Neither individual Christians nor the churches have been adequately reflective and self-critical about the nature of the U.S. economic system and its consequences. The absence of critical analysis contributes to some misperceptions about poverty and about the nature of those who are poor. American culture has grown comfortable in accepting poverty as an unpleasant but unavoidable by-product of a free market economy. Such thinking gives rise to a conception that the poor are somehow responsible for their circumstance. This in turn often serves as an excuse to do nothing in the face of crushing poverty.
Counter evidence exists concerning the intractability of poverty.
The outcome of programs in the last decade to address poverty among the elderly has resulted in an astounding transition in the economic status of the elderly. The successful interventions have included the provision of health insurance and higher Social Security payments. Such success is encouraging and demonstrates the potential of systematically addressing poverty. Such assumptions diminish the poor, serve as an obstacle to enacting effective policies and give credence to a self-centered superiority and sense of entitlement that can only perpetuate the divisions within our society. In contrast to the prevailing cultural assumptions about the poor, many in the churches are discerning afresh and seeking to act in keeping with scripture's preferential option for the poor.