Hunger and Capitalism

Thursday, February 8, 2007

To: Nob Hill Gazette;

Thank you for the fine story Miracle on Jones Street by Ed Schwartz. The feeding of the thousands by the people at St. Anthony’s Dining Room is a wondrous daily event.

I was reminded of the article when I happened on a sign on a stairway in Convent of the Sacred Heart High School where the tuition is $27,000 plus per child. It was a quote by Dom Helder Camera, "If I give food to the poor, they call me saint. If I ask why the poor have not been eating, they call me a communist ".

The Gazette story mentions that a fundraiser will be held in October to aid St. Anthony’s expand their facilities so that even more hungry people can be fed. Many of the social events reported by the Gazette raise money for worthy causes including feeding the hungry.

The deeper question is why are people hungry – homeless and needing medical care? It is not a communist question, it is a human question. Capitalism, fabulous as it is, always leaves poverty in its wake.

I do believe that smart capitalist business leaders and government can change the laws and aspects of the society to make sure that poverty and its consequences are eradicated.

Bankers, real estate brokers, business executives, designers, stock brokers, doctors, lawyers, movie makers, vintners, architects, hedge funders to name few have the power to adjust the capitalist system to take care of the poor. These are the people whose pictures and events adorn the pages of the Gazette. These are the capitalists who could, if the would, nudge the society to make sure no one is hungry.

Sincerely,


Robert Warren Cromey