idea + research

1. what is poverty ?

Poverty is the state of one who lacks a certain amount of material possessions or money. absolute poverty or destitution refers to the deprivation of basic human needs, which commonly includes food, water, sanitation, clothing, shelter, health care and education. Relative poverty views poverty as socially defined and dependent on social context, hence relative poverty is a measure of income inequality. Rises in the costs of living making poor people less able to afford items. Poor people spend a greater portion of their budgets on food than richer people. As a result, poor households and those near the poverty threshold can be particularly vulnerable to increases in food prices.

For children with low resources, the risk factors are similar to others such as juvenile delinquency rates, higher levels of teenage pregnancy, and the economic dependency upon their low income parent or parents.Families and society who submit low levels of investment in the education and development of less fortunate children end up with less favorable results for the children who see a life of parental employment reduction and low wages. Higher rates of early childbearing with all the connected risks to family, health and well-being are major important issues to address since education from preschool to high school are both identifiably meaningful in a life.

 

Poverty is hunger. Poverty is lack of shelter.  Poverty is being sick Poverty is not having a job, is fear for the future, living one day at a time. And not being able to see a doctor. Poverty is not having access to school and not knowing how to read. Poverty is not having a job, is fear for the future, living one day at a time. Poverty is losing a child to illness brought about by unclean water. Poverty is powerlessness, lack of representation and freedom. Poverty is a call to action - for the poor and the wealthy alike - a call to change the world so that many more may have enough to eat, adequate shelter, access to education and health, protection from violence, and a voice in what happens in their communities. Poverty is the state of being without, often associated with need, hardship and lack of resources across a wide range of circumstances.

Resources/ research:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty

http://fightpoverty.mmbrico.com/poverty/what.html

 

2. what are some of the outcomes of poverty in the world?

 

Poverty is a state of living with very little to no money, below what could be considered the minimum level of income security in a society. Poverty is a serious problem in societies and can result in various negative outcomes. five possible outcomes of poverty include committing crime, living in a abusive family setting, losing one's children to Child Protective Services, living with debilitating medical conditions, and if the poverty is extreme enough, homelessness or death.

The nation’s economic crisis has deeply affected the lives of millions of Americans. Skyrocketing foreclosures and job layoffs have pulled the rug out from under many families, particularly those living in low-income communities. Deepening poverty is inextricably linked with rising levels of homelessness and food insecurity/hunger for many Americans and children are particularly affected by these conditions.

http://www.apa.org/pi/families/poverty.aspx

 

 

 

 

 

Moral/ethical argument

One moral/ethical argument
     "The 41 percent poverty rate for single moms with children under the age of 18 is much higher; the percentage for both single moms and dads is still higher than that of impoverished married couples with children at 9 percent"(121)
    
  Raise by a single mother has been a tough road for both of us, we were two strangers throughout my childhood because she would be working day to night that I would barely see her. she worked three jobs that it would only covered groceries and personal materials and rent. My mom couldn't afford an apartment by her self so we lived with my five uncles in one room apartment it was a chaos. When I turned 8 years old we moved into my mom friend apartment it was worse because we only rented half corner for a bed and my mom would sleep on the floor it was a tough experience for us.soon after I was 10 years old she was able to buy a house it was a fairy tale and a dream for me when I was able to have my own room and a place to call home. my mom own that house for 3 years until the bank took it away. luckily she was able to buy another house with her friend and once again it would be one room all of us and her friend in the other one. we share rent with my mom friend and soon she started working more hours that I became distance from my mother that I became angry for leaving me alone. it was a disaster through my childhood years until my mom married my step dad, he helped her with the bills that I was able to see my mother more often that I enjoyed it but at the same time we were strangers to each other. soon my mom was expecting a baby boy at first it was weird for me because I still wanted her to just be both of us like it has been for years however my brother became part of my life he brought me happiness and peace in my heart. my mom worked less due to her pregnancy so the financial issue went worse he would live on paycheck to paycheck to make our months covered with food and shelter. my step dad had to work extra hours to survive our rent, even though they both work and with my mom friend help with the house the bank was still able to take our house again. we went through financial crisis again that we moved into a town home or apartment until we recover. my mom and step dad worked 2 jobs and with both paychecks it only covers rent, food, personal materials and other necessary needs. even though I was raised by a single mother living in poverty I am proud of her because she would always provide us with food, shelter and clothing. however as she's getting older she's also getting weaker with her health she still does everything in her power to support me with school and providing us with our needs.

