Porsha Pate Book discussion 3

I really enjoyed this book overall. The third part of the book discussed the many ways of reducing poverty. Some of the ways of reducing poverty or even ending it would be programs such a TANF, EITC, and the BCC programs. These programs work with families and communities that are overlooked and abandoned. These type of resources would give individuals what they need to keep their homes, and eat. I know that these programs will not decrease poverty in a fast amount of time, but it would benefit them. I think I enjoyed this chapter the most because it discussed the solutions to solving this problem that's always overlooked.

Test Question: Which program do you think would be more beneficial for individuals in poverty?

Marty McNulty, 3rd Reading Blog

Marty McNulty

I enjoyed the third reading assignment more than the first two. This reading assignment actually points out ways we can get decrease, or even get rid of poverty. Abramsky has many ideas from increasing funding in welfare, reforming the criminal justice system, and establishing a minimum income for all American citizens. I also agree with his idea of investing in an automatic savings account for higher education for every person born in the US. I believe this is a must for our country. This will provide education to countless amounts of people that wouldn't have had the opportunity beforehand. 

What does TANF stand for? *(Temporary Assistance to Needy Families)*

Sarah Creasor discussion 3

Going back to the reading a lot of this chapter had to do with taxes, which went over my head. I got the idea though that there were research and projects done to reduce poverty through taxes by doing different things such as, ‘boosting local economic activity, increasing the number of local kids attending schools’. There was also help for the lower income communities by lending loans. Programs also are helping but they can only do so much.  The BCC program helps those struggling to keep their home. These communities are usually the ones abandoned and run down. Another program that is very helpful is the EITC. Earned Income Tax Credit. That program has been the most helpful of all to those living in poverty.  

What does BCC stand for?

Kennedy Gabel- book discussion part 3

The third section of reading that our class was assigned from The American Way of Poverty took place from pages 235-327. The main focus  throughout this section was describing ideas and ways to break the cycle of poverty. Abramsky describes that although improving the welfare system put in place by our government might be relatively easy, it is breaking the routines of the everyday life that puts people who are experiencing poverty right where they are. Such cycles include education, housing, healthcare, criminal-justice systems, drug and mental health treatments, and etc. Abramsky illustrates throughout this section how costly our criminal justice systems really are and how they alone are a major cause of American poverty. It is suggested in this section that finding ways to help individuals with the addictions, mental illnesses, and diseases would help lessen the people who are sentenced to jail time, in turn saving our country money. Another major issue that causes poverty in more ways than one that was discussed thoroughly throughout reading section three is access to a good, fair education. Ensuring that every child, not just children who come from wealthy families, but also children who are from disadvantaged families have their educational needs met was a huge issue depicted in this section. Childhood development accounts (CDA's) were a fantastic idea that Abramsky discussed. Although some states already have some from of a CDA, it would be economically beneficial for our country to put programs such as these in place. This would ensure that every child had access to a higher education or job training of some sort, making sure that the future employees of our economy are well educated and well trained for the careers in which they choose. Higher education and better job training would help to eliminate the threat of poverty due to our future generations having job security as a result of their schooling and training. The cost of housing in our country is also a huge part of poverty. People may have an education and work fifty hours a week, but still struggle to pay their bills at the end of the day. In order to alleviate this problem to some extent, investments of some sort have to be made to render housing more affordable for those disadvantaged families experiencing poverty (Abramksy, pg 266). Ideas discussed in section three to help eliminate the cost of poverty caused by housing cost are micro-lending, tax reforms, or subsidies on low-end wages. In many ways, education played a huge part in ways to decrease poverty in America. Page 275 describes how stable economic environments with good school programs tend to have less gang activity, drug markets, hunger, homelessness and many other issues that tend to put people in poverty, and this can be done by improving our school systems. Having higher educational attainments can help the problem of poverty. The final issue discussed in section three is the most complex part of fixing poverty in America according to Abramsky. The issue that is said to be the most difficult is boosting the economic security of those who have attended school and gotten an education and found employment, but still are living in poverty. The hardest obstacle to overcome to conquer the issue of poverty is ensuring that the working poor have enough opportunities and economic security to stay out of poverty permanently. As you can see, the main idea depicted throughout section three is ideas about how to eliminate the poverty issue in America.
Potential test question: Out of the many ideas that Abramsky gives throughout the last section of reading assigned, which one do you personally believe would be most beneficial for improving the issue of poverty in America?    

Whitney Thomason Book Discussion #3

After looking back at this book, I am very pleased with these assignment's. At first they were hard to understand, the budget's and all the policies that will along with our nation. But after this last section, it really tied it all together. I was able to understand it in an everyday outlook. Poverty is all around us in so many way's and affect's so many families in our communities. It frustrated me reading how many lengths they have went to cut our programs and budget's. These system's were supposed to help our economy. Now it seem's that once your in poverty, it is almost impossible to pull yourself above it. I always look at families and think, where is the work life balance? For some, there is none, it's just constant work. By the government giving less and less assistance how are we supposed to be happy in life? If anything this book made me grateful for what I have and what I am accomplishing.

Potential Test Question  "Should people be drug tested for assistance? Why or Why not, explain your answer.

Camille Williams book discussion 3

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?

Michelle Secler Discussion Post #3

Michelle Secler

While reading the rest of Abramsky’s “The American Way of Poverty”, Abramsky discusses that communities could lower poverty by improving the criminal justice system to decrease incarceration, creating a minimum income for all American citizens, forming a state-backed system to loan money to low-income communities, and providing an automatic savings account for higher education for every person born in the US. Many of these solutions seem unbelievable, but Abramsky points out in the reading that many counties, cities and states already have related programs in place, and they have functioned well for those countries. Of course, these solutions Abramsky pointed out involve funding. The focus of Abramsky's funding plan is the renewal of a financial transaction tax of 0.04% on all stock trades. The main problem, according to Abramsky, is that Americans have lost a sense of the common good, "a societal commitment to share the pain during hard times and a willingness to think through the long-term consequences on one's community of not so doing" (pg. 317).  As our society continues to become more divided, I was left questioning what it would take to make such a guarantee promising. 

Potential Test Question: Abramsky stated that Social Security and Medicare were designed to build our societies financial reserves, but instead they ran dry. What could society of done better so that Social Security and Medicare didn’t run dry?