Contreras1

MartinContreras
Ms.Gardner
English10Honors,6
6May2016
ThePovertyPredicament
Manypeopleintodayssocietydontappreciatewhattheyhave,andfeelliketheydont
haveenough.Wellimaginelivingonlessthantwodollarsaday.Yes,about70%oftheworld
livesonlessthan$1.90aday(Gates).Newsaboutpovertyisheardeverywhere,butwhat'snever
heardiswhoseresponsibilityitis.Or,whatstepswecandotoputanendtoit.Admittedly,there
aresomeviewsthatsaythatpovertyultimatelyleadstopeoplebecomingmoreresponsibleand
organizedthroughtheirstruggles.Nevertheless,whenonecomparestheprosandconsof
poverty,ifthereareany,theconsclearlyoutnumberthepros.Povertyisanevergrowingissue
thataffectsusallwhetheryourealizeitornot.Itseveryonesresponsibilitytohelpendpoverty
andanyaction,howeversmall,willbecomeabigdifferenceinthelongrun.
Initially,manywouldarguethatpovertyisntarealproblembecausetheimpoverished
areonWelfareandSNAP,orfoodstampsastheyarerecognizedbymost.Manyfeelpeople
shouldnthelpthepoorbecausetheyneedtofindawayoutofatheirproblems,theyshouldnt
dependonothers(Ryan).Theyfeelsimilartogangviolenceandpoliticalcorruption,povertyis
oneofthosethingsthatyoucantgetridof,andisnecessaryinthesocialorder.Thosesame
peoplefeelthateverybodyonthesegovernmentaidprogramsarecheatingthesystem.Thatthey
arebeingrobbedoftheirhardearnedmoneytohelplazypeoplewhodon'twork.Theyinessence
getafreeride.Tosummarize,manypeoplefeelthateveryonethatobtainsWelfaremoneylives

Contreras2
verycomfortably,likekings.Butthetruthaboutalltheseprogramsisshocking.Asexplainedby
theDailyTruthTeamonTruthout,anonlinenonprofitnewsorganization,
In2012,theaverage
Americantaxpayermaking$50,000peryear
paidjust
$36towardsthefoodstampsprogram.
That'sjusttencentsaday!That'slessthanthecostofagumball.Thosepeoplethatfeeltheyre
gettingrobbedcouldntbeanymorewrong.Asshownabove,10centsadayinnothing.Infact,
those$36dollarsayeardonthelpoutasmuchasonewouldthink.AsDavidBakelman,an
experiencednonprofitorganizationactivist,statesinhisarticle,
InPoorAmericanEconomy,
HelpPoorChildren
,
Andyet,theprogramsdesignedtopreventthisunfortunateoutcomeare
thefirsttogoinadowneconomy.Takefoodstamps:45millionAmericansdependonthem.
Thepaymentsarefarfromlavishtheaveragepaymentisabout$133amonth.Imagineifyou
hadtodoyourmonthlyfoodshoppingonthatbudget.Youcantlivealuxuriouslifeon$133a
month.But,Idorealizetherearepeoplewhocheatthesystemandobtainmoneyforfreefrom
thegovernment,butmostpeopleonWelfaredon'tliveinidealconditions,theystruggle
immensely.
TodayinAmerica,morechildrenthaneverarecompletelydependentonWelfareand
WICintheUSthaneverbefore.AndbeingthatWelfareisoneoftheprogramsmostlikelytobe
cutinafinancialcrisis,it'shardtoimaginewhatwillhappentothosewhodependonit
(Bakelman).Foodandlivingquartersarenttheonlyproblemtheseimpoverishedpeopleface,
educationisanotherbigissue.Butagain,oncemoneyistight,programslikethesethathelppoor
childrenarecut.
Forinstance,underthefoundationalElementaryandSecondaryEducationAct,
lowincomestudentsstuckinfailingschoolsareentitledtofreeafterschooltutoring,technically
knownasSupplementalEducationServices.ThisisagoodprogramtheUSDepartmentof

Contreras3
Educationreportsthatitiseffective,thelargemajorityofthestudentsitservesareAfrican
AmericanorLatino,andover650,000kidsreceiveitnationwide(Bakelman).Also,because
therearesomanykidsunderthepovertyline,theyareveryeasytoforgetabout.Thusnot
allowingthemtogetafairshotatlife(Bakelman).Similarly,povertydoesn'tjustaffect
strugglingindividuals,itaffectsfamilies,towns,andcities.Thestresspovertycausesuponcities
makesforhorribletensionandseparationbetweenpartiesthathavedifferentopinionsonthe
subject.Seeingthesedetails,itsclearthatpovertyonlybringsAmericamoreshame,pain,and
suffering.Andalthoughattemptshavebeenmadetosolvetheseproblems,theendresults
haventbeensatisfactory.Soifwecanseethatpovertyrepresentsamajorprobleminourlives,
whyshouldntwedoeverythinginourpowertostopit?
Furthermore,there'sanotherproblemwhenitcomestopoverty,manypeoplehidethe
realtruthaboutit,statingthatpeopleinextremepovertyaremiddleclassed(Gates).Would
youconsiderpeopleearninglessthantwodollarsadaymiddleclassed?Whensocietythinkofa
middleclasscitizen,theythinkoftheaverageJoethatlivesinateamingmetropolis,working
fromninetofive,MondaytoFridayinacubical.Additionally,it'sonlygettingworseforthose
countrieswherethemiddleclassedcitizenslive.AsBillGates,Microsoftfounderandpoverty
activist,states,CountrieswithhugepocketsofpovertylikeNigeria,India,Pakistan,Ghanaand
Vietnamcouldloseasmuchas40%oftheirdevelopmentassistanceinthenextfewyears,a
studysponsoredbyourfoundationfound.Thisishappeningbecausethegovernments
supportingtheseimpoverishedcountriesarenolongerhelpingthemsothattheycanbuilda
foundationoftheirown.Theideaisgoodintheory,butbecausethegovernmentsneverbothers
tocheckthestabilityofthestrugglingcountry,theydomoreharmthangood.Foracountryto