 
     

National Security essay

                                              

 

National Security is defined as the requirement to maintain the survival of the nation-state through the use of economic, military and political power. The National Security concerns are biological weapons, nukes, cyber-attacks and transnational crime; however the least concern is poverty. It is said that the national security is the protection or the safety of the country and its citizens. Although let’s ask our self’s if 15, 749, 129 of Americas are under the safety of what’s called our “National Security” if there living under the poverty line. The quote by Marian Wright Edelman illustrates how the National Security protects as I said before the use of biological weapons, nukes and cyber-attack; however it does not protect us from our own failures of human mistakes and corruptions; “The greatest threat in America national security comes from no enemy without but from our own failures to protect, invest in, and educate all of our children who make up all of our futures in this global economy” (49). The theory of the National Security is that their primary concerns are the outside threats and the least concern is the inside problem such as poverty. However the National Security should balance both equally because both the outside threat and the inside problem is our concern for the survival and safety of our country.

National Security on the one hand is primary focused on outside threats. The most unforgettable threat in America history was the tragedy event of 9/11. On September 11, 2001, nineteen terrorists boarded four commercial jetliners. They hijacked four airliners and transmitted a suicide attack against the United States. Two airplanes were crashed into the World Trade Center in New York. The third plane crashed into the Pentagon in Washington D.C; the last plane was going to crash another building in Washington but the passengers stopped the hijackers leading them to crash into a field. The 9//11 attack caused three thousand people to die without saying good-bye to their love ones. After the 9/11 attack America became mainly focused towards terrorism causing it to pull away from domestic issues. The 9/11 attack led what is called the “Global War on terrorism “issued by President George W. Bush. This meant that the U.S government increased military production, economic measures and political pressure towards terrorists of  being a threat to the United States.  In response of the 9/11 attack the military took action against Afghanistan. This policy is called the “US invaded Afghanistan” in order to remove the Taliban regime and to capture al- Qaeda forces. The war, however it’s still not solved but complicated deeply into Afghanistan and Iraq. This concludes how the 9/11 attack known as the “outside threat” are value into importance for the National Security and taken into consideration of an issue that needs to be solve and change into a solution. 

According to the Rich and the Rest of US “ we think most Americans now agree with us that the more than a trillion dollars ( and counting) it has cost the American taxpayer to execute and maintain our military adventures in Afghanistan and Iraq was a monumental mistake”(106). In response the war in Iraq and Afghanistan led to be the second most expensive military conflicts in America history. In other words we spend billions of dollars investing in the war that could have been instead being used in creating jobs and eliminating the poverty line in America. The war in Iraq and Afghanistan was money wasted when it could have been invest into bigger problems in America such as reducing poverty by increasing jobs and wages. According to Dr. King “war is the enemy of the poor” because the poor pay the price of the results due to the war; for example according to The Rich and the Rest of Us; “The plan by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, which calls for 2.4 trillion in cuts over a 10 year period, includes $900 billion in cuts in areas such as education, health care, nutrition, affordable housing, child care, and many other programs desperately needed by working families and the most vulnerable”(109) the result of the war caused drastic cuts to Medicare and Medicaid programs that help economically stable the poor. However due to the war in the end the poor suffer and increase the poverty line in America. Another outside threat is Syria according to the President Barack Obama speech on Syria “Over the past two years, what began as a series of peaceful protests against the repressive regime of Bashar al-Assad has turned into a brutal civil war.  Over 100,000 people have been killed.  Millions have fled the country.  In that time, America has worked with allies to provide humanitarian support, to help the moderate opposition, and to shape a political settlement.  But I have resisted calls for military action, because we cannot resolve someone else’s civil war through force, particularly after a decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan”. In response the United States is acting on another outside problem that might end up in another complicated war that we won’t get out easily like the Iraq and Afghanistan war.  However Assad’s government gassed to death over a thousand people, including hundreds of children, this horrified event is a crime against humanity and a violation of the laws of war. This tragic event takes the United States to intervene into action.  According to President Barack Obama “Our ideals and principles, as well as our national security, are at stake in Syria, along with our leadership of a world where we seek to ensure that the worst weapons will never be used” in response we or mostly of the Americans would support that chemical weapons used against its citizens was immoral, inhumanity and it needs to be taken away from misgovernment use. On the other hand why can’t we say this about poverty? Why can’t we say we would take millions of children’s out of poverty?

