Conservatives’ Contradictory Take on Christianity

The Christmas trees are skinny this year.

It’s the end of 2011: laden with recessions, lay offs, and pay cuts, no amount of tinsel or red ribbon can distract Americans from the chilling menace of impending winter or the rocky road to economic recovery that awaits. Nor can Americans be distracted from the fact that they are struggling.

One in every two Americans is either living in poverty or qualifies as low-income status. The middle class is shrinking. Conversely, salaries in Congress have only risen, as have the salaries of CEOs. As a result, in the season of giving the only things the majority of Americans receive are increased economic hardships, disappointment, and all-consuming fear. And with the thin-blanketed proposals made on behalf of so-called Christian conservatives that will hit Americans in the dead of winter, a question remains: is this really what Jesus would do?

The Vanishing Act of the Middle Class

While Congress bickers over rudimentary budget procedures in the nation’s capital, Americans across the board have been suffering the consequences. In a recent report released by a U.S. Conference of Mayors, 29 cities confirmed that over 1 in 4 Americans needing emergency food assistance did not receive it. Of them, 51% were families, 26% were employed, 19% were elderly, and only 11% qualified as homeless.

The middle class has been hit the hardest. As many erstwhile middle-income families have slipped into the dregs of poverty and low-income status, new realities are harsh: the percentage of working families who have fallen into low-income status is currently 31.2% –the highest proportion in over a decade. In other words, those whose work ethic and employment once insured them a relatively comfortable life now find themselves in situations they’ve never dreamed of.

And as the anemic middle class continues to bleed, conservatives have proposed budget cuts and tax increases on those who, thanks to the reckless and shameful behavior of self-interested politicians, have less and less to give. As University of Michigan Professor Sheldon Danziger states, the effects are dangerous and could push the nation even further off the path toward recovery: “If Congress and the states make further cuts, we can expect the number of poor and low-income families to rise for the next several years.”