Week 2: Poverty in the US

It is not new news that African American and Hispanic Americans are historically far more impoverished than their American counterparts.


Lets compare:
Non Hispanic White adults in 2005 8.3% (16.2 million)

Non-Hispanic White Children in poverty in 2005 was 9.0%

African Americans in 2005 was 24.9% (9.2 million people)

African American Children in poverty in 2005: 34.2% (3.7 million) 

Hispanic population in 2005 was 21.8% (9.4 million people)

Hispanic Children in poverty in 2005: 27.7% ( 3.9 million)

Look at the substantial difference between the percentages between Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics.

It makes me wonder how historically it is harder for a minority to overcome prejudices and stereotypes. It is harder to get a job, maintain a job, or be perceived in a positive light. 

Based on some of the finding in the video, I think poverty can be caused by circumstance. Think about Imminent Domain and how it displaces residents. From the late1950s to the 1970s a state issued order for low-income Atlanta residents to move from their houses. http://album.atlantahistorycenter.com/store/Advanced_Search.aspx?g=Buttermilk%20Bottom

Razing mostly African American communities, the city of Atlanta was essentially built on the back of poor residents who were seen as disposable. As history repeats itself, Atlanta just recently razed all of it's public housing without any solid plan to relocate all the residents. I feel like poorer communities are often ignored and overlooked, though there are programs in place to subsidy income, food, education, and childcare. I recommend more programs that offer self-motivation, self-reliance, and empowerment. I am a Public Policy major at the Andrew Young School, and we study the effects of public mobilization to empower a community.

MILLENNIUM
DEVELOPMENT GOALS

•               End Poverty
             and Hunger
  
•             Universal              Education
•             Gender
  Equality
•                  Child
      Health
•            Maternal
   Health
•              Combat
  HIV/AIDS
•            Environmental Sustainability
•           Global Partnership

Global Goals to fight poverty

There are 8 United Nations Millennium Development Goals are planned to be reached by 2015. 

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1)      Who do you think is poor, both in the United States and globally?

Based on this weeks discussion minorities in America are stastically  poorer. Especially when women are heads of households. I  believe this trend is based on the historical principles of white supremecy and the well-maintained status quo. Affirmative Action is a law that states that  when candidates are being reviewed the candidate who has historically been disadvantage get an advantage. The fact that a law was enacted to level the playing field further proves the historical imbalance between the minorities and the majority. Between jobs, housing, and quality of education I feel that racial identities and discrimination play a major factor in contributing to the amount of poor people in America.

Globally there is poverty among third world countries developing nations and even in developed countries. Just a moment ago I viewed a commercial for ChildFund,  an organization that distrubutes donor-funds

2)      Why do you believe people are poor in the United States and globally?

  
 I believe a good majority of people are poor due to factors such as generational poverty, lack of quality educational,and the minimum wage pay rate. A proper and throurough education is the foundation for becoming succesfull in life. When students drop out of high school, their chances for success drop drastically.Also the likelihood that they will have children at a young age and out of wedlock. This can lead to a cycle of generational poverty if a young mother or father with no  proper education then their is a ability to sustain an decent living.

Globally people are poor because corrupt governments rob their citizens of a decent living. In third world countries

3)      What do you think is being done about poverty (e.g., specific policies and programs in the United States and globally) and how well do you think poverty is being addressed?

Welfare food, food stamps, TANF, and even the HOPE scholarship are instances where the government attempts to level the field for poor individuals and their families. The HOPE Scholarship proves as a perfect example of government assistance gone awry.HOPE started as a scholarship that would provide children of low-income families the opportunity to  

4)      What do you personally think should be done about poverty in United States and globally (e.g., specific private and government policies, programs, etc. that you would recommend)?

 I think the US government should focus on education to ensure that high school graduates can at least obtain a decent job. I think less attention should be concentrated on the prison system, but instead on reforming mentalities because felons and people with a criminal record are less likely to find a job with a livable wage or any job at all.

Week 1: Defining Poverty

uHow do you define poverty? Do you distinguish between those you think are deserving of help and those that aren’t? If so, why?

        I define  poverty as the inability to survive (food, clothes, shelter) without assistance. With the corruption among welfare recipients, I am skeptical to believe that even those "deserving" poor should receive assistance. (which I think in itself undermines the term deserving) by definition I would believe the deserving poor would be single mother struggling to balance a full-time career and family life. A working family that are unable to make an living wage off two paychecks. Deserving poor are people who try to better themselves and their situations despite the struggles they face.

uHow do you think different historical events, circumstances, and values affect how people view poverty? What current historical events, etc. do you think are influencing how people view the poor?

        Ronald Reagan coined the term "Welfare Queen," which is modern times evokes a lazy -often African American- woman milking the system by having more children, not working, and more. At my internship today we discussed "entitlement programs" and their definition which is simply that an American citizen is entitle to receive those benefits. In some people's mind entitlement programs have become synonymous with people living-off the system. And there are some political and social groups that have perpetuated those beliefs. I think the recent news spectacle about the massive mob of people waiting outside of the East Point office to receive an application to get on the waiting list. The police were called. The ambulance rescued several people who passed out due to the heat. After a thorough evaluation of the news report, one could see how the people were being treated, workers handed out applications from on top of cars. There was absolutely no organization, or concern even for the applicants.

uIf your friend asked you what you learned in today’s class, could you tell them the difference between an absolute and a relative measure of poverty ? If not, please review this again (and read your book!)

       I would describe to them that an absolute measure of poverty is like food. It is a standard necessity, and because the price changes constantly over time due to forces like inflation it is a constant that should be closely evaluated. 

      A relative measure of poverty could be a cell phone. As technology evolved, we as a people became more mobile and less stationed in one place such as the house. Cell phone became almost a necessity, so much so that people who receive food stamps qualify for a free cell phone.

uWhat poverty measure do you think is the most realistic and/or accurate? Why?

–What do you think about how the U.S. measures poverty? Should it be changed? Why or why not?

–What would you do? How would you measure poverty?

–What is your definition of poverty?

     I define poverty as the state of being poor or impoverished. The inability to provide the basic necessities for oneself and family.