On the other hand National Security least concern is poverty also known as the inside problem. According to The Rich and the Rest of Us; “fear is the underlying radioactive element that suppresses the truth about poverty… if no one honestly speaks out the suffering of the dispossessed their pain will never be heard “(111). As long with this quote fear suppresses politicians from speaking the truth about poverty and hiding from the problem. Fear makes us attack on someone else we choose to remain silent about poverty due to our fears and rejects them. The voices of the poor are muted from the world that causes it to reject the truth about poverty and refusing to stand up against powerful political system that blindly favors the rich and ignores the poor. According to The Rich and the Rest of Us “What’s missing in today’s political arena are bold advocates for the poor who will risk careers stature and political office to be their brothers and sisters keepers” (113). Today’s political are ignorant in their own power that they ignore the rest of us mostly the poor. Their political power causes them to become blind without seeing the reality about the inside problems in America. Power makes us vicious once we have power we want more and more that it goes over our heads that we would dare to exploit the poor to retain the power. As a result of power the exploitation leads to poverty. Power also makes us corrupt and pulls us away from humanity and drives us to vicious power. In other words power transforms us into monster and doesn’t take you anywhere in life.

According to The Rich and the Rest of Us, “poverty has become a political football used to accent government failures and ridicule socio-economic outcomes” (30). national security and the government has failed in reducing poverty and providing its citizens a “safe” secured life zone. Poverty is the lack of money and not a character flaw. The national security as long with the government should talk about and do something to end poverty in America. To change we need courage to tell the truth and fight for justice for the rest of us.