Contreras4
thrivebythemselves,theyneedastrongandsupportivebasefromitscitizens,buttodothat,
yourcitizensneedtobehappyandhealthy,nothungryandhopeless.Andfinally,whyisallthis
notbeingpublicallyknown.Veryfewpeopleactuallyknowaboutwhat'sreallyhappeningin
thesecountries.Why?Whydon'tourpoliticalleadersaddressthisissue?Whydon'tnews
stationsinformusonthesetopics?Whydon'tmorepeopleinourcommunitieshelpsetupaid
programs?Isthereawaythatthegovernmentbenefitsfrompeople'smisfortune?Duetothese
reasons,oranymultitudeothersonecouldthinkof,themassesareoblivioustothetruehorrors
povertycauses.
Thelastandpossiblyworstaspectofthispovertypredicamentisthattheimpoverished
aretheoneswhosuffertremendously.Ourneglectfuloutlookonthem,duetoourargumentson
thistopicmakeuscompletelyforgetaboutthestrugglingpeople.InaninterviewonNBCwith
ReneeC.ByerbyAnnCurry,welearnaboutthehorriblecircumstancespovertyforcespeople
into.Sheexplainstousthat1.2billionpeople,mostlywomenandchildren,infactit'sabout60%
women,liveinextremepoverty.Thepovertyissobad,18thousandchildrendieeveryday,they
areallundertheageoffive.Thesituationsshetalkstousaboutseemunreal.AmotherinIndia
wasintentionallystarvingheryoungestdaughtersoherotherchildrenwouldbeabletoeat.The
littlegirlwastwoyearsoldandonlyweighedninepounds.Anothertragicsituationshetalked
aboutwerewhenadolescentwerereleasedfromanorphanageinRomaniabecausetheycouldno
longersupportthem.Thesechildrenhadtogrowupandfacetheharshworldalone,manyof
themhadnootherchoicebuttoliveundergroundinthesewers,withoutanysupportormeansof
acquiringfood(Byer).Thosearesomeofthesadrealitiesofpoverty.Andsome,theluckyones,
iftheydohavefoodandwater,lackotherimportantthingsintheirlives.Manywhohavefood

Contreras5
don'thaveproperhousing,theyliveinhutsandshacks.Theyalsolackoneofthemostimportant
thingsinlife,aneducation.Learningtherealityofthepovertyinthisworldshouldteachand
allowustobecomebetterhumanbeings.Wemusthelpthemescapethishelltheirlivingin
becausenoneofuswouldliketobeintheirposition.Therefore,begraciousforwhatyouhave,
becausethereisalwayspeoplethathaveitmuch,muchworsethanyou.
Asyoucansee,povertycanbebothbeneficialandharmfultosociety,thetruthabout
povertyisalwaystryingtobehid,andthepeoplewhosufferthemostbecauseofthisterrible
problemarethepeoplewhoareactuallydependentonWelfare,notthetaxpayers.Povertyaffects
notonlythepeoplesufferingthroughit,buteveryoneintheirneighborhood,city,town,andeven
state.Itsanepidemicthat'slongbeendueforanend.So,wemustjointogetherandhelpthose
lessfortunatethanustomakethisworldfullofpeaceandprosperity,notofproblemsand
poverty.

Contreras6

WorkCited
Bakelman,David."InPoorAmericanEconomy,HelpPoorChildren."
ChristianScience
Monitor
.10 Aug.2011:n.p.
SIRSIssuesResearcher.
Web.05May2016.
Byer,ReneeC,andAnnCurry."LivingonaDollaraDay:RealityofExtremePoverty
Revealed.
NBCNews
.N.p.,10Sept.2014.Web.05May2016.
Gates,Bill."ANewMapofPoverty,aNewApproachtoInternationalAid."
WallStreetJournal
.
15Apr.2016:A.11.
SIRSIssuesResearcher.
Web.05May2016.
TheDailyTakeTeam,andTheThomHartmannProgram."FoodStampsAreAffordable
CorporateWelfareIsNot."
Truthout
.N.p.,05Nov.2013.Web.06May2016.
Ryan,Paul,andTimScott."ARepublicanCureforLiberalFailuresonPoverty."
WallStreet
Journal
.08Jan.2016:A.11.
SIRSIssuesResearcher.
Web.06May2016.