For several years I’ve been watching and listening to
conversations concerning poverty and immigration in the United States. In fact, in many ways I’ve been living
it. I’ve spoken some about it. Yet, I’ve also bitten my tongue some. I’ve read a lot. I’ve listened and asked questions. Over the last 2 years I’ve increasingly
heard conversations related to immigrants use of public assistance. A few days ago, some policy changes were
made in America’s approach to public benefits and immigration. I sense it is now time to speak.
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| Our son Ethan teaching at university |
I’m properly a missionary.
I’m an armchair economist. In
Africa we were part of a region with a rapidly growing middle class. I believe a portion of that economic reality
was driven by people of faith.
Missionaries and church leaders started schools, businesses, agricultural
projects, and micro-finance organizations that contributed to the increase of
knowledge and the economic capacity of our region. Many of us were reading economic theory
books as much as we read Bible commentaries, Christian history, and
theology. Sometimes even us Christian
leaders were part of the discussions with government leaders who made economic
policy decisions for the nation. My
son, Ethan majored in Economics at Wheaton College and this fall will begin
work on a Ph.D. in Economics at Notre Dame University. In writing his entrance essays he mentioned
overhearing our front porch conversations.
He also mentioned the first book he picked up to read on his own was an
economic book, Dead Aid by Dambisa Moyo. Some
may discredit me as I don’t have an economics degree or published economics articles
in peer review journals. Yet, missionary
colleagues do remark I’m skilled at putting together big picture realities and applying
the Gospel to shifting realities.
This is personal too. I’ve for 7 years lived near the poverty line. I’ve had to find a way to make sense of poverty
in America, hang onto my faith, and speak with both wisdom and grace. Not only has this been my family’s journey, it
has been the journey of my Diaspora community.
If you take the time to read my thoughts, you’ll notice I
push against common presuppositions. I
hope this doesn’t cause you to cease reading and dialoguing. It’s true the Bible does affirm hard work, good
plans, and diligence. The Apostle Paul
even writes, “If anyone isn’t willing to work, he should not eat. (2
Thessalonians 3:10.)” Both government
and Christian organizations policies related to the poor should encourage work.
Yet, don’t also miss that in the Holman’s Christian Standard
Bible there are 172 references to the poor and 136 references to
foreigners. Possibly, one of the better
verses to summarize an abundance of Bible teaching on both is “Do not
oppress a hired hand who is poor and needy, whether one of your brothers or one
of the foreigners residing within a town in your land (Deuteronomy 24:14.)” Both government and Christian organizations’
policies related to the poor and immigration should encourage building economic
systems that are just. It is my perspective
that recent policy changes made for immigrants to discourage public assistance don’t
reflect an accurate understanding of Scripture, America’s economy, and the path
to middle class viability.
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| Parable of the talents |
Here’s some things I’ve noticed over the last few years:
First, America is increasingly moving towards a two-tiered
economy. There was a period from the
end of the Second World War until the late 1980’s when America’s economy was rapidly
growing. True, there were recessions and
at times high inflation, but most people were able to live in the middle class.
There were many pathways to middle class viability. That’s no longer the economic reality. The rich are getting richer at a rapid
exponential pace. The middle class
either must make the leap into the upper middle class or they will begin a
drift towards the lower class. Education
is expensive. Debt piles up. There is a gig economy of 1099’s with no benefits. There are jobs to be found, but if you don’t
have the right social connections at the right time with the right background
you can only get dead end jobs. That
pull of a two-tiered economy has created a tremendous amount of tension and
anxiety. For almost all citizens of the
USA we’re torn up about it. Few are
celebrating it. Most of us are looking
for answers. Yet, when we turn on the
news the pundits tend to just play to our emotions and extremes. Every now and then we even take a deep
pause. Situations like finding out
enlisted soldiers are on Food Stamps and some of our war veterans are homeless
eat at our souls.
Second, low birth rates are not the full reason for the development
of this two-tiered economy, but they are significant factors in it. The American economy had its biggest boom
when birth rates were in the range of 3.6 per female. That season had many men laboring in
abundant middle-class jobs that only needed gumption to do. That season also with so many births drove
consumption of housing, automobiles, and living essentials. That consumption created a booming
economy. Now the birthrates are closer
to 1.7. With such low birth rates its
hard to find all the laborers needed for many industries. It’s also means there just isn’t the consumption
of goods that drive economies.
