The crowdfunding life

You see it a lot in the news these days - some worthy person in extreme financial distress is saved by a group of strangers donating money to them via a crowdsourcing site. These stories include elderly people too poor to retire, a family under crushing medical debt because their child has cancer, a middle-aged person working two jobs and still paying off college, or a child who owes money for school lunches. The "cure" for these problems is a well-advertised appeal to the crowd and if enough heartstrings are pulled, the donations pay off the debt. These stories are almost always portrayed as "inspirational", "moving", "feel good", and in reading them, we are all supposed to gain a little more appreciation of the goodness of humanity.

That's all bullshit.

In the United States of America, the richest country in the history of the world, not a single person should be destroyed by medical debt. Not a single child should be forced to rely on the generosity of strangers to pay for her school lunches. No one should pass age 65 and have to work to scratch out a meager life. We have the resources to allow everyone to live a life of dignity, if only we would allocate our resources humanely. The solution is simple: tax the wealthiest Americans (they won't miss the money and are beneficiaries of our lopsided system) and institute programs to eliminate these problems. Yeah, I know. And in the meantime, I'd also like a pony.

During the pandemic, Congress expanded the child tax credit, meaning all but the highest-income families were eligible for monthly checks of $250 per child aged 6 to 17, and $300 per child 5 and under. While it was in effect, "food insecurity in households with kids dropped from 11% to 8.4%. The tax credit brought 3 million children out of poverty almost immediately." Of course, that expansion expired earlier this year because Senator Joe Manchin didn't want to help poor families feed their kids.

I know the counter-arguments. People need to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps (which is easy to say when you grow up comfortable and white). I don't want to pay taxes for "those people" to get benefits (hate should never be the basis for government policy). And we need less government not more (when your population is over 300 million and you have billionaires, your society is screwed up and needs help). Republicans love to scream that America is a "Christian" nation. Are debt forgiveness, kindness, and hospitality no longer part of Christian teachings? (Rhetorical question. They aren't and never were, especially as practiced by the Right.)

When we were in Indiana for the holidays, I spoke with a relative about President Biden's efforts to forgive $10-20,000 of college debt. The relative didn't like the idea because it was "unfair" to those who had already paid off their debts. The fairness response is just a dodge. 

Is it fair that college costs have skyrocketed beyond inflation over the last several decades? Is it fair that many young kids have to deal with predatory lending practices and spend decades paying off their debt? Is it fair that "small" companies were given billions of dollars in pandemic loans only to have ALL of the loans forgiven? Is it fair that rich people like Congressperson Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Terrible) received hundreds of thousands of dollars, and had that entire debt forgiven? How is America fair and why shouldn't we help out people who really need help?

The goal of all public policy should be to help people. Help people live their best lives. Own a home. Be able to travel. Have healthcare. Not go hungry. Retire with dignity and security. Coincidentally, helping people to be full participants in our society HELPS ALL OF US.

These crowdfunding events are not a feel good story. That they happen at all is a tragedy and a moral failure. We can and should do better.