Quamesha Crawford

While reading the second part of The American Way of Poverty, `there were two parts which stood out to me.  “There wasn’t a place to send her other than the Salvation Army shelter. There isn’t anywhere in between. That’s the current state of our safety net program right now. If we keep food in the refrigerator for three weeks out of the month, we’ve achieved what we can right now. We force people to become very, very poor before we are able to help them.” This was the first thing that stood out to me.  I was thinking if programs were able to help people why wait till they have literally nothing. It doesn’t make any sense. If I were in charged of the program I wouldn’t want other to get to their worst point. I would rather help lift them up before they were able to get to the lowest point in their lives.  Second part was about Chicagoans. They could expect 21,000 homeless people in a course of a year. “You have to create more affordable housing for working poor people.” It’s sad to say those many-employed workers are broke because they can’t afford their living in America. Its not like the people are lazy. They get up for work everyday and still have no money to feed their families.

Question: The current federal minimum wage of $8.25 per hour is a livable wage for a single parent with one child?

Jordan Callahan PT 2 Discussion

Overall, I really enjoy reading this book. Poverty is a very important issue that everyone should be more aware of. I think this book really brings out points of poverty that are not apparent by just looking at a person on the outside. For those that are struggling with poverty, it is interesting to see their different stories and how they are living their lives. The most interesting points to me would be the people who endured Hurricane Katrina. To me, that was such a tragic event that damaged our entire country and economy. To see that people are able to pick themselves up a little bit even if it is just a little bit really stands out to me. I have seen documentaries on Hurricane Katrina and also have seen videos of the damage it has caused to the shoreline. It is overwhelming and overall discouraging to our country. For the victims to be able to still try and put forth effort to make it better is absolutely amazing to me. I really enjoy when the book talks about the different food pantry's and their ideas to make the area they are in a better place.
Final Question: What is a way you could bring low-income families together during hard times to cope?

2nd Discussion

The second was much easier for me to follow. I actually enjoyed reading it and a lot of facts were used.
Major highlights of second reading:
-By 2009 more than 17% of the population, 23 percent of children live in poverty in the south.

-Lower middle class is struggling. They aren't able to keep their heads above water. They are getting behind on bills and receiving cut off notices. The food they eat is basically junk food. Healthy food is more expensive.

-In New York (2009) less than half of African American's had jobs.
 Close to 10% of the working force were unemployed

-Tanf is not an option for the majority of recipients.

-Hurricane Katrina- people were left to fend for themselves despite Fema. Hardly any assistance was available and no one was prepared for the aftermath. They have rebuilt themselves only to find out there way of living is gone. The oysters have died.

-Since 2000 Seven out of the 10 mostly costly natural disasters have occurred.

-No jobs-factories are closing and people are becoming unemployed. They are no longer able to make rent.

-Housing crisis- Story of Mark and his wife. Mark who was a veteran and unable to afford his mortgage causing them to get evicted. Shelters were unsafe and his family was relying on food stamps.

-Bankruptcy is on the rise. 1980s a few hundred compared to in 2000 about 2 million households.

-Job pay is decreasing

Question for the test-How can you help people that live in poverty prepare in case of a natural disaster?

Examples:
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Samantha Rawlings Discussion

The second portion of The American Way of Poverty was a much easier and more enjoyable read. While reading this book, one of the main themes that I take away is that the government plays a major part is making the rich richer and the poor poorer. I also take away a better understanding of the struggles of living in poverty. As a child, my parents both worked good jobs and my brother and I never went without. As an adult I have been very guilty of judging someone who is poor by thinking they are just not trying hard enough. When the truth is that sometimes they are trying hard, but the obstacles are too much to overcome. Within the past years, the government has made many cuts to government assistance to the poor. One of the findings in this book that I cannot wrap my head around is how states have made it harder to qualify for benefits. According to Abramsky, in Arkansas, even though the unemployment increased from 68,700 in 2007 to 107,200 in 2010 the number of families on TANF decreased by 100 families. The main point that I took from this was that the government is finding ways to save money for their salaries while the people that they promised to protect and fight for their rights. The government will probably take these numbers and put them in a positive way as if they have helped these families get off of government assistance, when that is not what is really happening. What is really happening is those 100 families plus many more are struggling to feed themselves. They are struggling to keep their homes, struggling to pay their bills, they are just simply struggling to get by. All while the people who are in charge of making the government cuts do not take pay cuts themselves.
I also thought that Abramsky did a good job on giving the readers an understanding of how quickly one can go from feelings safe to living in poverty. The comparison of going into poverty as a hurricane. The author talks about ignoring the warning signs and past history can also lead a person into poverty. My favorite quote was "Hurricanes strike powerfully and suddenly. They rip apart what the touch: property:..What happens in an instant may change life forever". I really loved this because it is so true. The main point that I am personally taking away from this book is that poverty can happen to anyone, anywhere, anytime. Thinking of poverty like a hurricane can also allow people to develop empathy for other people. By having the education and understanding of how poverty can happen to even the richest families, may change someone's mind into helping out their community and not just thinking about themselves.
Since I am an active person and have gone through extreme weight loss, I really enjoy and am saddened by the nutrition of people in poverty. People are depending on donations for food. Most of the time donated goods have tons of preservatives to prolong their shelf life. This is great for food pantries, but bad for the people eating these foods. With more and more cuts being made, cheaper and cheaper food is being giving to those in need. This can only make the poverty and health problem worse in the Unites States
Test Question:
If you were working in a food pantry, what are some creative ideas in attempt to get healthier food options at your food pantry?

