Savannah Regis Blog Post 2

The topics I chose to blog about, were ones that felt very close to home.
First, in chapter 4, titled "Fingers In The Dike." I chose to blog about this because Sasha Abramsky talks about poverty within the city of Chicago, and I spend a lot of time in the city and only live about 40 minutes away, so I felt like I truly can see what she is talking about and how it effects the city as a whole. Everyone, especially everyone at Eastern, knows how messed up the budget deficit is in Illinois and we know how it effects us and our schools but it was really shocking for me to see that they wanted to cut 52% of the budget for emergency shelters, shelters that save lives and helps people get off the streets, when the number of homeless people is growing at rapid pace. I really liked the point she brought up, when she said "people accept homelessness as just a condition of modern society" (100) because that is so accurate, people assume homelessness is a personal problem not a societal problem. When 92,000 Chicagoans are at risk for being homeless, and not even counting the rest of the state, we cannot keep cutting programs and expecting people to dig themselves out of poverty with no assistance like job placement, affordable housing, and higher wages.
I also chose to blog about Chapter 1 of part 2, "When The Going Gets Tough... The Tough Take It Out On The Vulnerable" (217). I chose this one because she talks about TANF and SNAP benefits, because my mom received SNAP benefits for a long time and they really helped my family. While my family was able to receive a good amount every month because my mom had 4 kids, most are not so fortunate. Abramsky talks about a woman named Vicenta Delgada (pg 221), who was still having to go to the food pantry despite the fact that she qualified for Social Security and food stamps. She only received $34 in food stamps and $27 in SSI, which is impossible to live on, especially if you're elderly and have medications with co-pays. There needs to be a lot of reform in the welfare system so it can better work for the people who need it. Also, reforming the health care and power of the pharmaceutical companies have in our country will also help the welfare system run smoother and more efficiently.