I would say that I felt very motivated to help promote change after reading the last chapter of the book. It seemed that the theme of the last chapter was to come up with strategies to keep the poor out of poverty permanently not temporarily. A quote from the book that I took away states "poverty is when the money that you need isn't there, and you have to make choices that compromise your health or your future or your ability to care for your family" (Abramsky, p.235-238). I agree with this statement because when money is tight, individuals and families must make difficult situations that are hard to make. Abramsky later goes on to state that individuals make more emergency room visits than doctor visits, do not have access to fresh vegetables and fruits, choose heat over food, and etc... just to make ends meet and make it through. This last chapter opened my eyes to a world of possibilities to combat poverty. An idea I really liked was on page 257. It talked about a pilot childhood development account (CDA) program that would provide all children born with $500 in San Francisco. The education account would be set up in the child's name to encourage low income families to start thinking about higher education possibilities for their children. I think this program is a great idea and would help to motivate the students to want to obtain a higher education if they have money set aside for them. This is a program I could see adopted in other cities across the U.S. to be able to give children and their families hope toward a brighter future. I believe the program will also do away with the lack of education so many individuals experience. Another idea I liked from the chapter is on page 262 where it states "we could modify debt-repayment schedules so that ex-students only have to pay down their debt once their income, averaged over three or four years, rises above a certain amount" (Abramsky, p. 262). I think this would help alleviate the stress of students trying to find a job while also paying back student loans on a minimum wage salary. Furthermore, I believe the lack of education is a huge piece of the puzzle that is missing and contributes to poverty. As mentioned in the book "it should go without saying that schools need good, motivated, enthusiastic teachers; they need ways to bring in fresh blood and to get rid of do nothing teachers on occasion" (Abramsky, p. 277). In my opinion, this could not be more correct. I have witnessed Professors as well as High School Teachers who could care less about the student and were just plain boring. Students lacked the motivation to come to class, participate, or do exceptional work because motivation was missing from the instructor. Sometimes, an educator is the only one a child receives attention from whether it is positive or negative. I really enjoyed reading the last chapter because it allowed me to use my creativity and critical thinking skills to come up with ways for low-income families to climb the economic ladder. Lastly, a quote from the book that made me really think states "fixing America's education system cannot be done simply by focusing on schools; but understand the specific challenges faced by low-income kids who go to school hungry, who lack basic medical attention, who might have never been tested for eye problems, whose parents have lost jobs or landed themselves in prison, and more realistic solutions present themselves" (Abramsky, p. 283).
Test Question: As an FCS professional what kind of proposals would you make to fund and maintain safety net programs to ensure individuals and families remain above the poverty line in the U.S?
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