This section of The American Way of Poverty has been
much easier to read than the former. With each page I am getting more and more
frustrated with what is going on in this country in regards to how we are or
are not helping those living in poverty. In the book on page 105 it mentioned
that with our government becoming more conservative in its way, having access
to benefits or welfare is becoming more and more difficult. Another topic that
frustrated me was the fact that the government isn’t giving people access to basic
health care so instead of fixing an issue when it’s minor like a cavity people have
to wait until it becomes a major problem and then go to the Emergency Room.
Instead of fixing the problems when they wouldn’t cost so much with the help of
medical insurances the government lets it become a bigger issue costing even
more money. Lastly, many if not all
states still have so many people that are not receiving any assistance all
because the government is putting tighter restrictions and giving less and less
money. An example given in the book was that, a family of 4 in Mississippi
would receive less than 200 dollars a month in assistance which if impossible
to survive on (Abramsky, 106). I know I couldn’t survive on that by myself so
how would our government expect a family of 4 to? On page 173, the book
discusses the issue with people being targeted by predatory lenders that
convince people that can’t afford to pay off what they borrow later, thus
causing mass amounts of foreclosures. This isn’t the governments fault
obviously, but maybe by offering classes about housing people would be more
educated thus less likely to get in over their heads in housing debt.
Possible Test Question:
Should people applying for government assistance be drug tested? Why or why
not?
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