The Poverty Cycle

There are way too many fucked up people in this country. At least that’s what I hear all the time from people on both sides of the political divide. They may be more polite in the terminology they use, they may have completely different basis for what’s considered fucked up, but it’s a given in our society that there are too many people who make bad choices, do bad things, and generally fail to contribute positively to the world in which the rest of us (the good people) live. Our political disagreements don’t really stem so much from the problems facing us as they do the solutions to such problems. It is those solutions that deserve careful analysis.

So let’s start with a basic problem: poor people. Poor people don’t have good jobs, they don’t pay much in taxes, they commit more crimes, use more drugs, and soak up government welfare. Let’s all agree that the world would be a better place if people weren’t so damn poor. How do we solve that?

Well, why are people poor in the first place? The conservative motto is that people basically choose to be poor. It’s not a conscious choice, per-se, but their financial status is the result of the life choices they have made. They aren’t hard-working enough to get a decent job, they haven’t educated themselves, they lack moral character which is why they make bad choices like using drugs, committing crimes, and having children out of wedlock. And if we, through government handouts, reward such behavior, we’ll only perpetuate the cycle of poverty.

Let’s go with this idea: the poor choose their own misery. They done fucked up and them’s the apples they gotta eat. Let’s cut off their aid and see what happens.

First, they no longer have health care. Every evidence says they will be sicker, have higher medical costs, and more die sooner. Hard to see how that will help them get out of poverty.

Second, no more welfare, like SNAP and WIC (food stamps). They’ll go hungry - see first point.

Third, no free education or training. Well, being poor, they can’t really afford to pay for education, so they will stay uneducated. Without skills or knowledge it’s hard to see how they will get a better job.

Fourth, no tax breaks. They should pay an equal share. Once again, how to see how taking money from the poor will help them get not poor.

And to circle back to the beginning: poor people are poor due to bad choices they’ve made. No one really expects that by making their lives more difficult they will suddenly start making good choices. But their misery is on them and it will serve as an example from which the next generation will learn to make smart choices. What about that?

We’ve transferred our hope to end poverty by teaching the world that it sucks to be poor so don’t do it. So let’s look at the poor kids (since it’s mostly those who are born poor who end up staying poor) and see how this message works.

First, poor kids have no health care, so like their parents they are more likely to be sick (starting with higher rates of infant mortality, which I guess in a way does reduce the number of poor people). Sick people have a harder time finding employment and use a greater share of their income from medical expenses. Sick people are more likely to end up poor.

Second, those poor kids are hungry. No SNAP, no school lunch programs. It’s well-established that undernourished children do worse in school, so it seems unlikely they will end up well-educated and capable of making good decisions.

Third, poor children do worse in school, hunger aside. They go to poorer public schools with fewer resources. They have less help and encouragement from their parents -who are apparently bad role models because they chose to be poor. How realistic is it to expect poor children to learn the value of education and hard work if they cannot see any examples of it?

Fourth, by making things harder on their poor parents, making them even poorer, you reduce all basic sustenance to their children. Fewer toys, worse neighborhoods, more crime, and yes, even worse morals.

If we write off the poor for being poor we write off their children. The cycle continues.

The whole premise is rather ridiculous. Does anyone really think the poor, child or adult, don’t realize it sucks to be poor? Talk to one and find out. They don’t need us to show them the hardships, to make it more obvious or more extreme. What they need is for us to teach them how to escape that poverty, and that doesn’t come from political speeches or church sermons. It comes from their daily life. It comes from getting enough food to eat in order to work hard or pay attention in school. It comes from having a school with enough funding to not only teach arithmetic but to enlighten a child’s soul. It even comes from having the ‘conveniences’ in life, like a working car, cell phone, and internet connection, that are not only factors in a quality of life that lifts spirits, but also essential tools in the modern workforce.

People fuck up. You can’t stop them. But you can limit how miserable they become, because their misery affects us all. Especially their children. You can only save the kids if you save the parents.  If you write off today’s poor you guarantee tomorrow will have more. Break the cycle.