Whitney Thomason part 2 discussion

After reading the book The American way of Poverty by Sasha Abramsky, it really made me think about how poverty affects my life and those who surround me. I think the second half of this book was what drew me in more. It had more real life examples and personal stories than the first half. I have to admit I'm not sure how long it's been since I have sat down and actually read a book first page to finish. I am glad we got to read all of the examples on the policies. I think that when you first start talking about polices and rules and regulation, some of it can seem like a foreign language. It baffles me that there is such a major gap between the rich, working poor and very poor. I hope this book enlightened our class to make individuals want to do better in their future career's like it has mine. I think by becoming familiar with the polices and learning to understand them for real life situations I will encounter, will make me a better rounded Family and Consumer Science professional. I think my test question is a highly talked about issue we have in our nation right now. People who work the system who would no longer be able to have assistance and those who are in need could have more help when they truly need it.
Potential test question; " Should individuals be subjected to drug testing before receiving any kind of benefits?"

Online Book Discussion 2-JS

Jackie Swanson
11/16/15
Discussion 2
Disadvantaged Family

The book The American way of poverty by Sasha Abramsky is one of the most honest accounts I have read in quite some time. This book provides evidence that the government has not been truthful with the rest of the population; hiding facts about our country and its state of homelessness and how many people are truly affected by living in poverty. As the gap between the rich and the poor continues to widen, we are seeing an increasing number of homeless families, as well as children.

As this problem grows worse, in the second section, the main focus was primarily to shed light on the fact that although the U.S. government has attempted to reverse poverty with different programs and policies, these government enforced resources and laws only help a small portion of the growing number of people living under the poverty line. As the book previously stated, Chicago authorities estimated that 14000 students would be homeless, as well as by 2011, that number estimated to increase to 16000 with a large portion of these kids living on the streets without a parent/guardian to protect them. Homelessness has become such a large concern that the existing government programs seem to only prolong homelessness not reverse the increasing amount of individuals in poverty.

I really enjoyed reading the second section, as I felt that it was very eye opening. I specifically liked reading the section regarding the Obama Administration and how they have failed to protect the homeless as a whole, but only protected those who lost their jobs during the most recent economic collapse. Test question- while we know that living in poverty and homelessness is a massive societal issue within the United States as well as around the world. Has the number of homeless kids grown or shrunk in recent years?

Camille Williams-2nd reading assignment thoughts

My name is Camille Williams and I personally enjoyed part two of the book. I felt that it focused more on the laws and policies that dealt with poverty in general.  I noticed how many personal stories of people living in poverty shared and how they struggled as well which was similar to the first half. As I continued to read, a common theme that kept sticking out to me was the implementation of societal programs that have been put in place to help those in need that are living in poverty; however, it appears the programs are failing instead of helping. There were 2 quotes that stood out to me while reading. The first quote is on page 99 and states “we force people to become very, very poor before we are able to help them” (Abramsky, p.99). I believe that statement is true because it seems that programs are set in place but when too much damage is done and it is hard to climb up the ladder. Another quote that stood out to me is when it is stated “accessing core benefits such as TANF has been made ever more difficult, in terms of the severity of the means tests imposed, the work requirements, and the add-on difficulties that some states track on, such as drug-testing applicants and charging fees for the application” (Abramsky, p. 105). It seems that states are still trying to make money at any cost even though people are in poverty. It is also mentioned that states seem to be unenthusiastic about funding federally required safety net programs for individuals and families. Moreover, I was especially saddened to know that children suffered the effects of poverty even in school. I know that harm can be done to families with children in poverty such as a greater drop-out rate or inattentiveness. On page 223, Abramsky talks about how the school lunch enrollment systems, operated by states, fail to keep up with the amount of children who need meals at school. I find this disturbing that children, most who are not of legal age to work, have to struggle not only at home, but at a place that should be considered an escape; school. From the reading, I see that there are many issues with the Food Stamp programs no matter how many modifications have been implemented. Abramsky explains that “while food stamps served to limit the slide into poverty for the newly unemployed working poor, the program did little to halt the slide into ever-deeper poverty for those who had no jobs to lose in the first place” (Abramsky, p. 223).  There seems to not be enough aid to stop individuals from going deeper into poverty which is what I believe a real safety net is supposed to do. Potential Test Question: What are some suggestions you have to stop individuals from sliding even deeper down the poverty ladder?