As Donald Trump launches his presidential campaign today, the Circle of Protection is asking him what he would do to help hungry and poor people if elected.
Poverty
Adam Ericksen 6-14-2015
American Pharoah ridden by jockey Victor Espinoza wins the Triple Crown at Belmont on June 6. Photo by Diana Robinson/Flickr.com
After winning the Triple Crown, American Pharoah’s jockey, Victor Espinoza, showed that he doesn’t live in fear of losing his power. And, as opposed to the Egyptian Pharaoh, he showed he has a soft heart for those who are suffering.
Espinoza reportedly earned $80,000 for his victory at the Belmont Stakes and he’s giving it all away. “I won the Triple Crown right now,” he stated, “but I don’t make any money because I’m donating all the money to the City of Hope.” The City of Hope is a cancer research and treatment center. Espinoza also donates his time at the City of Hope, visiting with children struck by cancer. He says, “The kids [are] 6 years old, 10 years old, it’s just heartbreaking.” Why does he do it? “I just saw one kid with the disease and that’s how I changed my life. I changed the way I think. Pretty much I changed everything … the first change I made was in my heart.”
6-08-2015
As Lincoln Chafee begins his presidential campaign, the Circle of Protection is asking him what he would do to help and provide opportunity for hungry and poor people if elected.
6-08-2015
The Circle of Protection today asked Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry what he would do to help and provide opportunity for hungry and poor people if elected.
Rosie Scammell, Religion News Service 6-03-2015
Pope Francis speaks at the Vatican on June 3, 2015. Photo via Alessandro Di Meo / Catholic News Service / RNS
Pope Francis praised poor families and their ability to “save society from barbarity,” on June 3, at a general audience at St. Peter’s Square in which he also named war and individualism as twin evils.
Addressing crowds of followers undeterred by the hot summer weather, the pope urged them to “kneel before these poor families.”
“They are a real school of humanity and they save society from barbarity,” he said.
6-01-2015
As Lindsey Graham begins his presidential campaign, the Circle of Protection is asking him what he would do to provide help and opportunity for hungry and poor people if elected.
6-01-2015
As Martin O’Malley begins his presidential campaign, the Circle of Protection is asking him what he would do to provide help and opportunity for hungry and poor people if elected.
5-29-2015
As George Pataki launches his presidential campaign, the Circle of Protection is asking him what he would do to provide help and opportunity for hungry and poor people if elected.
5-27-2015
As Rick Santorum launches his presidential campaign, the Circle of Protection is asking him what he would do to provide help and opportunity for hungry and poor people if elected.
5-26-2015
We are all poorer because of the 45 million people who live in poverty. It is possible to change this picture, but first we must change our consciousness.
5-26-2015
For those of us who are Christians, let's make that choice--between the theology of Fox and the theology of Jesus.
Jim Wallis 5-21-2015
During a broad conversation on how to overcome poverty at Georgetown University last week, President Barack Obama made a few comments about how Fox News talks about poor people. Here’s what he said:
“ … over the last 40 years, sadly, I think there’s been an effort to either make folks mad at folks at the top, or to be mad at folks at the bottom. And I think the effort to suggest that the poor are sponges, leeches, don’t want to work, are lazy, are undeserving, got traction. … I have to say that if you watch Fox News on a regular basis, it is a constant menu — they will find folks who make me mad … They’re like, I don’t want to work, I just want a free Obama phone — or whatever. And that becomes an entire narrative … very rarely do you hear an interview of a waitress — which is much more typical — who’s raising a couple of kids and is doing everything right but still can’t pay the bills.
Bet Olson 5-21-2015
Shirley, an employee at Dignity Coconuts. Photo courtesy of Dignity.
I love the story of Shirley. Her family was struggling to survive in the Philippines—a nation plagued with poverty and modern-day slavery. Her husband Ramir took whatever small jobs he could to help the family, but without land, his only options were to work helping on a rice farm or a fishing boat. The pay was irregular and unsustainable, so he made the tough choice to look for work in a bigger city and send money back to Shirley and their three kids. Shirley applied to work at Dignity. She was skeptical as she had never worked with a team and doubted her abilities. When Dignity hired her, it changed her life and her family. Shirley was able to make a consistent income from Dignity. The cycle of poverty and human trafficking was stopped in its tracks.
the Web Editors 5-20-2015
Image via Dan Holm/shutterstock.com
The city council of Los Angeles agreed to draft a plan to raise the city's minimum wage to $15 on Tuesday, the LA Times reports.
