One of the greatest contradictions of our time is that in an era of unprecedented wealth in our nation and our state, we have demonstrated little capacity or inclination as a society to eradicate poverty. The federal poverty thresh hold, is $20,650 for a family of four. Stop and think about that: A family of four in our state living on $20,650 a year.

And we all know that New Jersey is a high cost state. The New Jersey Poverty Research Institute created a Self Sufficiency Standard to measure how much income is needed for a family to adequately meet its basic needs without assistance. The Self Sufficiency Standard requires a minimum income of over 200% of the federal poverty level.

By this measure, income inadequacy in NJ stands at over 21% of the state’s population, more than 1.8 million people. Even more alarming, almost 340,000 people, 4% of the population, experiences severe poverty: Measured by an annual income of less than half the official poverty level.

One-million-eight-hundred-thousand people are not a statistic. We are speaking of one-million-eight-hundred-thousand lives. It is over one million children who face hunger and despair; children who dream the same dreams as our children and grandchildren. Who have the same hopes.

And at the same time, New Jersey’s Gross State Product stands at approximately $453 Billion. To put this in perspective, if we were a nation, we would have the world’s 17th largest economy, ahead of countries such as Belgium ($371 B), Switzerland ($367 B) and Sweden ($358B). If we were a nation, with our per capita income of over $60,000, New Jersey would be considered the wealthiest country in the world.

Until her death in 1997, Mother Teresa continued her work among the poor. Honors too numerous to mention came her way throughout the years. The world seemed amazed by her dedication to those deemed of little value to society…Astounded that one small, frail woman stood up against a sea of suffering and pushed back the flood-tides for so many.
She best described her life’s work with the following words: “It is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the doing. It is not how much we give, but how much love we put in the giving.” She demonstrated that each of us has the capacity to make a difference.

Every Sunday in Sacred Heart Church in Camden, Monsignor Michael Doyle and his congregation say a prayer for the city:

“Almighty God, we praise you for all you have done. Help us with all that you want us to do! Come, Holy Creator, and rebuild the City of Camden so that we do not labor in vain without you. Come, Holy Savior, and heal all that is broken in our lives and in our streets. Come Holy Spirit, and inspire us with energy and willingness to rebuild Camden City to your honor and Glory.”

This prayer is not just about Camden. It is about those throughout our state who are in need; it is about our capacity to bring the light of hope into their lives.

This entry was posted on Friday, September 14th, 2007 at 11:50 am and is filed under Business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.