Are You a Member of the 'Near Poor'?

You don't make that much money, but you get by. You have your two children, your two cars, and you may even own a house. You pay all your bills-generally on time. Perhaps you have a gold or platinum credit card. In fact, you may have more than one.

So why might the question still apply to you, "Are you near poor?" It is because of the definition of the expression. A person is near poor if one tragedy would make it impossible for that person to meet his or her living expenses.

Stop and think about those italicized words and their meaning. If just one tragedy-of whatever form-could fall (not has fallen) upon an individual or a family, and it could make it impossible for that individual or family to pay their bills, he or they are now near poor. That is a sizable portion of the American population.

But you don't expect a tragedy to befall you, do you? Yet it can occur at any moment, unforeseen, from a direction you might not anticipate. Consider a couple of examples.

Tragedy: Employment

You are middle-aged, strong and healthy. Your kids are no longer teenagers, but are out of the nest and on their own. In fact, they have one or two children themselves. Your bills are lower as a result, and you can enjoy a few of the "fine things." Then your son-in-law loses his construction job. For some reason, he's not even eligible for unemployment compensation. Or maybe he collected that for a while, but it's now running out. In a little while, he, along with your daughter and their kids, will be on the streets.

As a concerned parent, you invite them to move in with you. You now have, instead of one child, three or four people to care for. They also have a car payment they can't make, and if your son-in-law hopes to work again, he needs transportation. Your grandchildren are young and have health-care and other expenses. As the months roll on, your son-in-law does not gain employment. You have become the innocent and even honorable victim of a tragedy. Now you, too, are poor.

Tragedy: Health Care

Perhaps you are young. You and your wife have elected not to have children for several years so you can enjoy life without the responsibility associated with parenthood. One day, your wife calls you on the phone, crying. She has terminal cancer. You meant to take advantage of the company insurance package, but you put it off.

Tragedy: Divorce

Maybe you have a job and a husband and children. You live your life and pay your bills. One night your husband comes home from work one evening and is acting peculiarly and talking very little. He avoids looking at you. Then the words come out, "I'm having an affair. I love her. I'm leaving you." Not only does he leave you, he moves away and changes his identity to avoid paying alimony. In shock you wonder how you will support your kids.

Some may look to a political solution to these problems, but is it realistic to think such a solution will ever come? How much better for individuals to take stock of their situation and make adjustments in their lifestyle before that tragedy comes. And if it is too late for that, it is good to come to quick terms with one's pride and find out what can humbly be done to "pick up the pieces."

As for a final solution, there is the promise in scripture that, in the future under God's Kingdom, "There will come to be plenty of grain on the earth; On the top of the mountains there will be an overflow..."- Psalm 72:16a.

Some feel that promise is unrealistic. They look to the governments for the big fix. But those who do so ought to say to themselves, "Might I actually be the one who is thinking unrealistically?"

NY Times - America's 'Near Poor' Are Increasingly at Economic Risk, Experts Say