Blog #3 Amber Webb

            Abramsky discusses ways to break the cycle of poverty in chapter two of part two.  It seems many people have many ideas as to how to break this cycle.  One of my favorite quotes from the entire book is found in this chapter.  JoAnne Page talks of ideas on how to break the cycle of poverty by helping people with their mental illnesses, diseases, and addictions.  She says, “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, 2013, p. 237-238). Page goes on to discuss the expanded access to public housing with counseling, drug testing, and job training.  This makes me think of a time my oldest son asked if I could do anything in the world as a job, what would it be?  I told him my dream would to be able to open a center for poverty stricken and homeless families.  In this center, there would be family counseling, addiction counseling, and job training.  There would be beds and bathrooms for the homeless to sleep and clean up.  There would be a food pantry and soup kitchen that helped everyone that was hungry. There would be an area with dress clothes for people to use for interviews.  It touched my heart to read about Page having the same ideas and goals as my dreams. 

            Other people in chapter two had great ideas.  Martha Sanchez talked about helping children have a safe place to learn.  I think helping children learn in a safe environment is a great way to start breaking the poverty cycle.  The minimum income idea is also one that I believe could help. 

            Another idea Abramsky brings up is what she calls “Down Payments On The Future” (Abramsky, 2013, p. 256).  Providing state-funded subsidies to help encourage parents to save for their children’s college education is a fantastic idea.  However, not all states would be able to take this on.  Also, I can imagine when parents are struggling just to keep a roof over their children’s heads or food in their stomachs, a college fund is but a dream they cannot see coming true.  As in the case with Maine in 2008, $500 to start a college account is a lovely gift from Harold Alfond.  However, for a lot of families in poverty, the state’s college savings plan may only have that initial deposit in it.  As Abramsky points out though, on a federal level, an initial amount of $500 does not seem too steep.  I believe anything that can help the younger generations graduate college without the burden of large student loan debt would great. 

            Another point Abramsky makes is about interventions in the labor market about wages.  I wholeheartedly agree that this would have to be done on a state or federal level to be effective.  If it were done in cities alone, the big box companies, such as Wal-Mart, would simply move out of city.  Or, as a mom would say, they would take their ball and go home.  The larger the area covered by law, the better in this instance.  I do not understand why larger companies, such as Burger King, and Taco Bell would not see the benefits to the communities they serve by giving their employees a raise.  I would gladly pay .01 cent more per meal if it were helping my neighbor food and clothe their children. 

Amber Webb 

Book Blog 3 FCS 4840  Nina Davis

            The first paragraph of page 236 of the book, “The American way of poverty: How the other half still lives”, is a very profound thought.  By improving the broken welfare system easily, we would be one-step closer to ending poverty. It also states what we all know in this profession, it is Much harder to break the poverty cycle that includes medical care, drug treatment, mental health programs, education, the criminal justice system, labor and banking markets, and, of course, housing. I believe that the government knows this, they have extensively studied it, and to them, if they make a huge “payment” into solving the poverty problem, it will make more problems for them. They would have to be responsible with the money they have the power over and not gamble it on a new parking lot or shopping center to bring in new revenue to an area. It would, possibly, show how much of the money they have been irresponsibly spending and that they were worst than those they felt needed drug tested or work tracking  to prove the money was being earned and spent on “right choices”.

I lived in Alaska for three years and have many friends who receive money from the Alaska Permanent Dividend Fund.  I understand it, and the helpfulness of it. Alaska was one of the many states I worked in and seemed to be less poverty.  Pay the people revenue the states makes, in this case oil, and the people pay higher taxes, but more money goes back into their pockets, and they are happier to live there.   Alaska takes care of its people. The natives were some of the poorest I met, but their poverty seemed to be from not having an education to get the higher paying jobs. The cost of education was higher there, as was everything else, but the quality was high too.

This section of the book talks mostly about there not being any excuse why the government cannot get the country out of poverty. The cost it would take initially to jump start a true anti-poverty campaign would, and does, stop it from happening. We are not a society of waiting. Those people, who are not in poverty, would have to wait a long time to see the changes that would benefit the down payment of a substantial amount of money put into the plan. The book gives examples of many programs that do work to help people in many areas such as student loan debt, foreclosures, prison reform, job assistance, health assistance, and education.

The final chapters put the responsibility back on us. We know what is wrong, we know how to fix it, we just need to be aware and be active to take care of one another.

McCausland Blog post #3

1.) On Page 237 Abramsky, was talking about JoAnne Page, the executive director of the Fortune Society, from New York City. What i got for this was that the Fortune Society breaking the cycle of poverty and  is finding ways to help others who have addictions, mental illnesses, diseases like HIV and AIDS, and also dysfunctions that have made the individual which would lead to jail or prison. Page sounds like an amazing woman, her background is amazing. Her parents are Holocaust survivors, A graduate of Yale Law School, had previously worked with impoverished clients, which made her one of New York City's important advocates for individuals who are poor, addicted, and imprisoned. Page showed her  clients she cares by getting to know them shaking their hands, hugging them and most importantly listening to what they were saying. Her clients trusted her because she was giving them attention and caring about them. She started realizing that her clients weren't really that different then anyone else besides being poor. I want to share this quote by JoAnne Page,  because it just reminds us  that poverty is different for everyone. "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".

