Poverty's Affect on Society

Poverty is a massive problem in countries all around our planet. From Berkeley, California, to the South Asian country of Bangladesh, one can find millions of people without homes, struggling to simply survive. However, with such varying cases of poverty, it cannot strictly be defined as a person without a home. Many citizens of the United States of America hardly earn enough money to keep a roof over their head and their families fed. Countless people are working multiple minimum wage jobs, and still not

earning enough to be able to afford clothes for their whole family, much less a house or a car. During the economic recession of the late 2000's, not only were independently run businesses shut down, destroying local economies, but many large corporations fell to their knees before the government, begging for bail-outs, which affected the entire economy of the world. The main outcome of this recession was that Americans all over the country lost their jobs. Many of those that lost their jobs also lost their homes. T

his is of great concern, even to those who are incredibly wealthy. Those who live on the streets are often driven to commit crimes in order to survive. This increased crime rate affects every man, woman, and child. Taxes may rise as a result of more jails being built in order to contain criminals. In relatively decent neighborhoods, the values of houses will decrease as a result of urban decay, which is a naturally

occurring process that causes deindustrialization as a result of increasing poverty. As the cost of houses decrease, even the wealthiest members of society will feel the effects of urban decay. The constitution states that every human has the right to life, liberty, and property, and that all men are created equal. For this reason, those of us who are more fortunate than others have an obligation to help those who are downtrodden by no fault of their own, so that they may have an equal opportunity to receive a proper education, and a fair chance to live safely, therefore succeeding in life.

The affects of poverty can be traced throughout history. The Great Depression of the 1920's and 1930's is a prime example of why it is imperative that every citizen plays his part in ensuring that the United States does not experience another depression. The wealthy were in part to blame for the economic crash, seeing that many spent frivolously and spent so much using credit that they were unable to repay the banks. As a result of this, many homes went into foreclosure, decreasing the value of neighborhoods. The devastating results of the frivolous spending were unprecedented. One-quarter of the work force was unemployed, and 32,000 businesses went bankrupt. 5,500 banks had to close as those that feared the loss of their money rushed to withdraw it.As the banks closed down, literally thousands were left penniless. The stability of the government and economy was jeopardized. Farms in the midwest became completely infertile because of over-farming, an event known as the dust bowl. When farmers overproduced, prices fell, and many threw out crops to keep the prices up, devastating further those who were dying of hunger. The United States was not the only country to falter. Many governments fell in Latin America due to economic crises, increasing the number of crimes and furthering the instability of the world economy as a whole. The inability of countries to pay back loans to one another added to the decreasing economy. If the wealthy are not conscious of their spending and of the global economy, the world is doomed to have another depression. However, if we as citizens of the earth are aware that such a terrible event could happen again, we can prevent it by being aware of how our actions will affect future generations.

In 2007, the United States began facing a serious recession, which thankfully did not lead to a depression. However, many lost their jobs and the country was facing affects similar to those seen in the 1930's. During this time, over 3 millions workers lost their jobs, and the national unemployment rate was 8.5%. George W. Bush was the president at this time, and the government did not stand idly by. On October 3, 2008, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act was passed, which was a 700 billion dollar bailout plan aimed to help the housing and banking markets recover. Whether the economy was at all helped by this bailout plan is uncertain, but president Obama, who took office in January 2009, at the lowest point of the recession, continues to make efforts to reach out to the impoverished people of America. The New Jobs Tax credit was proposed by Obama, a plan that would offer tax breaks to those companies that were hiring new employees. Obama also hoped to stimulate the job market by creating government jobs through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Among other things, this act intended to create over 3.5 millions jobs, such as repairing highways. The act also hoped to increase college affordability by creating tax cuts for nearly four millions students, and create tax cuts for those in poverty who are raising families. As a result of these government programs, among other things, America has begun a slow climb out of the recession, which can be seen in the number of job losses from January 2009, numbering around 700,000, to January 2010, numbering around 20,000.

The efforts of the government and citizens is clearly beneficial to the economy. However, poverty is still a relevant problem, and may always be, therefore citizens should not rely on the government to solve problems, but rather should take to the streets and become aids to those in need.

