Culture of Poverty
Don't Forget the (Faux) Middle
Published September 11, 2009 @ 05:07AM PT
As policy wonks and politicians try to convince us of recovery, the rest of the country is focused on white-knuckled survival. Far too many are in dire straits. Take Laura and her 2 teen sons, crammed in a ramshackle trailer with Laura's prematurely aged parents in Franklin, a little town south of Indianapolis.
Her parents live, like many housing-challenged seniors do, in a trailer park. Laura and her sons doubled-up with them because they are homeless, their abode lost in this latest fiscal crisis that continues to bedevil our country (despite all the "happy" talk). Her parents own this humble single-wide. From the outside it looks like the rest of the units in the park, but the inside tells the story.
Segregation, Self-Help & Gangs
Published September 02, 2009 @ 07:00AM PT
What do Thrivent Financial, New Orleans's Mardi Gras Krewe Zulu, and Salvadorans With Pride all have in common? Their roots are in mutual aid societies providing insurance, benefits and assistance for racial/ethnic minority groups at a time when these groups could not access help in mainstream society.
How are these groups different? Today, Thrivent Financial is a Fortune 500 financial services company for Lutherans with $61B in assets. The African-American Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club is one of the premier Mardi Gras attractions in New Orleans. Salvadorans With Pride is a gang of Salvadoran immigrants in suburban Long Island. All three groups were born of economic hardship and ethnic/racial segregation in the United States. Now policymakers, criminologists and social workers trying to halt gang violence are going one step further and trying to harness the youth development and social support that gangs provide.
Medicaid versus the Kindness of Strangers
Published August 28, 2009 @ 08:48AM PT
In the wake of Ted Kennedy's death, healthcare reform is getting another look. That look may or may not mean a renewed sense of progress come September, when Congress resumes what is sure to be a contentious debate. But it's clear that the kind of government role Kennedy believed in, on healthcare and other issues, will not be forgotten soon.
Acting on that vision, and getting meaningful reform for the consitencies Kennedy advocated for most, will not be easy, and in some ways got much harder with Kennedy's deterioration and death.
Poverty Movement Loses a Champion
Published August 28, 2009 @ 05:03AM PT
While the death of Senator Edward Kennedy will give media types something to do in the waning days of August, one topic will probably get little coverage--poverty.
Despite his silver spoon, Ted Kennedy championed poverty issues. Perhaps he took his older brother seriously when Jack challenged,
"For of those to whom much is given, much is required."
Despite his many foibles, Teddy seemed to reach for this scriptural mandate. And he astutely observed,
No one who works for a living should live in poverty.
Is the end of this Kennedy era the end of compassion? Will someone, perhaps another Kennedy, grab the end poverty flag and charge up the Hill?
How Many Calories Does $1 Buy?
Published August 27, 2009 @ 06:00AM PT
The answer depends largely on what type of food you're purchasing.
As I was reading through the recent TIME Magzine cover story on the real price of cheap food, I came across reference to a study conducted by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The study examined how many calories, of certain kinds of food, one dollar can buy you. They determined that:
A dollar could buy 1,200 calories of potato chips or 875 calories of soda but just 250 calories of vegetables or 170 calories of fresh fruit.
Yeah, you read that right. A dollar can buy you almost 10 times more calories from potato chips than it can from fresh fruit. Is it any wonder that obesity and food security are so intricately tied to income level in this country? I think not.
This statistic has a lot to do with why many people who do not have adequate access to healthy foods are often unhealthy and overweight. Really, it's all about the energy density of the foods we eat. Let me explain.
Empower Women, End Poverty
Published August 21, 2009 @ 11:00AM PT
If you haven't yet read the series on women and poverty at The New York Times, I highly recommend adding it to your weekend reading list. The paternalistic on-line title notwithstanding, the collection of articles details the collective economic improvements in poor communities and households resulting from investing in women's and girl's education, health, bodily safety and autonomy, and work opportunities. The focus of the issue is mainly on the developing world, where the majority of the world's poor - and poor women - live. This is always somewhat frustrating for domestic anti-poverty activists, as if our nation is a haven of gender equity and parity. Nonetheless, there's some important lessons on education, policy and power for those of us fighting for equality and an end to poverty stateside.
Incarceration Hurts Kids Most
Published August 21, 2009 @ 05:12AM PT
NYT columnist Nicholas D. Kristof strikes a resounding note of common sense in his "Priority Test: Health Care or Prisons" column,
It’s time for a fundamental re-evaluation of the criminal justice system...so that we’re no longer squandering money that would be far better spent on education or health.
Kristof makes a strong case for education over incarceration, something that resonates common sense, especially considering the devastating effects of poverty, homelessness, incarceration and the like on both parents and the kids of incarcerated parents.
