Willa Ann Smith

Willa Ann Smith

American Families in Poverty

Reading reflections

Tuesday, May 13 Topic: Theories of Poverty/Experience of Poverty

PP 13-19, Some Basic Facts

The main theories that the readings cover are Social Darwinism, the theory covered by Herrnstien and Murray in The Bell Curve” (1994), “The culture of poverty”, and the theory covered by Harrington in The Other America. All four of the theories have merit if you combine them together but individually I think they are missing the big picture.

The basis of Social Darwinism is that the strong survive and the weak get left behind to die. In The Bell Curve the theory is that those similar in cognition will attract each other keeping social groups together by virtue of IQ. “The culture of poverty” seems to be a popular theory because it was the thinking that I grew up on. The theory is that poverty is a cycle that gets handed down through the generations. The theory that I agree with the least would be Harrington’s “The Other America” were it seems that society

and fate are to blame for people in poverty.

I think that all of the theories have merit but I do not think that any one theory could really be true for all humans in a specific economical group. Lumping the whole group into one theory boarders on prejudice and that would be a whole other issue. I have received a real education on people in poverty in the three and a half years I have been working for Head Start. I have seen evidence of all the theories. Some of our parents only qualify for one year of Head Start. Qualification being at or below 150% of the poverty threshold. We have some parents that were Head Start children and their children qualify and their grandchildren qualify.

Willa Smith

Wednesday, May 14, 2003 “Gaining Factual Knowledge”

What is poverty? What is the poverty rates in the U.S.?

PP 1-8, Wealth Gap

Poverty is your economic place in society. The United States poverty line according to the book as of Year 2000 from the book Year 2002/2003 (Head Start office)

Family of 1= $ 8,794 $ 8,860

Family of 3=$13,738 $15,020

Family of 4=$17,603 $18,100

The poverty line does get increased with the cost of living but it does not seem to be enough. Near poor is 125% of the poverty line. To qualify for title XX in Ohio was 150% of the poverty line but recently that was changed to 125%. This change has effected parents and companies because without the subsidized child care the parents are forced to pull children from their current child care and look for a cheaper alternative. To work and be above the poverty line a family of four has to make $8.20 per hour in a full year job. This does not seem like a lot for a two income family but if you are a single parent then it becomes harder to make enough to reach the poverty line. To be considered severely poor you would be at or below half the poverty line. The good news is that the book reports only 20% of those living in poverty stay there seven years or more. The bad news in that most of those experiencing poverty are young children unable to help the

situation and single parent households.

Some factors that influence poverty are age, gender, marital status, and race. As people age they are less likely to be living in poverty. The book reports that people 65 and older have a lower percentage of people living in poverty than those younger than 65. Females are more likely to live in poverty than males because of the unequal pay structure for work. Two adults in the household lowers the chance of the household living in poverty. I found it interesting that within certain (ex. Asians) groups the poverty percent changed depending on where the group was from originally.

Willa Smith

Thursday, May 15, 2003 PP. 9-10; 20-30; 105-115

Who is poor? Why? Homelessness/Housing issues

Homelessness happens when the economy is slow, people make a life change and it does not work out, when a company merges or downsizing occurs. There are as many reasons as there are homeless people. The stories that I read in the book are enlightening and frightening. Reading the passages brought back the memory of the first homeless family that I ever really knew.

In Poverty or At Home in a Car (Spinks) I felt that the man is what most people think of when they think of homeless. He displayed some mental illness tendencies and even addressed the possibility of depression. He has low self esteem now and I would guess that he had it even when he was younger and able to work. After twenty years of being homeless I’m not sure what type of assistance would help this person get into a “normal” life. The life he lives now is normal for him and although he is not happy I’m not sure he would be happy in any setting. There are different social/economic rules that he has a problem with and that would probably stand in his way of social adjustment. This story gives life to the social Darwinism theory.

The Armstrongs is a scary story that any family could be thrown into. The fact that the family is trying to stay strong together is admirable. The theory of “The Other America” seems to fit this section. The family was going along fine and with just a few bad turns, through no fault of their own, they are living in poverty. The economy makes it hard to replace the good paying jobs that are lost to downsizing and mergers. Society does not see the places the family was going but instead saw then as a threat and decided not to really help.

In Worlds Apart the personal perspectives on who is trying to get off assistance and who is not is bias. The writing is evidence of The Bell Curve because like attract like and the social groups, although similar, do not mix. The “haves” and “have nots” do not seen to be very different except maybe in their length of time receiving assistance and their ability to deceive themselves about what income is available in that area.

Housing /Homelessness

What is meant to help poor neighborhoods is really causing a problem. When people fix up low income housing then they think that the price should go up. This is a problem because the neighborhoods should be livable and affordable but the two attributes do not seem to be able to coexists. To find a place to live and pay only 30% of your income is very difficult. For a family of three in Akron the amount that the government says should be used for housing is only $375.50 per month. This amount does not leave much choice as to where you can live. Those that do live in poor neighborhoods do not seem to have the things they need within walking distance and that is needed because most people living in poverty can not afford a car. This is just one of the things that I have always taken for granted. People I know that live in poverty complain about the lack of safe stores, laundry mats, and banks that they can walk to. In Dawn’s Story it was sad that the

communities that she lived in made her choose between helping others and her safety and the safety of her children. I can not imagine how hard it would be to live under violent conditions and be able to do nothing because of the fear of harm to you or your family.

The writings Shelter and Bureaucracy and Rules as Punishment struck a cord

with me. I do not like it when people are treated unfairly. It is odd how

the men and women are treated different but equally awful. Both aspects are

perceived as controlling and degrading but in different ways. The men were

to leave early and fend for themselves until it was time to be picked up.

The women were to be kept under supervision even when they wanted to go out

and get things rolling for themselves. How sad that the people who are

supposed to help are causing so much pain and damage. I was thinking about

these issues today and I think I will investigate shelters in Akron to maybe

do my volunteer hours.