The democratic party seems to be the party most interested in solving the poverty issue, as reflected by the numerous proposals made by Obama and others. The republican party is often referred to as the party of "no"due to their continuous congressional rejection of many bills proposed. This may be in part due to the fact that republicans are generally conservative, white males over the age of 50. The general wealth of the republican party also may cause them to be insensitive to those who are less fortunate, as they feel that they themselves are harder-working individuals. The strength of this view is that they will take care of themselves and their families before those that they do not know personally. This "survival of the fittest" mentality is beneficial in some ways and harmful in others. This party often neglects the fact that they may also be affected by the poverty level. The democrats, on the other hand, seem to be more aware of the dangers of neglecting the poor. The health care bill passed in March, 2010 was widely accepted by Democrats and rejected by Republicans. One reason for this was the fact that the bill established higher taxes for those with a higher income, and large tax cuts for those below the poverty line. I myself lean towards the opinion of the Democrats, being aware that poverty is a serious issue in America. I see members of my family affected directly by the number of job losses, and therefore am more inclined personally to make sacrifices to those less fortunate. There are various approaches being taken to help the underprivileged in our country. One relatively simple thing that is being done to help the homeless, is ensuring that those who don't have homes are counted in the 2010 census. It is difficult to reach those without homes, but it is vital. The more homeless people that are counted in America, the more money the `government gives to homeless shelters in order to expand. This simple act of counting all the homeless will immediately increase the outreach that they receive.

Recently, the media has shed light on many of the issues surrounding poverty. The number of job losses is consistently reported on the news, and key economic indicators such as the Gross Domestic Product of our nation have been increasingly making the general public more aware of the state of the economy. Many news websites, such as CNN.com release articles that address ways to save money during these hard times. One article instructs citizens on how they can help the homeless, such as giving them food and blankets rather than money. There are hotlines that work 24 hours a day that anyone can call if they see a homeless person in need of medical attention or in any hostile situation. This media coverage has had a profound positive effect in that it brings the issue of poverty to attention, causing many to realize the immense affect of poverty in America, and instructs the public on how to best handle the recession.

There are many things that need to be done in order to further help the issue of poverty in our country. The first step, and perhaps the most important, that needs to be taken is to make the public more aware of the situation that our country is in. It is imperative that those who do not see poverty as a problem, because they themselves are wealthy, realize the affects that the issue has in our country. These people must be educated to realize that things such as urban decay and an increasing crime rate are highly possible occurrences in the United States. These people must see that, if unsolved, poverty will continue to increase and become a problem for them, not just those who are unemployed. Those who are aware of the seriousness of this problem must work to spread information. Also, those who are aware must engage in selfless acts to help the situation. Although working at a soup kitchen may not seem like it has a profound affect, it truly does help those who cannot afford food for their families. Considering that the soup kitchens and other organizations do not receive sufficient government funding to help everyone that they need to, volunteers are the most part of the equation to solve poverty. More organizations that help impoverished people must be established by those with thousands of dollars to spare. An example of a non-profit organization that reaches out to those in need is Operation ELF. Every year in December, ELF gives gifts and necessities to families who are trying to get back on their feet. Many families receive beds and other furniture to help them start living a normal life. Many of the families that are helped live in an unfurnished home. The organization gives the families clothes and blankets to help them keep warm in their often unheated homes. Many families receive gift cards to Safeway and other grocery stores so that they can feed their families. There are also places that give out furniture and other necessities to anyone in need. These places are kept alive by the donations of people who care, even if they are not directly affected by poverty. More places like this need to exist in order to help those in need. As helpful as these places are, the government also must continue to work to solve the issue of poverty. Passing tax cuts for families below the poverty line is one solution that greatly helps keep people off the street. Doing things such as making sure organizations get enough funding by including homeless people in the census, are also incredibly helpful. If ideas to help those in need aren't implemented, the consequences could be another Great Depression. Everyone must be aware of the effect of poverty, because it affects the whole country. If the problem was ignored completely, one would see the value of houses decrease, the quality of education decrease, and the whole economy of the world quickly spiral downward. Therefore, it is imperative that every single individual do their part to help those in times of need. Knowledge is power, and for people to be ignorant of the problem of poverty would mean that the stability of the world economy is jeopardized.