2.) On page 317, Abramsky was talking about the fact that we as a society should find ways to help those living in poverty instead of ignoring the problem. Poverty is usually ignored especially in our own communities because many individuals are only concerned about the poverty in third world countries such as Africa, Asia, and Haiti to name a few. However helping poverty in our own communities is something, I agree with. We should be willing to help others, meaning food, money if you are financially able to, along with clothes, and somewhere warm to stay. By doing these acts of kindness we would be strengthening our community and our overall society.

3.) On page 274, Abramsky,  was talking about better schools and better communities and what that means in terms of education for children of low income families. This is a very important topic in the world of poverty. Abramsky, states "it's not that education is less of importance than housing and jobs, drug treatment and community safety: clearly education is of paramount importance".  I believe with Abramsky that education is the most importance, however where are the means to help education in our world? Stable economic environments tend not to have gangs, street level drug markets, hunger, homelessness, and all of the things that poor children may encounter on a daily life in their communities. The less of these there is in the community the less disruption in the classrooms. This meaning that the teachers have more time to focus on the education part than being concerned about the outside lives of the students, such as talking and  protecting them from the dangerous situations outside of school. With the teacher focusing on the education of their students as has an affect on the students success in higher education.

Abramsky, S. (2013). The American way of poverty: How the other half still lives. New York, NY: Nation Books

Danielle A Sheehy Blog #3

The last section of Abramsky’s book was very eye opening for me. It made me realize how I want to help those who are in poverty. (If I was capable). Abramsky made some great key points in these last few chapters. Hopefully they could be taking in consideration.

Abramsky mentioned some incredibly great facts about boosting economic security for the working poor. As stated in the book, “For the working poor, instead of paying more money in taxes, come the end of each tax year you actually get a credit; the IRS pays you rather than the other way around. Another great point about the working poor is “A proposal to help poor people by giving them money, which is what they need, rather than, as is now, by requiring them to come before a governmental official, detail all their assets and their liabilities, and be told you can spend x dollars on rent, x dollars on food, and then be given a handout.” I absolutely agree with this statement. They have been working all their lives and it shouldn’t be any reason why they would have to sit and suffer after all the hard work they put in.  They deserve more than what they are given.

 Another great thing Abramsky spoke about was living wage. He stated “Absent living wage and related pay increases for vulnerable workers in the field, in home healthcare, and the like—or acting in tandem with such reforms-legislators could also put state and federal tax codes to work on the side of the poor.” In my eyes, it seems like the grateful people suffers the most. I’m not sure why but it seems like it. It is a lot of ungrateful people in the world and it shouldn’t be that way. I know exactly where Abramsky coming from.

Last but not least, another great point that was mentioned was putting a brake on homelessness.  I have always thought this was a great idea. Being homeless and not okay. In fact, it is a thousand and one people who are homeless while everyone else is blind to it. As stated in the book “I no area is that more the case than in housing. And so, if we’re serious about rolling back the hardship that has emerged in recent years, investments must be made to render housing more affordable for those struggling at the bottom of the economy.” It is a lot of people who are out here homeless and remains in poverty, but doesn’t mean they should remain that way. It is very clear that Abramsky believe in change. 

Jenna Hughes- Book Blog 3

1. On page 299, Abramsky talks about how economists with the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst released a report calling for significant increase of the minimum wage and think this is something that needs to happen. For many people, they have to live on minimum wage while supporting a family and sometimes minimum wage is not enough and they are forced to live in poor conditions and live off of welfare. It's because of the low amount for minimum wage that causes people to live in poverty. I think that by raising the amount for minimum wage, we will see a decrease in poverty and more people being able to afford to provide for their family.

2. On page 310, Abramsky talked about these big companies with millions of dollars and having them use their money to help decrease poverty. I think this is a good idea, because these companies could supply jobs to people living in poverty or using their money to establish places where people could get jobs. Instead of using their money on themselves to make more money, why don't these companies use it for a good cause?

3. On page 317, Abramsky discusses the fact that we as a society should find ways to help those living in poverty instead of ignoring the problem. This is something. That I agree with, because these people are living within our communities and they are just as deserving as we are and there shouldn't be a reason why we shouldn't help them. If we take the time to come up with ideas to provide shelter and food to people living in poverty, we are strengthening our community and our overall society.

