This is a diary I originally posted when I was going by the tag Wes Opinion for the Class and Labor series here on Daily Kos. I think the relevance has only increased in the time since I originally posted it and I hope to build on this to do a personal series of diaries on homelessness and poverty not only in the U.S. but around the world.
I keep hearing how America is the richest country in the world and from all the evidence I’ve seen this is indeed true. But one thing you rarely if ever hear is that of all industrialized nations America leads the world in the percentage of its citizens living in poverty. Isn’t it great to be number one? According to the U.S. Census Bureau as of 2005, 12.6 percent or 37 million Americans live in poverty. This is a .8 percent increase from the recent low of 11.8 percent in 2000. As you may have guess since I originally wrote this diary the poverty rate has increased.Poverty in the U.S. spikes
One would think that with over ten percent of the population living in poverty those in the traditional media would take notice. Sure once in a while they do, such as when Katrina hit New Orleans. But that attention is short lived and studies from Stanford University show that despite Katrina poverty remains America’s "dirty little secret". For the most part poverty is one of those things most Americans ignore or simply don’t think about. Part of this is due to the fact that poverty is depressing. Who wants to think of such a depressing subject as poverty? The other part is one of perception. The poor aren’t considered a part of American life. If you don’t see them they’re not there. Rather it was intended or not the FEMA backed dispersal of Katrina victims around the country contributed to the publics ability to forget the about them. With the victims of Katrina spread around the country they tend to get lost in the background and they are therefore easier to ignore.
According to a poll conducted by NPR, around 51% of Americans believe that the poor lack the motivation to rise above their state. Out of personal experience I can tell you that is one of the most inane statements I’ve ever heard. Nobody wants to be poor and most of those who are would do almost anything to improve their lives. It also fails to take into account the growing number of working poor, those who work two or more jobs but still have to choose between keeping food on the table or paying bills. Personally I think that those who believe this do so as a kind of safety valve. First it puts the responsibility of continuing poverty on the backs of the poor, therefore absolving society and themselves of any responsibility for their plight. Secondly it’s a form of reassurance that on the off chance that if they themselves ever become poor all they have to do is "pull themselves up by their bootstraps" to overcome their own poverty. But it’s extremely difficult to pull yourself up by the bootstraps when you don’t have any boots.
Another part of most American’s perception of poverty is that "The poor of America aren’t really poor at all". This is the stated position of the Heritage Foundation and a good deal of Republicans as well. One of the cornerstones for this position is based on the report written by the Heritage foundation in 1998. The Myth of Widespread American Poverty. On Sept. 13th 2011 Robert Rector and Rachel Sheffeld wrote an article for the Heritage Foundation that was basically a rehash of the same arguments. Understanding Poverty in the United States: Surprising Facts About America's Poor
In fact, numerous government reports indicate that most "poor" Americans today are better housed, better fed, and own more personal property than average Americans throughout most of this century. Today, inflation-adjusted expenditures per person among the lowest-income one-fifth (or quintile) of households equal those of the average American household in the early 1970s.
So in other words even though the standard of living has continually improved since the 1900s the poor should still be judged by the standards of the Gilded Age. Or maybe today’s poor should go back to the 1970s were they would be considered middle class. Just as the standard of who is considered rich in this country has changed since the 1970s, so has the standard of poverty. The fact that the poor in America don’t live under the same conditions as the poor in a third world country doesn’t mean they aren’t living in poverty. It simply means that in a country with the highest standard of living on the planet, the poor have a higher standard of living compared to other countries that are actually poverty stricken. Even with this higher standard of living there are those who live in substandard housing. I’m not talking about somewhere that just needs a new coat of paint, but places infested with rats and other vermin; places without any working sewer, water or heating systems; where black mold grows on the walls. Places that if the local governments actually knew how badly deteriorated they are they would be condemned as unsuitable for human habitation.
Perhaps the Heritage foundation should talk to Dr. Amy K. Glasmeier.
For years now, as a nation we have been debating whether the poor are truly poor given their access to material goods such as housing, washing machines, televisions, and cars. In reality, the nature of life for the truly poor is about "not enough", as in not enough income to eat properly, little access to basic goods such as adequate clothing or shelter and heat. We have finally reached a time when we can all agree that the poor are truly, truly poor. And their numbers are growing rapidly.
Recent Census estimates reveal that the population percentage considered severely poor has reached a 32-year high. Between 2000 and 2005, the percent living at half of poverty-level income increased by 26%. The descent into destitution spares no community or group in society. America’s urban, suburban and rural communities are all witnesses to the growth of what adds up to the "abject poor."
Even more sobering is the fact that the number of severely poor is growing rapidly. In 1975 the severely poor were 30% of the population in poverty. Today a dismaying 43% of persons in poverty are severely poor by national standards. But more embarrassing than the share of the poverty population truly poor is the increase in the number of persons descending into severe poverty. While the rate of new entrants moving into poverty is somewhat stable, those who are becoming truly poor are increasing at a rate 56% higher than the growth rate of new entrants into poverty.
No demographic is immune to its reach. The severely poor are more likely to be of working age than young or old, though a large share of the truly poor are children under seventeen. The largest number of abjectly poor are white (two times as many as blacks), but blacks and Hispanics are disproportionately likely to be most affected. Women, the prime target of welfare reform, on a proportionate basis are one third more likely to face deep poverty than men.
Despite the Right’s desire to blame the poor for their state, the fact is that there are many causes of poverty in America. These can include but are not limited to: lack of education, health problems (both physical and mental), discrimination and work orientation. But the fact is that rarely if ever is the lack of motivation to rise above ones situation or just plain laziness responsible for people remaining poor. Lack of educational opportunities or ignorance of the opportunities available can keep people from pursuing an education which would allow them to gain a foothold out of poverty. The lack of proper medical and mental health care to treat certain health conditions can prevent people from breaking the cycle of poverty. These are just some of the reasons those trapped in a cycle of poverty remain poor and no amount of scapegoating will change that, although it may make those who refuse or are too afraid to face the facts of poverty feel better. For those who acknowledge the facts of poverty and wish to alleviate the suffering of those affected by it, the hardest part is changing the perceptions that many have of the poor.
The Changing Face of Poverty in America
37 million poor hidden in the land of plenty
2:58 PM PT: Wow I leave and when I come back I'm on the community spotlight. Thanks so much for reading this and not letting this diary disappear.