Over the last few years it has been a struggle to have a
good Christmas. Every year there seems
to be less and less money, and everything costs more and more. However difficult the last few years were for
us it is nothing compared to what thousands of families in the US are going
through this year. When you have to choose
between being able to feed your child and giving them a special toy food is
going to win. So there are going to be
even more children than ever needing a Christmas hamper with food and gifts,
and fewer than ever people donating.
It is not greed that is keeping people from donating, but
simply lack of funds. Most people like
being able to do something special, like donating a food item or toy around
Christmas. After all giving is the
reason for the season, and it is better to give then to get at times. When you have to cut back often giving to
others is the first thing to go. How can
you justify giving to others if you have to take it out of your own kids mouths. It is hard to give away food if it means your
child goes hungry. It is hard to buy a
gift to donate when you are struggling to buy something for your own kids.
That does not mean there are not people out there who could
donate. Many people do, but even they
have their limits. So donations are
going to be less, simply because fewer people are donating and donations are
smaller. But even if donations were the
same as they were 5 years ago it would still not meet the need this year. The demand has gone way up all thanks to the
food stamp cut back. It may not seem
like a lot of money to take away from a family, but the reality of it is the
people were barely surviving with the food stamps already. That cut back is equal to no milk for the
month, or no meat.
What are these people supposed to live on? What are they eating? Oh, and forget it stimulating the economy
because they have to work now, or spend real money. First they don’t have the money to
spend. Second many of them do have
paying jobs or are looking for a job, or have the unpaid job of taking care of
their children. What is going to happen
is an increase in crime as people struggle to feed their children and give them
gifts for Christmas. When you are hungry
or see your children crying in hunger theft becomes an option, an unwanted
option but a real option. So I feel real
sadness and anger for the families in the US who have had their food stamps cut
back. I hope they will find a way to
survive this and still give their children a good Christmas
.
As for my family, yes it is going to be tight but I have
told my children they should be grateful for what we have, what they receive
and the fact that we live in Canada.
I am not taking a political stand on this. I am taking a
humanitarian stand. The war on poverty
should not be a war on the poor. It
should be about fixing the problems. I
don’t understand how anyone can justify paying someone $2.50 an hour and expect
them to live off the tips they may or may not receive. How can large companies pay their employees
so little that they are so below the poverty line they need food stamps? It is difficult for me to understand why the
US would do this to its poor.
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