Third, many Industries need immigrants to thrive. With decades of declining birth rates there
just aren’t enough native-born Americans to do all the work that needs to be
done. Some of that is related to unskilled
labor-intensive jobs that tend to be lower paying and take a toll on the
body. Middle aged people many times can’t
do that work due to our health. Many of
us also don’t want to do that work.
Many of us with middle class responsibilities can’t afford to do the
work. These industries tend to be in areas such as
construction or agricultural. The USA
immigration system only allows 5,000 unskilled visas to be processed per year
for these industries so practically our most entrepreneurial and thrifty
managers in construction and agriculture have little options other than to use
undocumented labor.
Another growing industry with America’s aging population is
home health care. Again, the wages are
so low that about the only people who will and can do the work are the foreign
born. That industry tends to attract
documented laborers from places like Sub-Saharan Africa and the Philippines,
but the wages are so low that in order to survive with a family the workers
must be on public assistance. If we
don’t have systems to get minimally skilled laborers into the USA and keep them
healthy, we are shortchanging many industries.
Without immigrants in home health care we would neglect our elderly
population.
Fourth, there tends to be a stereotype of immigrants who
take from the system and don’t reflect
Fifth, America’s immigration system is a mess. In fact, in some ways the deepest values of America
force us to wade into the mess that theologians call paradoxes. You can improve the policy, but you can’t
make it perfect. One of the messiest
parts of America is our 14th Amendment which historically affirms
birthright citizenship. It was a great
attempt at undoing the legacy of slavery.
Also, if you watch world history, you’ll notice that if citizenship is
not granted to refugees born in a nation not their ancestral home when a
conflict lasts several generations you will find a permanent serf class
develops. A permanent serf class ensures mutating conflict. In the current American reality undocumented
immigrants bear children who are American citizens. If we deport the undocumented parents what
happens to the American citizen kids?
Practically, we’re tearing apart families. Other factors in the mess of American
immigration are that most of our immigration laws haven’t been updated legislatively
in over 50 years. As such our business
leaders when faced with a need for immigrant labor either must choose to cheat
or not compete. We have too many
choices before our American population that in a just system would be quite
rare.
Sixth, it seems that as the policy is shifting to make it
difficult for immigrants to use public assistance there is a common inaccurate perception
that undocumented immigrants use public assistance. Undocumented immigrants qualify for very few
public assistance programs. There is
some variation state by state, but about the only consistent use of government
resources is that children of undocumented immigrants can attend free public
school.
Seventh, documented immigrants do use some public
assistance. It varies by visa type
and some by state. For instance, international
students can buy into an Obamacare Affordable Care Marketplace health insurance
plan. Adult international students don’t
qualify for Medicaid, but if they have children their children qualify. Most immigrants don’t qualify for Food Stamps
until they have been in the USA for 5 years.
However, many qualify for WIC (Women Infants Children.)
Eighth, though it can appear that documented immigrants
who use some public assistance programs are making a choice to be poor that is
a problematic understanding of their situation. First, whether they are international
students or unskilled laborers their presence is necessary for many industries
to thrive. Second, it will likely take
their family a range of between 5 to 20 years to rise out of low income living
and become viable middle class. It
seems wise since their presence is part of the American economy to use programs
that will keep them healthy. If documented
immigrants avoid using Medicaid or food programs for their children America’s
health industry takes a risk of massive unpaid medical emergency room
bills. There is a cost to poor health
that gets shared out. Lastly, remember
almost no one chooses to be poor.
Generally, to be poor is a degrading experience. It means your word is constantly doubted as you
fill out applications. It means lots of
standing in lines and sitting in uncomfortable chairs in which you have little
ability to make decisions for yourself.
It means watching your kids miss out and at times be excluded from
functions even at church. It means frequently
being the subject of jokes, jabs, and punch lines. It means that no matter what successes you
have at life most organizations will not consider you worthy to provide
leadership. You are a project and lose
individual human dignity. The social
dynamics of much of American life drive one to escape poverty as soon as
possible.
