When longtime friend Attorney Al Johnson entered the studio for this brief recording, he handed me a document listing 100 scriptures from God’s Word in behalf of caring for the poor.
When he explained the concept and purposes of the ministry he leads, New Covenant Legal Services to help the poor, he told a moving story – powerfully included in the recording – of just one example of how the poor are more frequently exploited when they have the desire to do honest work and “get on their feet.”
Mayor James Knowles of Ferguson, Mo, (who receives $300 a month “before taxes” for his work as Mayor (that has made him world famous) was in studio during part of this conversation. His living income is to work in Ferguson for the Missouri Department of Motor Vehicles. He says he sees this exploitation by unscrupulous car dealers “all the time.” The shady dealers sell cars to the poor that do not have “clear titles” of ownership. So the cars cannot legally be driven. So the low income owner who paid or borrowed to purchase the car, in the case of this story, when he went back to the dealer, the dealer had disappeared. And the loan source told him that he had to go ahead and pay the $6,000 loan … even though he didn’t have a useable car.
Along come Al Johnson! I don’t know if he was wearing a big white hat at the time, but he legitimately could have been. Al got it legally all cleared up, and his poor young friend got a car, by suing the unscrupulous people … who also had to pay Al’s legal services as a part of the settlement.
If this story does not “move” you and arouse a sense of injustice, then … you need help!
There is a Missouri law that helps attorneys of good faith to provide legal services to the poor. The poor cannot pay full legal services for the attorney’s work in their behalf. Current law allows that in such successful cases, the offending parties must pay legal fees to the attorneys who did the work.
Since the poor cannot pay, this is how legal services can be provided to the poor and the attorneys get enough income to keep on helping the poor.
But in 2017, Senate Bill 5 would “gut” this law that allows attorneys to receive some limited income for their work for the poor.
It is a moving time of radio. When we are motivated to help the poor, we ae doing exactly the work that Jesus describes in Matthew 25:31-46.
Writing or otherwise contacting your Missouri Senator or State Representative to vote AGAINST Missouri Senate Bill 5 … will help!