In some of the conservative circles in the country, there is a statement that has been touted to make those who have little to nothing seem like they simply are not working hard enough to be considered truly successful in America. That statement, said most recently by former Colorado City Mayor Tim Boyd, is “Pull yourself up by the bootstraps.” It is made to make the poor and disenfranchised feel it is their own fault for being born in, living in and dying in poverty. Its use needs to stop.
In a series of now deleted Facebook posts to a community page with hundreds of thousands of residents in Texas living without electricity, running water or heat, Boyd made statements such as “No one owes you or your family anything, nor is it the local government’s responsibility to support you during trying times like this.” His statements received negative backlash from millions of Americans nationwide, including his own constituents.
Statements like the ones Boyd made are not uncommon. The conversation of a socialist takeover has been a major focal point in commentary from the Republican Party for decades. Some point to political figures such as the recently deceased Rush Limbaugh as a massive purveyor of the socialism conspiracy. This conspiracy commentary fails to ever acknowledge what socialism actually is, favoring to simply denounce anything the government does as socialism.
In times of national distress, it is the local government’s, and more importantly, the nationwide government’s responsibility to provide relief and support to its citizens in need, whether or not such relief comes across as politically left. If not, then why would Americans pay taxes? The misunderstanding of those who think many Americans are looking for handouts is a consequence of the intentional ignorance of wealth and inequality in the nation. According to Forbes, the top 1% of U.S. households have 15 times more wealth than the bottom 50% of working-class individuals combined. To make matters worse, the top 1% pay less and less in federal income taxes per year, topping out with 37.7% of the total taxes in 2020.
This is the effect of Reagan Era tax cuts and the promise of the trickling down of economics, which has very predictably left a huge gap in wealth that may never be recovered. The problem with the general coverage of these outrageous spreads in financial responsibilities is the coverage and government’s interest in making all Americans pay a fair share of their financial responsibilities. Many news organizations and political super PACs, or political action committees, are also funded by the top 1%, so you are much more likely to see a story on socialism over wealth.
Over the last 20 years, however, there has been an uprising in young, outspoken voices who have been able to get an immediate leg up on politics on the internet. Millennials and Gen Z’ers have been more politically engaged in a way that the “youth” has never been during any time in immediate American history. The result? We are acutely aware of the practicality of pulling ourselves up by the bootstraps, so much so that we know the original purpose of this mantra was to express a task that is completely impossible. When Boyd tells Texans to pull themselves up by their bootstraps, he is unwittingly acknowledging their plight and the impossible nature of their struggles.
Boyd himself is now in a similar situation. His ill-conceived blog post likely resulted in the resignation of his position as mayor; however, he claims he had quit previously, and his wife was fired from her job. Perhaps Boyd will take his own advice and figure out a way to pull himself up. For everyone else, working together so they can help lift each other up seems like a safer, more feasible task.
Dashon Love is an Opinion Intern for the winter 2021 quarter. He can be reached at dclove@uci.edu.