Session 9: Historical and Current Policy Responses: Social Welfare and Tax Policies

Chapter 7 and 8 could not have gone any better with my experience last week volunteering with some people in the homeless population. In chapter 7 of John Iceland's book, Poverty in America, I got a chance to learn some of the history of social welfare and the policies that were in place since the beginning of this country. The fact that starting in the colonial times, people had the tendency to shun those that were homeless, or even just living in poverty, helps me understand why some/many people still do the same today. The problem was that many people never took into consideration that often times there are extenuating circumstances that force a person into poverty. This misconception, that people that are living in poverty because they are too lazy to work hard, is a deep-rooted misconception in the American psyche. Another behavior that is deep-rooted is that of knowing that the government has some obligation to provide a "safety net" for those living in poverty, but also feeling as though those searching for assistance will become dependent upon it and will force others to pay higher taxes to foster their "contentment" with their situation. Since many feel this way, a lot of the programs and policies set up to aid in public assistance aim to discourage dependency on such programs by giving a cut off time such as two years, and eligibility only to those willing to go out and search for jobs. This can be a good thing, and has lead to many people leaving welfare and getting jobs to support themselves and their families, but often times programs set up this way ONLY combat dependency on the programs, but not the real problem, which is poverty. What I think is being done about poverty in the United States is setting up these different welfare policies and programs, but the problem of actually POVERTY is not being addressed as well as it should be. It is great that many do not want to create a dependency on such programs, but a more efficient system has to be set up in order to combat poverty as well. Some programs are doing so, by offering training and educational programs so that those seeking help can learn more skills that will enable them to receive better, higher paying jobs, but more programs should start to take that approach. The center that I volunteered at had many different programs, and also offered education on how to use different computer applications, and resume building techniques. If there were more programs such as that one, poverty would decrease sharply.

Session 7: Poverty and Wages

In this weeks session, we were asked to read many different articles and view different videos having to do with minimum wage and living wage. I found it quite shocking the amount of money that tipped workers are paid. $2.13 an hour is not enough for anyone, even if they are being paid tips and such. And to think that those tips have to be shared with the host, bussers, and other parties is absolutely ridiculous. Now that the federal minimum wage has been risen to $7.25 an hour, there seems to be some hope for those working for minimum wage, but the fact that some states have their own minimum wage does not ensure that everyone's pay rate will increase. What I think is being done about poverty in the U.S. on a federal level is great, because it seems that the federal level realizes that increased standards and costs of living should mean an increase in pay for those earning minimum wage. On the other hand, many states don't seem to get the picture and is another reason of Why I believe people are poor in the U.S. In one of the videos that I viewed, a young woman went around asking "What can you buy for $2.13"? Many couldn't even respond, because there is practically nothing that a person can buy for that amount of money, let alone live off of it. When one thinks about the costs of an apartment/house, transportation, food, clothing, health insurance, and other essentials needed to survive, it is hard to imagine how anyone could think that its okay to pay people such low amounts of money. I say that all states should set their minimum wage to $7.25 at least, in order to in some way combat poverty.

Session 6: Economics and Causes of Poverty

Chapter 5 and 6 in some way legitimized my idea on how historical discrimination and hinderance on many minority groups still have a lingering effect on the poverty rates of some of those minority groups to this day. In these chapters, it talked about how some of the institutions and laws that were set up to purposefully disenfranchise minorities, Women included. What I found to be most interesting is how many believe that poverty is becoming, and to some, already is, "a woman's problem". Many of the families in poverty are headed by single females, and the fact that there is still great income inequality between men and women, even when doing the same job, contributes greatly to the notion previously stated. Minority women fair much worse, seeing as they are not only minorities, but women as well, which makes it doubly hard for them to acquire prosperity. One common thread that I have seen since reading this book is the impact on education and success and income stability. It seems that education is the a direct link to the potential income that will be acquired by an individual. This goes back to the institutions set up to keep minorities in poverty, with legislation like separate but equal, and traditionally racism and segregation, where many Blacks and Latinos have access to schools that are greatly under-funded and don't have as many resources as those of their White and Asian counterparts. Overall my views have not changed from this week's reading, hopefully something will change with next week's reading assignment.