As the holiday season is quickly approaching, we often make lists. Lists that outline the menus for Thanksgiving dinner, or a holiday party, Christmas dinner and finally New Year’s Day and the football frenzy that is ongoing through January. Other lists involve children’s wishes for gifts that Santa and other family members can use during shopping trips or in online purchasing.
I am proposing a list of sorts that is not one we can expect to check off by going shopping or planning meals. But, if one, just one of the items, was checked off by us as a collective state and country, the lives of millions of children would be altered for the greater good of us all.
- Political leaders, grow up. Leave the partisan attitude at the door and look past the power struggles that are plaguing us as a state and nation. Act like statesmen/women.
- Protect children. Value children as the precious resource they are. This value manifests itself in making and enforcing laws that come with heavy punishments and little room for leniency for those convicted of domestic violence and/or human trafficking.
- Grow the workforce of the future. Fund evidence based programs that result in the investment of funding in high quality early childhood programs and programs meeting the mental and physical health needs of children.
- Reduce the number of unhealthy and disabled Mississippians. Numbers of Mississippi residents on disability are near the top in the country and will remain there unless the state moves into a pro-active rather than a reactive stance regarding prevention of health issues that are currently cutting into workforce recruitment. Federally, there needs to be an immediate reauthorizing of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), the by-partisan federal insurance program for over 9 million low income children in the country and 80,000 in Mississippi.
- Put money where our mouths are regarding the sanctity of life. Raise the minimum wage so working families can have a better quality of life. While we speak of the sanctity of life, 61 percent of young children in Mississippi live in poverty and as a result suffer from its by-products such as a disturbance in normal brain development . Since Mississippi has set the minimum wage as $7.25 per hour , two parents working 40 hours a week will yield $580 a week before taxes. How does that support the current and future workforce? What quality of life does that ensure?
If Santa was presented this list, I am pretty sure he would ask Jesus for help. A miracle is in order.
By Dr. Cathy Grace