Chapter 1 summary

• Chapter 1 focuses about the portrait of poverty it begins with the story of Diane Struble, North Carolina. she and her husband Todd were both college-educated and they enjoyed middle class combine annual income of $85,000. Her husband Todd had lost his job, the Stubles having eight children had to get by with Diane's school teacher salary of $22,000 a year, which is defined below the poverty line. This story illustrates how poverty refuses to discriminate religion or ethnic identity and its also affecting middle class, describe as the "new poor" citizens who were once members of America's middle class.
• " while the incomes of the richest 1 percent of Americans-those earning $380,000 or more- have grown by 33 percent over the past 20 years, the income growth for the other 90 percent of Americans, including class, has been at a virtual standstill" how come the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer and now hitting the middle class? would It be that rapidly growing divide between the rich and the poor have virtually eliminated the middle class. according to The Rich and the Rest of US.
•  The 20th century poverty vs. 21st stories were shocking and heart breaking. The first story was about Christopher Jenks, he grow up in a white middle class family. he had become homeless from sales and marketing that came to a crashing halt. and it said that middle class Americans find themselves caught in an economic tragedy.
• Barbara Ehrenreich spoke regarding the poor: " The theory for a long time-... is that poverty means that there's something wrong with your character, that you got bad habits, you've got a bad lifestyle, you've made the wrong choices.''    '' I would like to present an alternative theory... poverty is a shortage of money... most people are not paid enough for their work and then we don't have work ''  (22) this quote illustrate how people ignore the poor because they see them as is there fault that they are in poverty. but we don't stop to think how's there situation. basically we react and respond to the poor as virus and we deny it because were afraid of facing reality about how the world can be cruel and we don't want to accept the differences between the rich and the poor.  
• In the 19th century the poor status as prostitutes, thieves, and the criminal insane. anyone deemed poor or unable to support themselves were sent to the poor house. the poor house were shelter of horror, elderly and children were housed with society outcast and neglect and sexual abuse. 
• income inequality and poverty worsened between 1896 and 1914 due to cost of living increases and declines in the wages of the working poor.  1. Recession- poverty 2. stock market crash of  1929, which led to the great depression leading to increasing the poverty line.
• In the post war poverty- wartime prosperity, rising wages, declining unemployment, and the expansion of public benefits, helped to significantly reduce poverty in America in the years after the Depression. In summary the war introduce a new beginning of changes such as more jobs, increasing of salary and reducing poverty but does it need to be a war to be able to reduce property again?
•  Late 1970s face poverty reverted to 19th century levels poor were once again blamed for their circumstances.
• four out of every ten Americans workers earned poverty wages
• Poverty has become a political football used to accent government failures and ridicule socio-economic outcomes (30)..
• Rich- " there has been something crude and heartless and unfeeling in our haste to succeed and be great"
• American dream had been compromised by the rich and war-ready it remained a symbol of basic freedoms and necessities.
• " its called the American dream because you have to be asleep to believe it"(31) the middle class lost jobs- poverty
• American dream- manipulative marketing tool used to unprecedented consumerism.
• American dream- myth- to attract immigrants the hope of accomplishing wonders but in reality the America dream is a nightmare.
• Recession Economy- massive debt start lose the symbols of solvency- car, house, financial freedom and life you promised if you played by the rules. so this means middle class is at risk of poverty and even if we work hard like the rest we would still end up in the poverty line? this kinds of thoughts scare Americans if they loose their job or cant find one.
• According to the report Americans are no longer seeking personal wealth they are just looking for a "sense of financial security that allows them to live a sustainable lifestyle"
• As unemployment, corporate greed, and the divide between the rich and the rest of us grew exponentially in the 21st century.
• to get out of this economic mess, we must thoroughly dissect the missing pieces that placed almost 50 millions of us in this calamitous position. greedy and gluttonous individuals and institutions must be exposed and brought to justice. this means that we need to stop being ignorant about the world and open our eyes and see the reality of poverty and we need to fix it.

Ted talk poverty: two videos

First video : http://www.ted.com/talks/jessica_jackley_poverty_money_and_love.html

             In Jessica jackley: poverty, money and love has an inspiring story about her own struggle dealing with the issue on poverty. It was when she was 6 years old when she first started to hear  stories about the poor from her Sunday school teacher and from god. she remember learning people who were poor need it something material : food, clothing and shelter that they didn't have. and it was her job to help them it was said that Jesus ask them. she was eager about helping but she soon learn that no matter what she would do she would fail. A phrase that she remembers from god  is " the poor will always be with us" and this confused,frustrated and overwhelmed her that it lead her to fear the poor and the negative emotions when she didn't know how to help and especially when the problem was never going away. she started to ignore them and blocking them off  because she didn't want to feel guilt for not being able to help them. Sadness, suffering and disease was the life of the poor.  Jessica Jackely heard a speech by Grameen Bank Founder Muhammad Yunus, an economist who had developed the idea of microcredit: micro lending; tinny loan that could help entrepreneurs start a business a new method to change the world. Jessica Jackely was deeply inspired " I was so completely blown away by the idea that I quit my job, dropped everything and moved to East Africa to help".   when I seen this video I was truly pull in into her inspiring story. what I learned is that there's a foundation called Kiva, an online community that helps individuals loan small amounts of money. This foundation gave me hope and happiness knowing that this program can change the world
and it takes all of us to change the world to destroy little by little the issue of poverty. I also learned that
this program helped a farmer in Cambodia, a pharmacist in Sierra Leone, or a shopkeeper in Mongolia 
and many more that change their life into a better standard of living in ways like being able to send their
children to school, buying mosquito nets or buying locks for their safety at home. there are able to afford things that
they couldn't buy. A quote from Jessica, that was very amazingly true "It was really humbling to see for the
first time, to really understand that even if I could have taken a magic wand and fixed everything, I
probably would have gotten a lot wrong. Because the best way for people to change their lives is for them
to have control and to do that in a way that they believe is best for them." we can help change their lives
but they are willing to change them in their own ways not ours. The program gives them an opportunity
to do their best and it helps them to continue their hard work and a better cycle of living. this program
also provides goals to make things better for all of us and helping solve the problem. I believe that this
program is a new method to change the world I want this program to get stronger by more supports for
us to fight poverty and break the cycle of poverty.


