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| <back | home The Imposition of Poverty by Reverend C. Hite The capitalistic system requires a percentage of unemployed, even in prosperous times. The Federal Government actually announced this fact to the nation in the early thirties. My Grandfather wrote a noble editorial appealing to every good man and women to realize that there couldn’t be anything more “tragic.” But every good man and good women has forgotten that the status quo includes imposing poverty and the injustices that go with it. It is a fashionable trend to find shortcomings in people who hold up their end of the “Capitalistic equation.” Lowering expectations, keeping in their place at the bottom of this society, sometimes making some headway through education and job training before the next set-back is a form of cooperation. Supposedly we have social services for “these people,” so they may barely survive without causing us too much discomfort knowing that they are often without recourse, pushed from their homes and opportunity, separated from their children, hungry, cold, abandoned and in despair. The question I ask: do we really want upward mobility for all peoples, who may then compete for our limited jobs, our limited parking spaces, our limited housing? Or do we just want them to become frustrated, fail, and quickly move along to another community? Many groups identify with the statement; “Not for ourselves alone,” and claim to support diversity and social improvement in SLO County. Yet they seem unaware that our “CRISIS” is unusual, and a crushing form of oppression that specifically disadvantages persons of diversity. With something very special to protect; “PARADISE,” creates an unusually competitive and inhospitable community. Attempting self-improvement and upward mobility in a community troubled by scandal, mismanagement and “CRISIS” has taken a heavy toll on its whistle blowers. * * * One, who has discovered trouble in Paradise, is Reginald Fagan, an Afro-American Honor Student who expected to graduate this year. Reginald has been clearly advocating for improved environmental conditions, opportunity, and upward mobility when the city, the county, and the District Attorney placed a heavy foot squarely in the middle of his back. Ironically, Reginald was service eligible at the time of his arrest for Workman’s Compensation fraud, and was not receiving those services, or Workman’s Comp payments. As I understand it, the District Attorney is claiming Reginald could not have been disabled the days he was photographed taking out his trash and carrying his own groceries. Apparently the DA is unaware that “disabled” is defined as limitation or major limitation in one or more daily life activities, not “paralyzation.” They want Reginald to pay the intrusive surveillance expense, which was conducted on the very premises he so diligently paid rent for. Where the true fraud lies, is that Reginald Fagan had made applications and inquiries and was service eligible for food delivery through Restaurant Meal Allowance and for an In-Home-Supportive-Services Worker to carry out his trash. Had Reginald not attended to these essential human needs, he could have been charged with self-neglect and been declared a dependant adult. That is the catch 22, presented by this troubled county agency, Department of Social Services: withholding services to create failure and then penalizing the applicant for being human and choosing to survive. Scandal, litigation and sensational news stories continue: the questionable tactics of surveillance to protect the school districts from paying out Workman’s Comp benefits and the million dollar settlement against the County of San Luis Obispo and its Department of Social Services. Why should blatant apathy, negligence, mismanagement, and fraud in DSS be important to the average citizen and tax payer? Failure in services equals failure to thrive for many families, including a failure in physical and emotional health, productivity, independence, and hope. This failure inflates the client roles of DSS, County Health, Mental Health, and Public Housing Authority, as well as all institutions of confinement. Tax dollars, in the form of State and Federal Grant monies, flow based on “failure” statistics, with very little hope to offer the client in return. It looks like a scam, and you’re paying the tab for an industry of suffering. Institutionalization pays higher dividends than tourism. The “War on Poverty” in SLO County is an aggressive agenda to impoverish and deny hope. The deceptions associated with the desire to be exclusive permeates every aspect of life on the Central Coast. The nagging question I would like to place in everyone’s heart and mind is why does the affluent Central Coast appear to be floundering with a housing, health and human services “CRISIS” and the same type of appalling bureaucratic incompetence that could only be brought about through the devastation of a Hurricane Katrina? I invite everyone to get on the email listing of this prolific Advocate, Reginald Fagan, (fishfagan7@yahoo.com), to learn more about the aftermath of Katrina, environmental health, and countless issues. Sit through court appearances and see what brand of justice is available to persons of diversity who attempt to speak up for their community, the environment, and their rights. When every good man and good women stands and does nothing, evil reigns. Rev. Hite’s writings can be found at www.theplayingfield.proboards36.com. <back | top^ |