86 year old peace and justice
leader talks to media how
struggle for human rights
for poor continues.

Today a Federal court ruled that the Wisconsin ID voting law, requiring a valid photo ID to vote is legal. The Governor says this law will make voting easier and cause less cheating at the polls. The facts are that for thousands it will make voting in Wisconsin harder and that there has never been a charge of voter misrepresentation made, let alone a conviction. But facts do not seem to matter much in politics these days.

One thing for sure it is becoming harder and harder to be poor in Wisconsin. Friends report to me about the recent lost of health services, like dental care in Wisconsin and the severe reduction in food stamps which are important to many persons and families. The environments the poor live in have become more dangerous, good education, good housing and employment opportunities are harder to attain. These facts are not only backed up by stories but from research, statistics and numbers.

I have experienced this fact, becoming harder to poor, directly. My friends call me up with stories, of new rules, bureaucracy and obstacles they must face to survive. Discrimination, especially based on race is at an all time high. I can see for myself when we make home visits that just the basics, a bed for a child or a stove or refrigerator to prepare food are very difficult to obtain. When our new governor ran for office the first time he promised to reduce taxes for everyone. He did for everyone but one group, the very poor for which he actually raised taxes.

If some politicians want to make it ‘harder to vote’ I really do not care too much. It may simply point out the uselessness of voting for change where there is no true democracy. However, making it harder and harder to be poor affects all of us. As the poor become the poor the burden on rest of us, except the 2% very rich, becomes greater. It cost us a lot less to provide a good education than imprisonment.

Personally for me it is hard to be quiet, when government and even private groups that mean well make it harder and harder to be poor without opportunity to move out of poverty. When will we ever learn that making it harder to vote and harder to be poor just leads to less meaningful voting and more poor.

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