Second video: http://www.ted.com/talks/shukla_bose_teaching_one_child_at_a_time.html

 This video is about Educating the poor, says Shukla Bose. She tells the story of her
groundbreaking Parikrma Humanity Foundation, which brings hope to India's slums by looking past the
 daunting statistics and focusing on treating each child as an individual. The schools build an "end-to-end"
environment that supports learning -- offering lunch every day, health-care and family support. Beyond
 these schools, Parikrma has inaugurated several afterschool programs and has plans for setting up a
 central teacher-training hub. when I seen this video I was amazed how she truly is passionate about
education and was willing to teach a child at a time through school send to college and get prepared for
 better living . her passionate inspired me to learn more about her program that I would love to support
because students would learn to read and write and to not fear to fail and continue educating themselves.
this program would bring back learning and stop pushing students to fail if we can believe change is
possible. Every child in the world was the right to learn and we need to give that right to them 
without stealing that opportunity for them.
 

Issue # 2 : The Rich and The Rest of US

second issue :
    The National Coalition for homeless veterans estimates that more than 67, 000 veterans on any given night, but about 1.5 million are considered at risk of homelessness due to poverty, lack of support networks, or dismal living conditions and substandard housing.  Base on data from HUD and the U.S department of Veteran affairs 67,495veterans are homeless 4,355 of them headed households with children. In response of this issue is that how can a soldier who fought for this nation end up in the poverty line? there's many reasons it could be the post traumatic stress and physical injuries that prevents them to work. Even though if there reasons why they become homeless my question is why would we allow veterans become homeless ? isn't that shameful and unfair for brave men who fought for this country deserve to end up in poverty when they come home from war. 

Issue #1:The Rich and The Rest of US

The first Issue :
       " It paralyzes us and prevents us from courageously facing the facts and coming up with real solution to help America's "old" and "new" poor. " According to The Rich and The Rest of US, We react and respond to the poor as if they're afflicted with some flesh- eating virus and are highly contagious. In the response of that issue we sometimes find ourselves ignoring the poor and isolating our self from them because the fear of having the thought that maybe someday we might end up in poverty like them instead of helping the poor we ignore them like they don't exist in our society. According to The Rich and The Rest of Us, Before social researches and women's organizations in the early 1900's challenged staid perceptions of poverty or " pauperism" in America, poverty was widely blamed on personal flaws such as immorality, alcoholism, and criminal behavior.  this issue connects how the society would make negative concerns towards the poor to be able to ignore them without feeling guilty. It basically outcast and neglected the poor.  Many Americans pretend that poverty isn't an issue because they don't want to face reality that the richest nation has 48.5 million people or 16 percent of the population living in poverty, according to Census data. Poverty is an Issue and it needs a solution it doesn't need us to ignore it and let it happen it doesn't need to stay in a cycle, we need to break that cycle but we can only do it if we understand the reality of poverty and fixed its flaws to make this nation a better nation.