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Who are the poor in our American community? Why are they poor? What are the factors that led them to being considered poor? What are the things that they spend their money on?
Monday, May 20, 2013
Who are the poor in our midst?
CLICK HERE FOR AUDIO
Who are the poor in our American community? Why are they poor? What are the factors that led them to being considered poor? What are the things that they spend their money on?
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Most people consider the poor are homeless, jobless, moneyless, and helpless individuals who have lost everything and live in downtrodden areas, like Hooverdale back in the Great Depression. In reality, the poor in America are people who have little in value, but a lot in spirit. As I stated before, the poor have little to no food or money and need to find the resources necessary to survive. There are numerous factors that contribute to job loss, but two of the primary causes are job loss and financial distress. Without enough money, an average family wouldn't be able to feed themselves, pay the necessary bills, or keep their home. From personal encounter with a poor family, they told me they spend what money they have on food, water, and save the rest to be able to save to pay back their debts.
ReplyDeleteEly Comment #4:
DeleteVery true, Nathan. You said that numerous factors contribute to job loss. However, this is not only true with job loss, but with EVERYTHING related to poverty. In reality, it is just a domino-effect process. Let's start with random events. It could be anything from only having worked at a certain job for a little while to falsely being accused of a crime to getting a serious disease and missing too many days of work. Just like that, you could be out of a job. Things just go downhill from there. In fact, whether you have no job or a bad paying job, in this economy, it's really easy to slip and slide. You can't pay your mortgage/rent. You can't pay for electricity, water, food, and more. Just like that, you're poor. You can be considered poor, really, even if you can't pay for any ONE of these things. It is so sad that there is a rapidly increasing amount of people who can't afford these things.
Alana Comment #5
DeleteI agree with Ely. Especially in this day in age anything is possible. A very wealthy family could easily lose all it's money if by chance they are laid off or fired. Like Ely said, it is just a domino-effect process that as humans you hope wont hit you. I believe that poverty and how and who becomes poor has a lot to do with luck. It is one's luck that they are born into a good family with parents who can afford to send them to get an education. It is also luck that when you get a job you can hold on to it and aren't fired. Also, besides luck you have to be committed. If you are fortunate enough to be provided with money and education you have to be willing to work for what you want.
I think another interesting thing that this article brings up is location. Where you are has a big effect on the living standards and how likely or unlikely you are to make money and or live in poverty. I think that in the world and in America especially, poverty is an ongoing problem that has no right way of being fixed. I think that the best thing to do is to be aware of it and do what you can as a person of society to help the less fortunate because in my opinion it could have been you that was born into a poor family.
Anna Comment #4
DeleteAlong with Nathan, I agree that when we think of poverty today, often times we think of the soup kitchens and the poor, homeless people asking for handouts on the street with just a cardboard sign. However, that is not the modern image of poverty that many Americans face today. We need to shift the way we think about poverty in order to fix the problem. What we are trying to fix right now isn't necessarily the place we should most be focusing on. The article makes the point that the image of poverty today is extremely different. It could be someone living next door to you in your suburban subdivision or neighborhood, who, because of their health problem, has just enough to pay the mortgage of their house, but nothing else. They cannot afford to eat or pay electricity. It is these people in the poverty of today that we need to be aware of and shift our focus to in order to solve the problem of poverty in America.
(Nathan comment #4)
ReplyDeleteMalka's Comment #6
ReplyDeleteMontgomery is one of the richest cities in the countries. However, there are a lot of suburbs and poor people living homeless in this city. They say that the hardest thing to deal with for the suburban people is transportation. Not many sidewalks. Cars are expensive. It's very hard to get around in this town with everything so spread out. Kneebone says "when your poor, geography matters."