Cleys- Book Blog 3

Amanda Cleys 

1. On page 237 Abramsky discusses big, hairy and audacious goals. He discusses three different people and their problems when it comes to reducing poverty. JoAnne Page discusses breaking the cycle of poverty that has addictions, mental illness or people with diseases. JoAnne made a big impact on New York City by advocating people that were in need. She helped people by setting up housing centers for people that just got out of prison and helping get back to their normal life. JoAnne had big goals and accomplished them in New York City. If everyone had the same mindset as her our world would be a much better place to live. David Onek idea of reducing poverty would be to put people into specific kinds of courts that committed low-end crimes. For example, a person that has an addiction would go to drug court so that they can fix their problem. Ideally their caseworker would help do anything to keep them off the streets again. Onek says that it is basically a waste of money to send people to prison and jail because it does not change who they are and what they did. They need someone to help them through the rough patch in their life, not just neglect them and hope they turn out okay. The last person, Martha Sanchez is most concerned with children and schooling. She wants to make sure low income children are able to attend school. I think that all three people that Abramsky discussed are very important to reduce poverty. We need to realize that sending people to jail will not make a difference on its own, those people need a role model to show them the way. It is also a very good point to ensure that children that come from a low-income family will not have to worry about their child not being able to attend school. 

2. Something that I found very interesting was that Tennis stat Andre Agassi created a low-income academy in Las Vegas. On page 276 it describes that the students learn music, they travel to amazing place for field trips, they have special visitors such as Cirque du Soleil and they are expected to go to college. It took one person to create this success at a cost of 40 million dollars. Imagine if wealthy people would invest their money into future generations to help them succeed. One person was the reason for many of these low-income families of children having a chance. All of the children that attend that school will now have an opportunity to see things they never thought they would see and even have an opportunity to attend college. 

3. Abramsky talks about the "do right" mission. He stated a quote that inspired me, " What teaching methods worked best with people taught for years to think that their voices had no power"? (Abramsky, 306) He states that people who are living in poverty feel like they have no power. Why is that? Money runs this world and people are still stuck in poverty. It is a slippery slope and a hard one to get out of. Rhymes says that it is hard to get people to think they have a say after living in poverty for so long. There is an alliance ran program that young unemployed women can do for free to help build their own homes, start their own business and help them with their education. I think this is an amazing program and each county should have something similar to help out their community members. 

Abramsky, S. (2013). The American way of poverty: How the other half still lives. New York, NY: Nation Books

The Other Half Blog #3

Gloria Winchester-O’Brien 3rd Book Blog  

1.     On pages 272-273, Abramsky discusses ways to help people save their homes from foreclosure.  His suggestion about the federal government buying the homes from the bank at the currently assessed value would allow the homeowners to stay in the home.  The government  acting as landlord by collecting a monthly rent lower than the original unaffordable mortgage payment presents a workable, rational solution here.  After the government takes out expenses for rent, insurance and utilities, the remainder of the money would be put into an account that could be later used to purchase the home from the government if they still desire to resume ownership of the home.

            In my opinion this is a brilliant plan that could work as long as the government does not become greedy and use the homeowner’s property just to turn a profit.  It could save many Americans from losing their homes or claiming bankruptcy and ruining their credit.  These homeowners got into this predicament in the first place because the banks allowed subprime borrowers to take multiple loans out on over inflated home prices, thereafter experiencing a major loss on their properties after they suffered subsequent declines in value.

2.       On pages 308-309, Abramsky talks about Focus: HOPE;  a workforce program that focuses on training adults in skills they can use, then creating jobs utilizing these skilled workers to create products that can be sold.  This is not a new concept, however the holistic approach offered by project HOPE makes it a successful one.  They pay their workers a fair family sustaining wage and people in the program get a great education while learning to operate state of the art equipment.  Additionally, the program offers the families free child care services and transportation vouchers.  There’s even the Hope Village initiative where students can learn how to help prevent crimes.

    This sounds like a prototype program that could be mimicked in cities all over the world.  Many people have the common misconception that those that are out of work or homeless are living that way because they are lazy.  I think more projects like these could offer the solutions so many people living in poverty could benefit from.  I would like to see the American Indian Reservations start their own programs to help the poorest people in our country redevelop their sense of pride and accomplishment.

3.     On page 325-326, Abramsky offers many suggestions on how Americans can pay for such ambitious projects.  He suggests it is time to “un-starve the beast”, the beast in this instance being social assistance for the poor, the young and the elderly.  Instead, we should increase taxes on the wealthy, limit defense spending increases, and reduce the percentage of healthcare dollars being spent to fatten insurance company executive’s wallets.  Abramsky suggests we can get America to accept such a holistic project through specific education and by empowering the people to apply resources where they will do the most good.

             Personally, I think Sasha Abramsky would make an outstanding President of the United States on the basis of populist ideas such as these.  He would have my vote and I would even spend my free time campaigning on his behalf.   I fear the future I see unfolding with each presidential campaign is moving us further and further away from the humanitarian idealism we so desperately need, and he presents so convincingly in this book.