I was about to post this on the blog but then I realized that it was already posted. I found this NYT op-ed piece to be very insightful and well written.
I agree, Hikaru, the post was straight to the point, and professor McKinney's other post above this makes a nice compliment to this op-ed.
It's ridiculous to see how many people think it's just a matter of "pull yourself up by your bootstraps and you'll be fine." Poor people work a lot, many holding down multiple jobs, yet somehow there is a notion that poor people don't possess the work ethic to bring themselves out of poverty. As the author of the post said: poverty is not a state of mind, it's a lack of cash.
The statistic that stood out the most to me in this article is the following:
“Indeed, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest survey of consumer expenditure found that the poorest fifth of America’s households contributed an average of 4.3 percent of their incomes to charitable organizations in 2007. The richest fifth gave at less than half that rate, 2.1 percent.”
Even though the wealthy probably give a lot more in absolute dollar terms, the fact that the poorest fifth of households give more as a percentage is surprising and moving to me. I can imagine some people would argue that the bottom fifth should not give away as much money because of their financial situation, but to me this goes to show how people can be altruistic even in the worse of situations.
wow what an excellent article. it talks about the economic deficiency of the poor keeping in mind the structural flaws in the current economic system. this discussion is much harder to articulate without paying heed to ALL the demographic and systemic variables. poverty is not a lack or absence of traditional social structures but a failure of capitalism. to tackle these issues, there needs to be a shift from this kind of attitude (mentioned in the article). additionally, we need to create businesses with social objectives that can change the way economics/businesses work for everybody (which is to not only maximize profit but also fix the larger problems like poverty).
This was an excellent article. The author reveals the realities of those individuals living in poverty when he says that "poverty is a demanding, stressful, depressive and often violent state. No one seeks it; they are born or thrust into it. In poverty, the whole of your life becomes an exercise in coping and correcting, searching for a way up and out, while focusing today on filling the pots and the plates, maintaining a roof and some warmth, and dreading the new challenge tomorrow may bring." It becomes more about survival rather than seeking the luxuries of life that are beyond one's reach. This refreshing view on poverty shows that there are some institutions in place that limit the ability of people to move up the income ladder, regardless of the efforts that they put in to rectify their situation. There is need for society to develop ways to address this situation.
I was about to post this on the blog but then I realized that it was already posted. I found this NYT op-ed piece to be very insightful and well written.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Hikaru, the post was straight to the point, and professor McKinney's other post above this makes a nice compliment to this op-ed.
ReplyDeleteIt's ridiculous to see how many people think it's just a matter of "pull yourself up by your bootstraps and you'll be fine." Poor people work a lot, many holding down multiple jobs, yet somehow there is a notion that poor people don't possess the work ethic to bring themselves out of poverty. As the author of the post said: poverty is not a state of mind, it's a lack of cash.
This is interesting. I wonder if there are other categories that we can break down views into, deeper than simply Democrat and Republican.
ReplyDeleteThe statistic that stood out the most to me in this article is the following:
ReplyDelete“Indeed, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest survey of consumer expenditure found that the poorest fifth of America’s households contributed an average of 4.3 percent of their incomes to charitable organizations in 2007. The richest fifth gave at less than half that rate, 2.1 percent.”
Even though the wealthy probably give a lot more in absolute dollar terms, the fact that the poorest fifth of households give more as a percentage is surprising and moving to me. I can imagine some people would argue that the bottom fifth should not give away as much money because of their financial situation, but to me this goes to show how people can be altruistic even in the worse of situations.
wow what an excellent article. it talks about the economic deficiency of the poor keeping in mind the structural flaws in the current economic system. this discussion is much harder to articulate without paying heed to ALL the demographic and systemic variables. poverty is not a lack or absence of traditional social structures but a failure of capitalism. to tackle these issues, there needs to be a shift from this kind of attitude (mentioned in the article). additionally, we need to create businesses with social objectives that can change the way economics/businesses work for everybody (which is to not only maximize profit but also fix the larger problems like poverty).
ReplyDeleteThis was an excellent article. The author reveals the realities of those individuals living in poverty when he says that "poverty is a demanding, stressful, depressive and often violent state. No one seeks it; they are born or thrust into it. In poverty, the whole of your life becomes an exercise in coping and correcting, searching for a way up and out, while focusing today on filling the pots and the plates, maintaining a roof and some warmth, and dreading the new challenge tomorrow may bring."
ReplyDeleteIt becomes more about survival rather than seeking the luxuries of life that are beyond one's reach. This refreshing view on poverty shows that there are some institutions in place that limit the ability of people to move up the income ladder, regardless of the efforts that they put in to rectify their situation. There is need for society to develop ways to address this situation.