Session 5: Globalization and World Poverty

Continuing to read chapter 4, I learned how the U.S.' poverty rate differs from other countries around the World. Of course, it was among the richest countries, along side many Western European countries, and the poverty rate here was significantly lower than those of developing countries such as South Africa and South Asia. Standards for poverty in developing countries are quite different, because the poorest U.S. citizen would not be considered poor in say Latin America or South Asia. What I found to be very interesting; however, was that when compared to the other richer, developed and industrialized countries, The United States poverty rate was clearly higher. How is this possible? Well, there seems to be some paradoxically factor when it comes to the U.S. Susan Mayer claims that "the U.S. safety net is weaker" (63 Iceland Poverty). That can be proven because while other richer countries such as Canada have free health care and spend a lot more money on public goods, benefits and services, the U.S. does not. It is in this that you could find one aspect of why the poverty rate in the U.S. is lower, since poverty is the lack of the essentials to survive, and health care is an essential to survive, yet many Americans do not have health care because it is either too expensive or to hard to obtain. Another reason why is because there is vast income inequality in America, so while the rich seem to be very rich, the poor are extremely poor. Therein lies the paradox of the U.S.' poverty read. But the fact that there is such an inequality in incomes and a lack of spending on public goods is part of Why I believe people are poor in the U.S. It is this, amongst other things that I have discussed in my previous blog, and what I plan to discuss in my upcoming blogs.

Generational Poverty

Session 4: Why I believe People are poor in the United States
As I continued to read the book assigned to us for this course, I came across a very interesting concept that I was exposed to, but didn't quite know how to address. That of course, is generational poverty. The idea that poverty can be passed down, like a fortune can, from generation to generation. This is something that I see on a regular basis, but I just didn't know enough about it, or fully understood how such a thing could happen. But now that I have read into it, I can clearly see how it could come to existence. As humans, we are beings that learn from examples and things taught to us, such as talking, walking, learning to drive, etc. Such learned behaviors shape and mold us, and though everyone learns the same basic behaviors, it depends on those that raise us and that we are surrounded around to teach us other behaviors that will make us individuals. So just as a young girl could have both parents in the house hold raising her, both parents have gone to college, graduated, and have successful careers, it is more likely that she will grow to have aspirations, and ultimately attain said aspirations, to be as successful as her parents, and marry someone that has the same goals and values. Well, the same could be said for the young girl on the other side of town, that grew up in a single parent home, where her mother works hard as well, but didn't have the resources, i.e. poor education, financial resources, and adequate child care, to go to college and enter a field of study that would allow her to attain jobs that would pay higher amounts of money. Therefore, the young girl will work hard just as does her mother, but will be more likely not to go to college, and will not be as pressed to marry before having children. This is not to say that this is an inevitable fate for the young girl, but learned behavior usually wins out over other types of education that we receive in our life time U.S. and why minorities anywhere in the World would continue to experience poverty. It is passed down, from generation to generation, and while there are the few that break that cycle, for the most part, many of those that were born into poverty remain in poverty, not because they consciously choose to or because they are too lazy to do anything about it, because often times these are the hardest working people in the entire World, but because it has been embedded into their brains and minds that this is how it is supposed to be. You see your grandmother is poor, your mother is poor, your aunts and uncles are also poor, you think its the norm. But the question is, how do you break out of that state of mind?

What is "poverty", and who exactly experiences it? Initial Blog/ Session 3

  As some of you may gather from an initial glance at my profile, I am a college student. One thing that college has taught me in the time that I have been there is how there are many different World views and ideologies, and often times we as individuals get caught up in our own views and biases, that we neglect to consider those of others, whether it be a particular individual, or a societal view that is different from the society that we associate with. One such class that has made me realize this is Culture and Poverty class. I haven't had this class for a whole month and already I am starting to re-evaluate my views on certain things. As of right now, I have a rather solid belief on what I believe certain things to be, but who knows, by the end of this semester I may have a different view of the World. What is all this to say? Well, in the class I mentioned, we were asked to give our opinions on what we think "poverty" is, as well as many other in depth questions, and I would like to share my answers with you all, in the hopes that you all will respond and give feedback on what you think about the issue.

  Coming from a relatively poor background myself, I like to think that I have a pretty good handle on who is more likely to experience poverty. I would say that mainly minorities (ie Blacks and Hispanics), experience poverty at higher poverty rates. Not only that, but single parents, mostly single mothers experience poverty. Now this is just in America, that I am talking about, because for me to try to give an opinion that I feel strongly about in regards to other countries would be ill-conceived, as I have not been out of this country. But with media coverage I would guess that those that experience poverty in other nations would be minorities, but not in the same way as in the U.S. I would say religious minorities, and again single mothers.

   I believe that some people are poor in the U.S. because for one, when one is born into poor standards, they tend to stay in those poor standards because that is all that they know or have become accustomed to. Now this is not to say that those born into this can not get out of that situation, it is just extremely difficult because the education that they are allotted does not meet the standards that are required to be successful. In is in that I believe government is to blame as well. I have seen too many times how poorly funded education is in poorer areas, areas that are desperately need the funding for the children.

   As of now, I see some initiatives taken by the Obama administration to combat poverty, such as Health Care reform and other public assistance services, but my main concern is the reformation of the Educational system, and I don't think that enough is being done in that area. As far as in other countries, I don't see a lot of governmental assistance, just because most countries do not believe in government assistance in matters such as poverty like the U.S. does.

   I partially addressed this in the other paragraph but I believe that as of now, poverty is being addressed fairly well in the U.S., but more emphasis should be put on education so that the cycle of poverty can be broken down a little. As far as globally, I'm not particularly sure but from the outside looking in, it does not look like poverty is being addressed as effectively as it should.

   I personally think that one way to address poverty is through education. I believe to be true globally, as well as in the U.S. Many of the public services offered to those experiencing poverty are great, short-term options, but can lead to dependency and can be considered a crutch. I believe that if more time and effort were put into education reform, and better educational programming, a lot more could be done for individuals.

 I will be updating this blog as the weeks and months progress, just in case any of my views change, or even if I feel I need to expound upon any points. Feel free to comment, I respect all opinions, but please try to keep it respectful as I do not entertain foolishness and disrespect. I look forward to hearing from you guys!