What considers someone poor? Someone without a house, food, healthcare, insurance, a car? In my opinion a person who is homeless is poor in the American community. They are poor because to me loosing a house would be like loosing everything, and loosing everything is considered being poor. So, I think that homeless people are poor in the American community. What led them their was probably not having enough money for rent or morgage. Or not have a job, in general, for support on their family on money needs. These people probably spent their money on things that they don't need. Other than things that they did need. Such as food, clothing, education, and more things to survive with in daily life.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteLiana Brown Comment #5
ReplyDeleteThis audio clip was truly eye opening, and forced me to think about how privileged we all are. I have always wondered how the people on the side of the road, begging for money, ended up there. They all must have such different stories, and I don’t think that many of them imagined their lives turning out the way they did. I agree with Alana, that a lot of this has to do with luck and timing. It is hard to know when the economy is going to go downhill, or when you are going to get laid off from a job you've had for years. It can be hard to predict all the hardships in your life, and for many of these people that means that they are no longer able to support themselves and their families. In my opinion being poor means you are not able to support yourself in order to meet your basic needs: food, water, shelter etc. The poor are helped by the government with things such as food stamps and places like homeless shelters, but this is not enough to accommodate the growing poor population in America. As Jews, a big part of our religion is to give Tzedakah or charity. We are taught from a very young age that we must help those less fortunate than us in our community. We have to be aware of those in need and do our best to give back.
Little tree comment #4
Deletei agree with Liana. This clip purpose was not only to inform the rest of the world what is going on in separate parts of the wold rather also to open our eyes and recognize what we have. We always tend to complain and brag about our belongings and claiming that we want MORE!! we have to notice our surrounding and see that others don' t nearly have as much as you do and we should be thankful for ANYTHING. These poor people are already embarrassed about their condition and the last thing they need is to be un-secretly donated to, showing that they are in need of money
Bruce Comment #3
ReplyDeletePoverty is a vicious cycle. Typically those in urban or even suburban poverty situation do not have ready access to good or even adequate free education systems. With out gaining an education needed to enter the work force they are stuck with the mediocre jobs their family has had for years. This cycle traps them. They are then determined as poor by the government. As people like Anna and Nathan have said poverty is not always as apparent as a beggar on a street corner, often the impoverished suffer in silence. This can mean waiting for the food stamps to arrive in order to put food on the table. another miss conception is that poverty goes hand in hand with unemployment. In my life I have encountered many poor families where one or both parents are working multiple minimum wage jobs in order to afford low level luxuries. Geographic location can also be a factor I would guess that it is easier to get a higher paying job in the DTC than it is to even get a job in Globeville or Elyria and Swansea
Mia Bonus Comment #2
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion the poorest people in our country are those who do not realize that poverty is in our world. Over the past couple years poverty has been a growing issue and the worst thing about it is many people don't even know it. Poverty is a terrible thing and the best thing we can do as a people is work together to end it. If everyone in the world who has the luck of not being in poverty came together and made sure every man woman and child had a roof to live under, food to eat, water to drink and a job they could go to everyday and earn their own money. "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime" if we do this as a people then everybody will be able to get up from their slump and create a better future for themselves.
Adina Comment #5
ReplyDeleteI agree with Liana when she said that this clip was eye opening. Sometimes we have to see these types of things in order to believe that they are actually true. We hear about poor people and poverty often, but we don't do anything about it until you actually see it taking place and then it makes you feel guilty if you sit around and just act like you don't know what is going on. I don't think that any kid that has a good life with all he needs to survive and be happy would see themselves living on the streets in possibly ten years from that point. The more I think about it I don't even find it possible for me to be in that situation in years from now. I have a good life and am fortunate to have even more than what I need in order to survive. I feel like I can say that most people in our school are lucky enough to live the type of live we do. My opinion on answering Malka's question is that any one of the things she listed can be considering one poor. If one doesn't have a house, food, clothing items, healthcare, insurance, etc. then they are considered poor to most people in the U.S. today. These are all important to have and to stay safe, therefore if one is not capable to afford any of these things they are thought of as poor. It is hard to know if the people begging on the side of the roads are in need of money or food. Even if you choose to give them something like money how do you know they are using it for the better and not just using it to buy drugs or alcohol. In order to be safe in a situation like this you should avoid giving them money and maybe give them a little bit of food or water. This way you are still helping them out, but at the same time you know they can't make a bad decision with what you gave them.