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We have GOT to get over this idea that babies are cute little miracles from Heaven, and start recognizing them for what they are: Voracious parasites that cost (last I heard) about $400K to raise to adulthood, at which point they become unemployable irresponsible debt-ridden adults who make more babies.
While I believe that worldwide overpopulation is one of the biggest problems we face today, it is not the root cause of poverty, at least not here in the US.
Poverty is a multi faceted problem that is engineered through social policies. The birth rate in the US has fallen considerably since the 60's, but in order to keep wages artificially low, corporations lobbied government to allow massive illegal immigration.
Besides immigration, there are several other factors that have to be engineered to maintain poverty including education, culture, taxes, foreign trade, and the overall economy.
Not necessarily. A hallmark of the poor is they tend to spend a large amount of thier resources on entertainment. It's not unusual around the poor school district where I live to see children with all manner of electronic gadgets, four wheelers, and phones, and horses while living in shacks.
How would you know this is a hallmark of the poor unless you are poor? Maybe those items were stolen and bought for cheap. Who knows? You don't and I don't.
I always wonder at people like you who think you "know" what it's like to be poor. I also am amazed that people might even think it horrid they turn to drugs and alcohol. Hey, if you had no way out, you might too.
A lot of this has to do with the huge rise in single mother households. Many women today would rather have a child from some random "sexy" or "hot" guy than an average guy with a stable income who would make good husband material. That would be too boring. So then the unwed mother collects handouts and the children become part of the 25% living in poverty. This goes on all the time. I have known single mothers like this whose decisions (influenced by the decaying culture) directly led to poverty.
A lot of this has to do with the huge rise in single mother households. Many women today would rather have a child from some random "sexy" or "hot" guy than an average guy with a stable income who would make good husband material. That would be too boring. So then the unwed mother collects handouts and the children become part of the 25% living in poverty. This goes on all the time. I have known single mothers like this whose decisions (influenced by the decaying culture) directly led to poverty.
When these mother grow up, they learn their lesson.
I suspect that those who end up long term poor will appreciate what the generation that lived through the great depression learned. The problemThe "boomer" generation did not *all* turn into yuppies, and a lot never were able to have what mom and dad did. But I suspect this will become the norm as fewer and fewer well paying jobs exist and more and more minimum wage ones fill in the gap.
Those boomers who had financially successful parents are likely to have succeeded as well (there was a PBS feature on this recently). Moneyed backgrounds beget moneyed futures. Not always, of course, there are rags to riches stories. But even if a financially successful boomer's kid can't get a job, I've noticed that around here (more upscale area of the US) the 20- or 30-something kid is "OK" because he "comes from a good family," "is writing a novel," is "starting a film business and living on unemployment," etc while someone in the family, mom or dad, is footing the rent. I don't say this to be cynical, just to point out how the upper class young adults are perceived as opposed to the lower class young adults. The latter have no fallback, no good sounding alibis, no lifestyle to hide behind. Their survival is on the line, often with enormous student loan debt. I really feel for them.
Not many, if you look at how obese most of them are these days.
The problem is it's cheaper to eat high fat, high sugar foods than it to eat healthier foods likes vegetables, beans fruits etc.
The term "Malnutrition" is often associated with people not getting enough to eat. But if you are not getting the right foods to eat eventually the long term effects are going to things like obesity, heart disease, diabetes etc.
The problem is it's cheaper to eat high fat, high sugar foods than it to eat healthier foods likes vegetables, beans fruits etc.
The term "Malnutrition" is often associated with people not getting enough to eat. But if you are not getting the right foods to eat eventually the long term effects are going to things like obesity, heart disease, diabetes etc.
You have to have the luxury of having a yard, many don't.
It is cheaper to cook at home, if one can afford the ingredients. Many who eat junk food do so because it's cheaper. Even a simple dinner for four with healthy ingredients, organic vegges and decent quality olive oil with high quality protein costs more than some people can pay. A lot of the home gardeners are not the poorest among us. On the other hand, some are. It's not easy to find a solution. Throw in a single parent household overworked and underpaid and you can see why so much bad food is consumed.
You have to have the luxury of having a yard, many don't.
It is cheaper to cook at home, if one can afford the ingredients. Many who eat junk food do so because it's cheaper. Even a simple dinner for four with healthy ingredients, organic vegges and decent quality olive oil with high quality protein costs more than some people can pay. A lot of the home gardeners are not the poorest among us. On the other hand, some are. It's not easy to find a solution. Throw in a single parent household overworked and underpaid and you can see why so much bad food is consumed.
No, you don't. You can get the ones from Walmart and put them in your balcony. Its cheaper to buy groceries then eat outside.
Eating junk food outside is more expensive then eating at home.
Absolutely. There is no reason to get married because then you lose all that government aid.
So, you have a single mom with a low income getting subsidized houses, food and various other aid.
This is why at least 2 of my cousins have been in long-term relationships but not tied the knot.
Changing marital demographics is likely one of the biggest factors in this.
I know that's not the gist of the article, I'm referring to the statistic.
This is one of many reasons government 'poverty' statistics do a poor job of measuring actual poverty. Non-cash assistance isn't counted, so many people who are officially 'poor' actually have a higher standard of living than unsubsidized low-wage workers who are officially not poor.
Consider these hypothetical examples:
Bob is retired, owns his home without a mortgage, has Medicare and prescription drug coverage, has an annual income of $10,000 and his low property taxes are deferred due to his low income.
Chris has one kid, receives Medicaid, food stamps, welfare, and subsidized housing, plus $5,000 from a part-time minimum wage job,
Sam has no children, earns $12K at a minimum wage job, pays half his income for housing, and receives no assistance.
According to government, Bob and Chris are 'poor' and Sam is not poor.
Sam is worst off financially and he's the only one government says is not poor.
While food stamps are easy to get, subsidized housing is usually hard to get, because demand far exceeds supply. Waiting lists are often years long, especially for Section 8 vouchers. In my area, Section 8 vouchers are given out through a lottery, the last Sec 8 lottery here was in 2007 and only about a third of the people who applied actually got on the waiting list. Everyone else has to wait for the next lottery and none is expected anytime soon.
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