Discordja: January 2019

United States’ Third World

1. What is poverty?

2. How Widespread? Current and past trends.

3. Health impacts. Environmental racism. Case studies.

4. Failing Infrastructure.

5. Causes and Drugs

6. Partial solutions—what has worked?

Once dubbed the haven for the world’s poor, sick, and tired, the United States in her infancy was made the popular destination for persecuted religious minorities, the poor, and the wealthy each with their various reasons. In the Eighteenth century, dubbed “the best poor man’s country” (Baseler 70). Though a birthing nation with many flaws, the newly-shipped peoples made the United States as it was and is. At her inception, the vast majority of the population were inmates and indentured servants shipped to the America. Largely an impoverished people, many of them and their descendants moved their way up the socioeconomic ladder. Many, however, have not. Whether a person falls from the upper rungs of society or is incapable of escaping poverty due to ill circumstances artificial and natural, they should by no means continue to live in impoverished conditions resembling the indentured servants and the then early vagabonds of early America; when the United States now has the ability to make itself the best poor man’s country and truly serve as a brother’s and sister’s keeper regardless of demographic and socioeconomic standing.

Presently, the United States is commonly referred to as a world superpower and occasionally as the world’s greatest superpower as well as a country with many opportunities waiting to be had by those who are worthy. The United States, however, has grown to be a country that is rich in name only, but this fact is well hidden and unbeknownst to many. Aside from the long-diminished title as the asylum for mankind, the United States has failed its poor and currently sets to brush aside the issue of poverty festering within itself. To the United States’ credit, there have been periods of time wherein the government openly declared war on poverty and sought to aid the lower classes. In the twentieth century, the most noted presidents that openly sought to lessen the plights of the lower classes such as Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson. Unfortunately, many reforms and initiatives set by the two presidents were not to the liking of various interest groups and, at times, both the Republican and Democratic Parties. Joseph A. Califano Jr., United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, wrote in an article for The Washington Monthly that under Lyndon B. Johnson’s presidency (1963 – 1960), the poverty line has dropped from 22.2 percent to 12.6 percent, life expectancy rose, Medicare and Medicaid grew (Joseph Califano 1999). Though Lyndon B. Johnson did may have helped many, he has been, for better and worse, credited as beginning the welfare state. Though, unwilling Bill Clinton signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act into law and is reported to have said, “we are ending welfare as we know it (Vobejda).” This marked the end of previous welfare and social policies and the turning over of welfare programs to the states. Where does this leave the United States and what progress has been made since?

Firstly, the definition and measurement of poverty is to be addressed before its further examination. Settling on one definition and requirement for poverty has been an ongoing issue for decades. The U.S. measured poverty by consumption in 1978. Consumption poverty considers a family’s ability to purchase food, housing, and transportation; as of 2016 the threshold by this measurement for one parent and two children was set at $19,337 (Meyer, Bruce D., and James X. Sullivan 2017). Further, by this measurement, the percentage of Americans living in poverty is around three percent. This method has fallen out of favor and usage as the Census Bureau no longer views the measurement accurate, but the Trump Administration had recently used this method (Sarkar, Saurav and Aaron Noffke 2018). This has naturally caused controversy. Trump’s opponents argue that he has used this measurement to further an agenda that does not include aiding those in poverty—as if poverty is not a current social issue. Other more popular measurements of poverty include the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) and Official Poverty Measure (OPM). The SPM measurement includes the inability to afford food, household expenses, unemployment, inability to pay medical bills, and taxes. The OPM “divides family pre-tax money by income by a poverty threshold that equates to three times the cost of a minimum food diet in 1963, adjusted for inflation” (Shaefer, Luke H., and Joshua Rivera 2018). The SPM and OPM measured poverty, as Shaefer and Rivera show, in 2011 was 16.4 percent and 15.0 percent respectively, while the consumption method measured 4.2 percent. Shaefer and Rivera (2018) conclude that the SPM and OPM is more accurate in measuring in hardship such as being unable to afford household expenses, difficulty in affording rent or mortgage, difficulty in affording utilities, and “unmet medical needs”. However, the effects of poverty, the 55 percent of Americans experiencing difficulties in paying medical expenses, the 40 percent of adults with less than $400 in savings, the number of renters unable to pay rent can be measured with decent accuracy by doubling the SPM (Sarkar, Saurav and Aaron Noffke 2018). This suggests that 42.5 percent of Americans are poor as the low-income threshold is set at $47,000 for a family of four. To note, the SPM, OPM, and double SPM’s thresholds do vary due to the presence of different housing costs across the U.S. Breaking down the demographics of who is in poverty and some reasons as to why should be investigated to bring us closer to understanding poverty in the U.S.

