Apprentice 2 Jesus

An Anglicostal Connecting to a Real World

The foolishness of lacking compassion

Dan

The things I don’t get list just got a new number hit.

A school district in Pennsylvania sent letters to parents who owed over $22,000 total in lunch money for their kids. It wasn’t a letter saying they needed to pay up or their kids couldn’t have lunch, or even a penalty as severe as the kids couldn’t enroll in school. NO. If they parents didn’t pay up, their kids would be taken away from them and put into foster care.

Get this in your brain: The “worst offenders” were those have a $10 debt or more. For $10 you could have your kid taken away and put into foster care. A big question in my mind at this point is this: How much does it cost for foster care that a $10 debt somehow justifies paying out that much money for the foster care system???

Okay, I will admit, I had far more thoughts flood my mind at that point in the story, but none of them are printable here.

And note this: The letter goes out to poor families in a poor district asking for $22,000 in payment when the annual budget for this school district is $80 million. This is like burning down a house to kill a spider.

It hits national news. Of course there are generous Americans who quickly call the school district and offer to wipe out the debt. The response from the district?

NO.

Read THAT idiocy here.

What has happened to us as a nation? What has happened to us as a people? We threaten a pound of punishment for an ounce of offense. We then REFUSE the help of strangers to keep our eyes on the prize of the punishment we want to dole out?

There is a hardness of heart that has to be broken in this nation. God tested Pharaoh on this one. Folks, that didn’t end well for Pharaoh.

I would suggest we repent before it gets to the really destructive ends of our horrible actions.

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4 responses to “The foolishness of lacking compassion”

  1. Germaine Pointer Avatar
    Germaine Pointer

    Great angle, however I don’t think it is that cut and dry. As an educator I am aware that SOME parents who already receive food stamps to help feed their families send their kids to school without feeding them, which leads to school breakfast then school lunch and to some schools sending home food boxes so kids wouldn’t be hungry in the evening. So while we continue to blame the rich and heartless Americans the “poor” get a pass and can use their food stamps for more important things like getting their hair and nails done. That school district probably knows a whole lot more than we on the outside will ever know. But we have become a society of blamers so when there is a story like this we immediately look for the problem “they are poor the school district has $80 million” there it is, big and rich people taking advantage of the poor. Not sure I am right but that is my 2 cents….

    On Wed, Jul 24, 2019, 7:51 AM Apprentice 2 Jesus wrote:

    > Dan posted: ” The things I don’t get list just got a new number hit. A > school district in Pennsylvania sent letters to parents who owed over > $22,000 total in lunch money for their kids. It wasn’t a letter saying they > needed to pay up or their kids couldn’t hav” >

    Reply
    1. Liz Avatar
      Liz

      I disagree with the comment about Food Stamps. As someone who works in the public sector Food Stamps are only ment to supplement a person or family’s food budget, not cover all of their food purchases. For some that means their benefit amount is as low as $15 a month. I can also say that Food Stamps can only be used on food that has not been prepared, and cannot even be used on other essentials like soap or toliet paper. I can only speak to what I know about the situation, but the breakfast amd lunches these kids recieve at school may be the only nutritious meals they get all week, the food sent home with them very well may be helping someone in their family NOT have to make the chouce between do I buy foid for my kid to eat, or do I pick up my insulin at the pharmacy…

      Reply
  2. Dan Avatar
    Dan

    How does the cost of foster care POSSIBLY work as an adequate “punishment” for a $10 debt? Honestly.

    Reply
  3. Dan Avatar
    Dan

    And this isn’t about blaming the rich for me. It is the inadequacy of this district to come to terms with how to handle a debt, or even someone willing to help pay that debt. I’m not that binary thinker your attacking in your above argument.

    Reply

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