Hollie (Taylor) Atchison - Blog Post #3

Sasha Abramsky continues to inform and inspire those of us who are concerned with poverty and its effects on our society. This final blog post deals with more of Abramsky’s proposed solutions for ending poverty in the United States.

1.     Abramsky spends a fair amount of pages discussing our criminal justice system. He refers to imprisonment as a response to poverty, and I believe for many crimes, he is correct. One way that this theory holds true is the generational trend for criminal behavior. It is very difficult to break the cycle of criminality and imprisonment in families. Children are witness to illegal behavior and are often left without one or both of their parents due to long prison sentences (or worse). Their parents are unable to provide effective role modeling for the life that they hope for their children. Another way that our criminal justice system performs as a response to poverty is the illogical long-term (and expensive!) prison sentences for non-violent offenses. There are people incarcerated today, with little hope for a future of freedom, for minor drug offenses. It is my belief that prison should be reserved for violent and dangerous criminals. There are other options that allow for more effective punishment and rehabilitation, including smaller drug courts and mental health courts.

2.     Abramsky ventures into dangerous conservative territory by proposing adjustments to the tax code. It would be undeniably controversial to suggest that the government increase tax obligations to the very rich, but it is equally undeniable that this would be an effective remedy for poverty. There is only so much discussion I can provide to this topic; taxes are scary and complicated. However, I feel strongly that Abramsky makes fair and valuable recommendations for altering our tax code for the benefit of ALL of the citizens of this country. Living in Central Illinois all of my life, I have been witness to all sorts of conservative, fear-based opposition to taxation of all kinds. For example, I was pleased to learn from The American Way of Poverty that less than .2% of all estates have to actually pay “death taxes”. (I can’t wait to throw this little nugget of information into the next conversation at my in-law’s dinner table.)

3.     I am currently involved in local efforts to improve skills and drive interest in labor and vocational trades. Abramsky tells the story of the Earn-and-Learn program in Michigan. I plan on sharing information on this program at our next meeting. The first obstacle is securing funding, and small communities would have a difficult time doing so, but the effect of such a program locally would be tremendous! If local community colleges and trade schools were able to put unemployed and underemployed people to work while learning valuable and employable skills, everyone wins. Our factories and other large employers would have a large and qualified labor pool, wages would increase, and our communities would have citizens able and willing to contribute positively to our school districts and local economies.