Throughout the United States’ history of poverty, the percentage of individuals that reside within the poverty threshold decreases, but wavers around 10 to 15 percent poverty rate (U.S. Census Bureau definition) since around the 1970s (Hoynes, Hilary W., Page Marianne E., and Ann Huff Stevens 2006). The poverty rate for children, however, stays significantly higher than the elderly and non-elderly; from around 27 percent in 1959 to 17 percent in 2003. Based on the Census Bureau, the poverty threshold for a family of four was about $19,000 or $10,000 for an individual. In 2016, this raises to $12,500 for an individual and $25,400 for a family of four (Census Bureau 2017). Average poverty rates under the Census Bureau definition in other years include: 1979, 11.7 percent; 1983, 15.2 percent; 1989, 12.8 percent; 1994, 14.6 percent. As to how we can reduce poverty further post 2015 is not naturally not easy, but what we can do is follow through by proven means and or go further with ethical hypothetical solutions. The War on Poverty launched by president Lyndon B. Johnson should be studied more closely if we are to continue the war on poverty. In contrast to how the war on drugs and crime eventually led towards an attack upon the people—especially native-born lower-class citizens of America—, we must remember not to harm the impoverished and poverty’s victims, but to lessen poverty’s effects and lower the threshold for poverty. For in the United States, all citizens should be guaranteed the (fair) life and the pursuit of happiness. Despite the cultural telling of the American Dream and the emphasis on pulling one’s self out of poverty, the fact is that it is nearly impossible to do so for many people. Poverty is a cyclical occurrence for many individuals as well as inter-generational. Further, when poverty becomes a social issue, there is a suggestion that there is a systematic flaw. This is partially evidenced by how the poverty rate seems unwilling to decline more than 10-15 percent.

To continue from president L.B. Johnson’s war on poverty, real slashes to tax and regulations, and some sort of support for smaller businesses and employment (Piven Fox Frances 2014), but not just supporting big businesses in place. Most of the programs of the Great Society worked and helped a lot of Americans regardless of color but has been credited with helping blacks gain economic standing during this period. From a poverty rate from about 26 percent down to 16 percent, president Johnson’s war on poverty is credited (Matthews Dylan 2014). Some of the programs president Johnson initiated still stand today in varying conditions such as Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps, head start programs, Title 1 and so on. Many of these still act as safeguards for those near poverty or help those in poverty already. However, what has been done since president Johnson is lacking. No one president since Johnson has quite surpassed his legacy on reducing poverty. Perhaps more focus from the top-down and bottom-up should be on aiding the people do well with their health, finances, and job skills. In the current economy (or any economy), being flexible and quick to learn is becoming increasingly important (Cal Newport 2016).

Boghani, Priyanka. 2017. “How Poverty Can Follow Children Into Adulthood.” Retrieved October 27, 2018(https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/how-poverty-can-follow-children-into-adulthood/).

Casey, Joan A., Morello-Frosch Rachel, Mennitt Daniel J., Fristrup Kurt, Ogburn Elizabeth L., and James Peter. 2017. “Race/Ethnicity, Socioeconomic Status, Residential Segregation, and Spatial Variation in Noise Exposure in the Contiguous United States.” Environmental Health Perspectives 125(7)

Deaton, Angus. 2018. “The U.S. Can No Longer Hide from Its Deep Poverty Problem.” Retrieved October 27, 2018(https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/24/opinion/poverty-united-states.html).

Glass, Joseph E., Rathouz Paul J., Gattis Maurice, Joo Young Sun, Nelson Jennifer C., Williams Emily C. 2016. “Intersections of poverty, race/ethnicity, and sex: alcohol consumption and adverse outcomes in the United States.” Social Psychiatry & Psychiatric Epidemiology 52(5):515.

Haveman, Robert, Blank Rebecca, Moffitt Robert, Smeeding Timothy, and Wallace Geoffrey. “The War on Poverty: 50 Years Later.” 2015. Journal of Policy Analysis & Management 34(3):593-638.

Hoynes, Hilary W., Page Marianne E., and Stevens Ann Huff. 2006. “Poverty in America: Trends and Explanations.” Journal of Economic Perspectives 20(1):47-68.

Miller, Wayne G. 2018. “Health disparities in R.I.: Wellness tied to race, income, education, and ZIP code. Retrieved October 28, 2018(http://www.providencejournal.com/news/20181005/health-disparities-in-ri-wellness-tied-to-race-income-education-and-zip-code).

Pilkington, Ed. 2017. “A Journey Through a Land of Extreme Poverty: Welcome to America.” Retrieved October 27, 2018(https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/dec/15/america-extreme-poverty-un-special-rapporteur)

Population Reference Bureau. 2002. “American Attitudes About Poverty and the Poor.” Retrieved October 27, 2018(https://www.prb.org/americanattitudesaboutpovertyandthepoor/).

