Blog #2 McCausland

Sasha Abramsky continues to astound his readers the significance of the struggles many Americans who are living in poverty. He delivers the solutions of many of the issues that are lacking to lift our nation’s poorest citizens out of poverty. There were a few passages that really stood out to me. This quote stood out to me when reading these passages. My role model is Mother Teresa and this quote is my favorite,  “You have never really lived until you have done something for someone who can never repay you” – Mother Teresa 

1.      In Chapter 4 Abramsky remarks on the widespread opinion that welfare recipients should be drug-tested. In this chapter he points out how unreasonable and unlikely it would be to drug-test seniors accessing Social Security, home-owners seeking property tax relief and bankers seeking bail-out funds. I agree with Abramsky on this topic. Why do these developments sound ridiculous, yet memes suggesting drug-tests for people seeking government assistance are so prevalent on social media? Shaming on social media happens all the time and there are many different types of shaming. Body, poor-shaming and blaming those in poverty for their problems is not right for anyone to do to another.

2.      Accusations of manipulation are directed at both sides in this poverty argument. In Chapter 5, Abramsky expresses the attitudes toward the poor, accusing them of being “foolish, scheming, lazy and nonfunctional”. When talking about the poor why do we assume that people improperly claim disability, use their children to obtain benefits, or lie about their income and how many people live in this household to obtain SNAP benefits, etc. in order to avoid getting a job.  In this chapter Abramsky notices Americans blame the poor for their unsuccessful situations. It is the same in politics, as some are for taxes being raised, welfare, etc and many do not agree. So many citizens who have lowered wages and benefits support their votes with that party’s plans, which is against their best interests. I believe that it is very unfortunate that some of our nation’s poorest citizens are being tricked into voting against their own interest. This is terrible we should be helping the poorest in this nation not making it worse by voting for the one that does not support and help the poverty in our nation.

3.      Abramsky also offers potential solutions to battle poverty. There are many individuals who enroll in benefits and have to apply for other benefits which was Abramskys suggestion. There is a lot of waste inside governmental resources and social service agencies. I am also talking about the waste of individuals time. These agencies do not communicate, chara date, and automatically enroll families and individuals that qualify for the benefits of food, medical care, and supplemental income quicker. I am not making any income besides babysitting and I qualified for Medicaid. I am struggling with the fact that I rely on the government for this to have coverage for my health. This is not a quick or easy process. You have to complete a form and they will get back to you.  I’ve often wondered if this was intended to knockout the applicants who are wanting aid that do not actually need it. If a family qualifies for one service, it is likely that they also meet criteria for other services. Coordinating these efforts would simplify the process to help families in need be able to access services necessary for survival and progress.