As people move around the nation, housing prices keep going up. What’s that going to do to your house payment? All across the country, people aren’t able to afford even to live. As we look at the homeless trends over the past couple of decades, it’s easy to see that the homeless rates are continuing to rise. And it’s fair to say that a lot of those homeless folks started out without much in the first place. Why?

Because in the land of milk and honey, we punish impoverished people. Are you poor? Then your children are going to an underfunded school (most likely). Why is your school underfunded? Because of the way school districts work. Sure, it makes sense on paper. People who use a school should pay for it. But this incurs a penalty against every poor person in the country, and against their children, who have done little more than being born poor. Is this the way we want to be?

Education can lift you up, sure. But who can afford college? And do you know how little those grant programs actually help? It’s wild that in this country, the richest in the world, we stack up blockades in front of people the moment they’re born to prevent them from reaching their potential.

It’s not intentional, granted. And a lot of it makes sense on paper. But it’s naive to believe that the way things are on paper is the way they are in actuality, and the actual story is that if you're born poor, you stay poor. Heck, if you’re born rich, you still have a better chance of ending up poor than matching your parents’ wealth.

We. Must. Do. Better.

Let’s talk about bail. Specifically, let’s talk about something small, like $1,000 bail for an attempted robbery. Can you afford that? According to CNBC news, you probably can’t. 69% of our nation cannot afford an unexpected $1,000 emergency expense (which I would argue bail qualifies). What happens next?

Someone arrested for the attempted robbery couldn’t likely afford bail, and now must sit in jail until their trial happens, which in Florida for example, can be as long as 90-180 days. So for 90-180 days, that person sits in jail, and can’t do their job if they have one. Therefore, they can’t pay their rent, car note, or credit card bill, and their things are slowly being repossessed. Rare is the employer who can afford to keep someone on the payroll for doing nothing while they’re sitting in jail, so kiss that job goodbye. Now, day 90, or 180, arrives. It turns out they didn’t do it. Honest mistake—someone thought they saw something they didn’t and it comes out in court.

That’s what this podcast is about. Two justice systems: one for the rich, one for the poor. That, and integrity. Listen for both.