In the beginning of the second part of our reading assignment, Abramsky discussed the vigorous safety net. He took a look at Florida and California. He found that Florida’s unemployment rate increased by 700,000 people and only 10,000 new individuals were added onto the state’s welfare program. While in California, there were 22% of kids in 2012 that were living at or below the poverty line, but only three percent of those kids were members of families on welfare (Abramsky, pg. 148). Our society’s systems are inadequate and during recessions the systems are usually the first budget cut by the state government. States cut funding for programs that helped assist families because they were too expensive. However, Abramsky pointed out that society spent around $41 billion on animals, such as pets, and $40 billion on lawn care services. Abramsky makes a statement on how this shows what our society’s spending patterns tell about American’s attitude concerning the poor. In the second part of the book, starting on page 196, Abramsky argues solutions to the problem. He begins by arguing that society and the government must come up with programs like Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) and Supplement Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). I thought these were great points made by Abramsky, but with the power the Government possess its hard to believe that spending patterns will change.
Potential test question: Explain how Abramsky wants to reform the existing safety net programs in order to be more flexible and have a faster response to families in need.
The second part of the book seemed a little bit easier to read for me. It was still astonishing hearing the stories from many different individuals and the difficulties they have to deal with every single day. What surprised me was that on page 111, Abramsky says "nearly 3 million children now live in households in which each person has less than $2 per day to spend." This makes it pretty much impossible for people in "deep poverty" to ever get out of it. Also, in chapter 5, it talks about how people are lined up along the streets waiting to get inside of a food pantry. That hit home for me because I work in the poorer sides of Chicago and I see this happen every morning. It's quite sad seeing how bad these people truly struggle to just survive.
Test question: What is Philadelphia's poorest district? North Philly with a 56% poverty rate.(Pg. 124).
Michelle Secler
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning of the second part of our reading assignment, Abramsky discussed the vigorous safety net. He took a look at Florida and California. He found that Florida’s unemployment rate increased by 700,000 people and only 10,000 new individuals were added onto the state’s welfare program. While in California, there were 22% of kids in 2012 that were living at or below the poverty line, but only three percent of those kids were members of families on welfare (Abramsky, pg. 148). Our society’s systems are inadequate and during recessions the systems are usually the first budget cut by the state government. States cut funding for programs that helped assist families because they were too expensive. However, Abramsky pointed out that society spent around $41 billion on animals, such as pets, and $40 billion on lawn care services. Abramsky makes a statement on how this shows what our society’s spending patterns tell about American’s attitude concerning the poor. In the second part of the book, starting on page 196, Abramsky argues solutions to the problem. He begins by arguing that society and the government must come up with programs like Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) and Supplement Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). I thought these were great points made by Abramsky, but with the power the Government possess its hard to believe that spending patterns will change.
Potential test question: Explain how Abramsky wants to reform the existing safety net programs in order to be more flexible and have a faster response to families in need.
Marty McNulty
ReplyDeleteThe second part of the book seemed a little bit easier to read for me. It was still astonishing hearing the stories from many different individuals and the difficulties they have to deal with every single day. What surprised me was that on page 111, Abramsky says "nearly 3 million children now live in households in which each person has less than $2 per day to spend." This makes it pretty much impossible for people in "deep poverty" to ever get out of it. Also, in chapter 5, it talks about how people are lined up along the streets waiting to get inside of a food pantry. That hit home for me because I work in the poorer sides of Chicago and I see this happen every morning. It's quite sad seeing how bad these people truly struggle to just survive.
Test question: What is Philadelphia's poorest district? North Philly with a 56% poverty rate.(Pg. 124).