The Conversation. 2018. “The Range of Poverty in America.” Retrieved October 27, 2018(https://www.usnews.com/news/healthiest-communities/articles/2018-09-12/poverty-in-america-new-census-data-paint-an-unpleasant-picture).

Sarkar, Saurav and Noffke Aaron. 2018. “Trump Launches Aggressive Poverty Disinformation Campaign.” Retrieved October 27, 2018(http://prospect.org/article/trump-launches-aggressive-poverty-disinformation-campaign).

Waldman, Annie and Green Erica. 2018. “Charlottesville’s Other Jim Crow Legacy: Separate and Unequal Education.” Retrieved October 27, 2018(https://www.propublica.org/article/charlottesville-other-jim-crow-legacy-separate-and-unequal-education).

Census Bureau. 2017. “What are the poverty thresholds today?” Retrieved January 9, 2019 (https://poverty.ucdavis.edu/faq/what-are-poverty-thresholds-today).

Matthews Dylan. 2014. “Everything you need to know about the war on poverty.” Retrieved January 9, 2019 (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/01/08/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-war-on-poverty/?utm_term=.43838012d15b).

Newport, Cal. 2016. Deep Work. London: Piatkus.

Other annotations

Boghani, Priyanka. 2017. “How Poverty Can Follow Children Into Adulthood.” Retrieved October 27, 2018(https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/how-poverty-can-follow-children-into-adulthood/).

Boghani highlights how nearly 25 percent of American children live in poverty (as of 2012)—note, national poverty rate differs slightly. The likelihood of Black and Native children is more than twice as likely to be living in poverty—suggestive of racial inequality. More importantly however, Boghani delves deeper into how children in poverty are negatively affected for the rest of their lives. Children in poverty take longer to graduate, are more likely to develop health problems, are more likely to stay poor when they are adults and are more likely to develop mental issues as well. This article can serve as an introduction in the paper about the negative effects poverty has for children. There are sources used in the article as well that give weight to the statistics used.

This study thoroughly explores racial and socioeconomic inequality in where noise pollution was above average. Higher noise pollution is mentioned as having a correlation with behavioral problems in children as well as negative health conditions. Their data suggests that there are racial disparities in noise pollution. Low SES and minority families were most likely to live in areas of high noise pollution. The results further highlight how low SES and minority groups experience disparity in health and now noise pollution.

Deaton, Angus. 2018. “The U.S. Can No Longer Hide From Its Deep Poverty Problem.” Retrieved October 27, 2018(https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/24/opinion/poverty-united-states.html).

Deaton reminds the readers that America’s poverty levels still garner the attention of the United Nations. With the World Bank now including high-income countries in their polls, America’s social problem of poverty is now able to be compared side-by-side to some of the poorest nations. The estimates of those living on $4 a day in America are quite staggering. America somehow manages to nearly have as much poor people (5.3 million) as the European Union (6.9 million) does in total. He goes on and mentions how some high-income nations spend a lot of money to aid the poor in other countries while seemingly ignoring the issue back home—as if the face of the problem is across the world. This article provides me statistics on how many poor people live in the United States compared to countries across the world as well as foundation for an argument against the United States and highlights a reason as to why Americans should realize how their own country has people living in abject poverty like those across the world.

Further looking into poverty and correlations, this study takes an intersectional approach. Social status, demographic, alcohol consumption, and poverty are the main aspects focused on. Minorities are noted to have a greater chance of developing alcohol-related liver disease and other consequences when compared to Whites. Like in other articles I have cited, this one touches on the health disparity between minorities and whites. Poverty happens to be a determinant of this. There is also reason to believe that poverty serves as a stressor and alcohol consumption is used to cope; further, poverty has been linked with higher rates of alcohol-related problems. The study’s results found that Black men and women were more likely to have heavy episodic drinking and suffer from alcohol-related diseases as a result.

Haveman, Robert, Blank Rebecca, Moffitt Robert, Smeeding Timothy, and Wallace Geoffrey. “The War on Poverty: 50 Years Later.” 2015. Journal of Policy Analysis & Management 34(3):593-638.

…

Hoynes, Hilary W., Page Marianne E., and Stevens Ann Huff. 2006. “Poverty in America: Trends and Explanations.” Journal of Economic Perspectives 20(1):47-68.

Poverty rates and trends are examined here. Cyclical poverty, labor market opportunities, unemployment rates, real median wage, and disparity in employment are some factors that explain the poverty rates and trends in the United States. Some correlations to increased and decreased poverty rates are included. The poverty rate has mostly stayed the same in the United States in the last few decades, but Native American poverty trends have drastically changed for the better. Government tax and transfer programs have a minor effect on poverty rates. Higher real median wages tend to correlate with a lower poverty rate.

