Thirsty anyone?
Most Fridays, I volunteer to give away water, food, and socks to people on the street.
On a recent outing, I approached a woman who was sitting in the shade. She did not look weary, and her clothes looked clean. I knew she lived in the park because she had a collection of clothes and things around her. When I offered her a bottle of water and some food, she said “No thank you. I’m sure someone else needs them more than I do.”
I thought to myself, “Really? All of your belongings are easily covered by the shade of one small tree, and you are wealthy enough to send free water to someone else?” I did not say this.
No clever comeback came to me. “Pshaw! We’re in the Colorado desert. Everyone needs water!”, for example. (Does anyone say “pshaw” anymore?) So, I wordlessly turned away.
Later, I realized that I was stunned by the contrast of her generosity and the never-enough-for-me attitude that seems to have written and passed the “One Big Beautiful Bill”.
It’s been called the biggest wealth transfer – which might bring to mind money moving from the rich to the poor, but in this case, it is the poor sacrificing even more of what little they have so that the rich can have more. The New York Times had a great graphic of the bill’s effect on households (see below).
The bottom 20% lose 2.3% of their already meager income, and the top 20% gain 2.3%.
In case 2.3% seems like nothing, keep in mind that the annual average income for the lowest 20% of households in 2023 was $16,171, $33,590 with estimated government benefits. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Surveys.) Even with government benefits, lowest 20% households are $11,000 short to house, feed, and clothe one person. Losing nearly $600 means losing basic life necessities.
Meanwhile, the highest 20% average annual income was $211,042, 13 times as much as the lowest 20%. They will gain nearly $5,000 a year. Is it me, or does this remind you of France before the revolution, home of Marie Antoinette and the famous “let them eat cake”?
Despite everything, I take heart that one generous person in one city park on one hot day thought of someone else who might be thirsty. I hope to see more of this in more places in the future.