Ninth, many immigrants after years of trying find
themselves in an unending cycle of dead-end jobs. With limited resources many have found that
the best way to start is what the Harvard Business School calls Food Stamp
Entrepreneurs. The way the system frequently
works is they can’t gather enough education, resources, or connections to break
into middle class employment. Their only
option is to initiate. They must be
entrepreneurs. Research consistently
shows that immigrants have a much higher success rate than native born
Americans as starters. Their startups
range from businesses to churches to nonprofits. In simple terms they use public assistance to
make sure their family has food and medical care. Then they use every available resource to
build their enterprise. In many scenarios by the time the enterprise hits
maturity the food stamp entrepreneur is employing many, paying taxes, and
making significant contributions to America’s economic wellbeing. Some may take issue with the Food Stamp Entrepreneur
by making an argument about America’s history of “standing on one’s own two
feet,” and pulling one’s self up by one’s bootstraps.” Yet, please don’t ignore that slavery was practiced,
and land stolen from America’s original people during the origins of America’s
history. If we don’t want to look at the
darkness please contemplate how many livelihoods were built by the Homestead
Act. America in both our darkest and
brightest moments has created government policy that facilitated low income but
industrious immigrants to economically thrive.
Tenth, there are already good policies in place related
to poverty and immigration that should be continued and strengthened. Here are 5:
1.
Family Reunification Immigration: Research consistently shows that those who
have strong social bonds are more likely to move from low income to middle
class viability. For the religious that
means they attend churches, mosques, temples, and synagogues. For the few nonreligious ones they’ll be involved
in student groups, PTA, cultural associations, sports teams, and business associations. (As a church planning missionary, I can’t
help but notice that family migration starts many viable churches, but I’ll hold
off on a long discussion on that matter.)
If you want people to have strong social bonds one of the most obvious
means is to continue and expedite family reunification immigration. Thus, there is enough social glue to do
things like childcare, business partnering, and creative marketing and
research.
2.
Marriage: Research also consistently shows that
married people are more likely to move from low income to middle class
viability than are single parents. Since
immigrants have higher marriage rates and lower divorce rates it seems prudent
to facilitate their immigration and build government policy frameworks that
reward marriage.
3.
Children:
As discussed above birth rates must keep pace with aging population and the
need for labor. Since immigrant families
have birth rates closer to the Baby Boom it seems prudent to encourage the
raising of children. Tax credits, day
care, maternity leave, school lunch programs, Head Start, Food Stamps, WIC, and
Medicaid all make raising children a healthier endeavor for low income
families. If one recognizes that to
reach middle class viability may take a generation this also seems prudent
while at the same time keeping low income families which the American economy
needs healthy.
4.
Education: Knowledge and networks are the by products of
higher education. Already, the USA has
many international students who will try to settle in the USA after graduation. Also, many immigrant family’s children become
exceptional students. Programs such as Pell
Grants, Scholarships, and debt forgiveness keep the education pipeline going so
American has a skilled workforce.
5.
Work: This is obvious. As mentioned, foreign born American residents
have higher employment rates than the native-born population. They also tend to do labor that few native-born
Americans will do. Labor provides the
economic base for national wealth. It
should be rewarded. Continuing programs
like Earned Income Credits should continue and be available for working
families. If social programs are sized
down for able bodied families, it makes sense to strengthen matters like the
Earned Income Credit.
If you’ve read through this, you may be asking why this is
so important for a missionary. It’s a
good question. One it’s my story. We’re a low-income family with very
successful kids who have been stuck in dead end jobs. We’re like most of the Diaspora families we
know. We’re trying to be Food Stamp
Entrepreneurs. Two, it’s the story of our
Diaspora community. We love them,
believe in them, and want their voices to be heard. Three, I believe the Gospel spreads through local
churches. Practically, I think that
happens best when the Gospel is in a nation that is peaceful, just, and
economically stable.
I chose not to footnote, but if you follow my twitter and Facebook
you see I read a lot. If you want some
sources to my thoughts just drop me a line, or maybe even better yet start googling,
reading, and make some immigrant friends to trade notes with.
America is a great mission field.