To no surprise, income and wealth determine your social class and where you live. It also seems to determine how likely you are to have a lower quality of health. When lead paint was relevant, lead chips became hazardous for children who would eat them. This article includes data regarding how many children were found with excessive levels of lead in their blood. Since 1995, there has been evidence of black children being more likely to suffer from lead poisoning. Minorities in Rhode Island and most of the United States are less likely to regularly see a doctor or having a healthcare provider at all. A part of the reason as to why minorities develop health complications at higher rates than their white counterparts is due to how they are more susceptible to (racial) stress, poverty, low education, and less available medical care. Further, minority babies tend to weigh less than their white counterparts as well. Poverty, violence, and stress are cited as the causes. How poverty affects minority groups in particular is noteworthy for the paper.

This article is a mixture of a narrative with personal stories and research-backed observations. In the beginning, Philip Aston notes that 41 million people live officially in poverty and of the 41 million, nine million have no income whatsoever. Aston works in the UN monitor or a sort of human rights investigator. Despite the impoverished needing increased aid, it is not uncommon for Congress to slash social service funding, increase taxes on the lower and middle class, but decrease the taxes on the wealthy. So, wealth inequality increases as a result and California makes for a good example in how the upper class lives next to some of the poorest of people on Skid Row. Streets like Skid Row exemplify how poverty can cause for the rise of infectious diseases as has happened in Los Angeles. The author gives a history of how welfare policy has changed since the Reagan years as well as the growing individualistic attitude that seems to come along with the changes in welfare. This article really attempts to illustrate how America is not as different from the third world countries we like to point at as failed nations.

Population Reference Bureau. 2002. “American Attitudes About Poverty and the Poor.” Retrieved October 27, 2018(https://www.prb.org/americanattitudesaboutpovertyandthepoor/).

This article is rather straightforward as it explains a national poll. The poll asked what are the major, minor, or not causes of poverty; do poor people have higher, lower, or same moral values; whether circumstances or the self is the larger cause for poverty; and whether welfare recipients want to work. Results of the poll suggest that the poor simply lack aspiration or motivation as if it is an individual’s problem. With the poll suggesting that Americans believe welfare recipients are not willing to work, perhaps that is why welfare cuts are favored by many. When you ask impoverished people however, they often state they do not like to be on welfare and or distrust programs made to help them. So, there is a disconnect between what the poor say and what the non-poor say. This also can serve to highlight the difference in opinions or attitudes Americans have towards the poor.

Pressman cites a national poverty data for 2017 that finds about 12 percent of the United States’ population is in poverty. He breaks down the demography on who is poor as well. One issue with estimating how many people are indeed living in poverty in the United States is that there are different competing definitions and requirements regarding who is living poverty. This will be briefly touched on in the paper. Pressman’s article also mentions how the poverty level in the United States has fluctuated since 1960. There are also some comparisons made between the United States and other developed nations. All in all, this article can serve as a buffer and help define what poverty is.

The authors of this article write about how Trump stated only 3 percent of the American population is poor. Part of the reason as to how Trump’s administration put this forth is that they were using outdated data and method for defining the poverty line. Nonetheless, a part of America’s poverty issue is due to how unaware a lot of people are in the country about poverty. Further, there is mention of how the Congressional Budget Office found that about half the social safety net payments are given to what the government recognizes as middle class. Combine this with the low-funding of poverty-related systems put in place and we can see how the poor are getting less and less of what they are supposed to receive. Again, part of the is due to outdated data and methodology. The authors note that if we broaden the category of what it means to be in poverty, we of course find that there are more poor people than expected. Parameters such as failure to pay medical bills, total savings, inability to pay rent, and so forth suggest a much higher poverty percentage that will be mentioned in paper. What will also be mentioned is the legislative conflict between the rich and the poor.

As education is a major predictive factor of income, there will be some articles that highlight factors that perpetuate a generational cycle of poverty. A lack of education happens to be one of those factors. Racial discrimination and inequality further exacerbate poverty among minority groups. The author uses Charlottesville as an example of how white children are more likely to be placed in a gifted program while black children are four times more likely to be held back. In general, blacks fall behind in academics when compared to whites. A part of the issue is socioeconomics and another part is the city’s history of segregation that affects which students get into which schools. Further, there is reason to believe that there is an incentive to segregate students. These sorts of factors hinder blacks from achieving a good education, good jobs, and social mobility.

Discordja

Monday, January 14, 2019

Incomplete: America: Rich in Name Only

Poetry