Brittany Floyd's Final Blog Post

Brittany Floyd

Blog Post 3

April 27, 2016

The final section of Abramsky’s book was motivating and made me want to go out there and do what was asked, which was to act. Abramsky outlined ways to help millions of Americans experiencing poverty. Several ideas or opinions stuck out to me throughout this section.

Abramsky mentioned the idea of state banks (or land banks), much like the ones established in Germany and North Dakota. In 1919, North Dakota set up a state bank with only 2 million dollars of seed money. Now, today, the bank brings in over 270 million dollars through the economy and has assets worth more than 4 million dollars.  These state banks provide funding and extra revenue for local infrastructure projects, small businesses, and community buildings. This idea would be difficult and would take money our state doesn’t currently have, but would be possible.

Abramsky also suggested creating education accounts for children. The education accounts would save money for higher education expenses for each child. While this is a good idea, it, again, takes money. Abramsky suggested the money come from existing revenue and eventually an Educational Opportunity Fund. Along with the education fund, students entering their careers would only be expected to pay down their debt once their average income exceeds a certain percentage of their debt (2013).

On page 297, Abramsky (2013) mentioned a study from 1995 that stated 3 in ten of America’s homelessness was once a part of the foster system. That was alarming to me. Children who were raised in the system are ineligible for many benefits once they turn 18, and are left feeling abandoned once again. Because of this and other alarming statistics dealing with children, poverty, and the foster system, Abramsky suggests a government enforced safety net that would help children transition successfully into adulthood and self-sufficiency.

I would love to see these suggestions from Abramsky come to life. Statistics regarding poverty are devastating especially those including children and the cycle of poverty. While poverty seems like a very hard cycle to break (and it is), I appreciate Abramsky’s realness, optimism, and dedication to ending the problem and calling us to action.

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