PLATFORM : Back-Burner Blues

The cost of every ton of even “dumb” bombs would have paid to keep a family of four in a residence of their own for over half a year.

Even before the outbreak of war, the needs of the poor and homeless had been put on the back burner, if not made the target of resentment.

The intense focus placed on the demands of waging war gave many an acceptable escape from individual and societal responsibility to find solutions to our social problems. We hear we can’t afford as a nation to build affordable housing so that no one need be homeless, to create an effective educational system so that all can learn, and to establish a just health system so that all have a chance to be healthy. However, these needs are surely basic to the life of our nation.