poor kids even getting the chance to have an education and he was surprised that there were poor kids. I was surprised that he didn't notice this before. I guess he has always gone to school with kids in the same socio-economic class. He said "What do you mean about poor kids? I thought everyone started out the same. With the same money." I was floored. I have seen some of the most poverty-stricken areas of America, but my son was oblivious.

He said, "When I grow up I'm going to get a good job and have lots of money so I can buy a big house. Then I'll let poor people live with me." I was speechless. My "mom instinct" took over and I told him that you just can't invite anyone to live with you -- that's dangerous because you don't know who they are or if they are good or bad. But then I was struck by my own socio-economic prejudice that I've been struggling with lately. I don't want Brandon growing up thinking that people are poor because they are lazy or they don't find their "manifest destiny" in this great country of ours. Truth be told, most people are poor because of circumstances beyond their control. Sure, there are a lot of people who don't take advantage of the school system (quality system or not) and there are those who have made terrible choices in their lives and are now suffering for them. There are droves and droves of people who just don't know how to "get a leg up" in this world. However, from time to time, I feel that "if you'd just get a job you'd be all right" mentality kicking in.

When I was working for the DA's office, I was very surprised to see how many people just can't make it due to mental deficits, either in IQ or mental illness. If you think about the "average person" and if you believe in the bell curve, there are just as many below-average people as there are above-average people. What is a person with an IQ of 70 going to do? If you have a below-average IQ, you're not going to do well in society. So many of the juveniles on my delinquent docket hovered around the 70 IQ mark. They had no interest in school. Some of them worked.

But think about it -- our poor get trapped in a system that penalizes them for working. People can get more money in government assistance than they can getting a minimum wage job. Most people know how to get social security disability -- you apply, get denied, then reapply and you are accepted. If you get a $6.00/hr. job and work full time, that's only $960 a month, before any payroll deductions. That's less than $12,000 a year. How are you supposed to live, eat, clothe yourself on $960 a month? What if you have children? How do you go to a doctor that requires you to pay up front? Gas money? Car payment? Savings? Retirement? Medicine?

So - I'm ranting -- back to "what do I tell my 9 year old son about poor people?" Well, I told him that poor people are not bad; that some are poor because there are things they can't control, and we shouldn't think that because someone is poor that they have done something wrong. And I left it at that.