In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson went to Congress and declared a “war on poverty.” The percentage of men, women, and children living below the poverty line was 20, percent, or over 38 million Americans. Today it is nearly 16 percent, which converts to 49 million, but Trump and his Republicans won’t even consider a ‘small skirmish.’ Under the Republican tax plan, that number is expected to grow.

Lowering the corporate tax rate and giving additional tax cuts to the wealthy will greatly reduce our nation’s annual revenue. In typical Republican fashion, they will reduce funding for social programs which will harm impoverished Americans, and force many low-income Americans to slip below the poverty line. In addition 13 million low-income men and women will lose their healthcare. Forced to pay money they do not have, they will either refuse to seek medical assistance, or become members of Americans who struggle in daily poverty.

Republicans have also refused to renew CHIP. The Children’s Health Insurance Program offers healthcare for nine million children from low-income families who make too much money to qualify for Medicaid, but not enough to purchase healthcare from their employers. Orrin Hatch, one of the bill’s co-authors in 1996, recently stated that “we just don’t have the money.” These families also face the possibility of slipping into poverty.

In 1957 Forbes published its first ‘list of the wealthiest Americans. There were 76 names listed, and only a single billionaire; J. Paul Getty. Today our nation has 585 billionaires, and 10.7 million, millionaires. There is no excuse for allowing one American to live in poverty. The nation with the second largest number of billionaires is China with 277. The United States has four percent of the world’s population; China has approximately 20 percent.

Trump declared his candidacy in June of 2015. To this day he has never mentioned our nation’s biggest problem; growing poverty.

Alabama has been in the news for some time; let’s use this state as an example of how poverty and diseases related to this situation are increasing at an alarming rate.

Hookworm is a disease exclusive to men, women, and children who live in poverty. By 1980, it had been virtually eradicated in the United States. It is making a comeback in Alabama. Recently, one in three people tested had developed hookworm in one poor area of Alabama.

The primary cause of this disease is water which is unfit for consumption, or for bathing. Until recently, it was believed to be non-existent thanks to new water treatment facilities, education, and industrial development. However, austerity measures by Republican governors have reduced public services.

Hookworm enters the human body through the skin and finds its way to the small intestine where it attaches itself and sucks blood from the victim, leading to ailments like iron deficiency anemia. In children, this can stunt their physical and mental development and sap their energy.

This is just one of the many problems Americans who live in poverty face. We know that malnutrition is rampant, and illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease are more prevalent in poorer communities thanks to unhealthy diets.

If we only had a government that cared about this growing problem, but it is too busy insuring that corporations and the super-rich, including your illegitimate president, receive tax cuts.

Please re-post; thank you.

Op-ed by James Turnage

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