The plan would raise minimum wage by $6 — from $9 an hour to $15 — by 2020 for some 800,000 workers.
Not all are in favor of the plan, according to the LA Times:
The council’s decision is part of a broader national effort to alleviate poverty, said Maria Elena Durazo, former head of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor. Raising the wage in L.A., she said, will help spur similar increases in other parts of the country.
Some labor leaders have expressed dissatisfaction with the gradual timeline elected leaders set for raising base wages. But on Tuesday the harshest criticism of the law came from business groups, which warned lawmakers that the mandate would force employers to lay off workers or leave the city altogether.
“The very people [council members’] rhetoric claims to help with this action, it's going to hurt,” said Ruben Gonzalez, the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce’s senior vice president for public policy and political affairs.
Los Angeles joins Chicago, San Francisco, and Seattle in raising the wage in recent months. Read more here.
Jarrod McKenna 5-19-2015
Image via Ollyy/shutterstock.com
So our First Home Project car was stolen, and was recently found by the police. (Yay!)
Unfortunately it now has more graffiti in it than a public toilet. (Booo.)
We use it to teach people how to drive so they can get a job and build a new life. (Yay!!!)
Judging by the damage to the car's front, side, and back, looks like these young locals could have done with a few driving lessons themselves. (Booo.)
Fortunately the spare tire is still in the boot. (Yay!)
Unfortunately it's now covered in what looks like dry blood. (Booo. ...And a serious amount of "What the!?!" and "Lord have mercy!")
5-15-2015
This week, Washington saw a high-profile example of another new way conservative evangelicals and Catholics are teaming up in public more — a summit around poverty.
Rosie Scammell, Religion News Service 5-15-2015
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, right. Photo via REUTERS / Alessandro Bianchi / RNS
Caritas Internationalis, the global Catholic charitable organization, has elected Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle as its new president, just months after the up-and-coming prelate welcomed Pope Francis to the Philippines.
Tagle, sometimes dubbed “the Asian Francis,” was elected on May 14 by delegates attending Caritas’ general assembly in Rome. He is the first Asian president of the organization and takes over from Honduran Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, another Francis confidant, who served two terms as Caritas chief.
Greg Williams 5-14-2015
Image via Kukhmar/shutterstock.com
Robert Putnam, who spoke this Monday at Georgetown for the Catholic-Evangelical Summit on Overcoming Poverty, gives a great stump speech for poor kids who are falling through the cracks in our society. So much so that moderator John Carr described Putnam as an Old Testament prophet with charts — Isaiah, with a good grasp of Powerpoint.
Our culture has been terrible at providing opportunities to poor children. Putnam’s data finds that poor children have fewer chances to do well in school and less parental involvement, and are generally isolated from society and even from church. With this background, we shouldn’t be surprised that children who are born into poverty have trouble finishing college and building a stable, prosperous life.
Putnam calls this the "chief moral crisis of our time."
President Obama appeared at Georgetown University on May 12, 2015. Photo via Georgetown University / RNS
The African-American boy who grew up without a father, who started his work life as a community organizer on the payroll of a Catholic agency, and who later became U.S. president had plenty to say about poverty in our “winner-take-all” economy.
President Obama spoke May 12 of “ladders of opportunity” once denied to blacks and now being dismantled for poor whites as their difficult lives get that much more difficult.
“It’s hard being poor. It’s time-consuming. It’s stressful,” he said.
Obama joined two policy voices from the left and right in a rare moment of participating in a panel discussion, part of a three-day symposium at Georgetown University on combating poverty. The audience of 700 included 120 Catholic and evangelical leaders.
5-12-2015
Whenever President Barack Obama wades into the debate over the causes of poverty, he often encounters critics at both ends of the ideological spectrum.