FINAL ESSAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!POVERTY STEREOTYPES

JACKLINE NDEGWA   
MS WILLIAMS
ENGLISH 1 A
12/22/2013

POVERTY STEREOTYPES AND HOW THEY KEEP US DOWN.

Poverty in America is viewed like a minority issue and usually is color coded to the black and colored people who are usually referred to as "they" but in reality the truth of the matter is that poverty affects people of all races and Americans living in poverty 42% are whites, 29% Hispanics  25% blacks and 4% Asian. “..although politicians hate to address poverty the media are delving into the plight of the poor because the escalating numbers of the new poor and near poor are white citizens who are now struggling alongside long suffering citizens of color” (Smiley, West 45). The issue of poverty is one that cuts across every one of us whether black or white and regardless of what we might want to assume we should all should make an effort to try bring the poverty levels down because the more we ignore that it is not a problem the more deep we are getting tangled up in the mess and sooner it would be very hard for any one of us to get back to where we initially were.

One of the biggest stereotypes is that poverty has little impact on kids but in reality poverty is the biggest threat to the kids well being and it can interrupt their ability to learn and contribute to the nation’s future. The kids are not going to school due to poverty and this means that our economy is not able to grow since the same people who are supposed to one day fix it are stuck in poverty.  “..Something is profoundly wrong in America when the younger you are the more likely you are to be poor therefore we must stand we cannot allow our children to surrender their life chances before they know their life choices.”(Smiley, West 56). “..The greatest threat to America’s national security comes from no enemy without but from our own failure to protect, invest in and educate all of our children who make up all of our futures in this global economy.” (Smiley, West 49)
The youth or rather the young are seen as the future leaders of the country if they are not getting a chance to build their future due to poverty it means that they are going to be stuck in generational poverty many years down the line.

The poor people are stereotyped as been uninvolved in their children’s learning largely because they do not value education but in reality poor parents have the same values as the wealthy parents do but the circumstances are different and they are not involved as they would want to. Most of them are usually holding two low wage jobs so that the kids can go to school and thus they may not be available to get involved in the kids school life as much as they would want to. “..America’s elite understands that today’s poor are a potential powerhouse they are multicultural multiracial and multigenerational and come from a variety of backgrounds and there is no longer a one size fits all poverty in America.”(Smiley, West 87). The poor are stereotyped just because they are in that position but we should keep in mind that there are the "new poor" who are people who were rich before and so in as much as they do not afford the luxuries now they do understand the value of a good education. Most of the poor have to make do with two jobs paying low wage and thus they cannot be involved as much as a parent who is rich can in their kids life.

The poor people are seen as unmotivated and have weak or poor work ethics and are seen as they do not do enough to get out of the mess they are in but in reality these poor people are the same people working 2 or 3 low income jobs so that they can have basic needs and even according to statics they work an average of 1.7 jobs and even though it is low income they really struggle to make ends meet and thus cannot be lazy as they are often referred to. “..i can do anything I’ve opened clothing stores, I’ve managed and I spend 16 years as an administrative assistant, all I want to do is get my foot on the door . Let me work” (Smiley, West 74)” In my sociology class we watched a video "Born Rich" and this lady Tammy who was in the social class The Working Poor walked 10 miles to go work at a Burger King and got paid minimum wage and she did this to support her family. The people who are seen as poor just because they do the low paying jobs are the same people who are supporting the economy and in no way should we refer to them as lazy and unmotivated because they do a lot just to put a roof over their heads.

The rich say that a huge chunk of of tax dollars is used to support welfare recipients but the reality is that welfare costs the federal budget only 1% and the majority of people that are poor do not receive government assistance and this is due to the restrictions that were put in place by previous administrations and most of the government money is used on the rich by giving them programs just to help boost them instead of helping the poor. “.. Reagan came to office in 1981 with a mandate to reduce federal spending in reality he increased it through the escalating military budget all the while slashing funds for domestic programs that assisted the working class Americans particularly the poor” (Smiley, West 62).
 “.. don’t blame Wall Street don’t blame the big banks .. if you don’t have a job and you are not rich blame yourself” I  don’t want to make black people’s lives better by giving them somebody else’s money” (Smiley, West 82). The rich keep blaming the poor for their problems and want to show that they poor are where they are just because they want to but what they should know is that unless paying the people who are able to assist themselves they should come up with ways to assist the poor so that they can get out of poverty and in the end everyone gains since the government doesn't have to pay anyone and they could use that money for other things like education.

The poverty rates have been rising in recent years and this is due in large part to the recession. The economic downturn has hit children particularly hard since the increase of the amount of children in poverty is a point of concern for the society and when we think of children in poverty it is worrying because every human should have basic human rights in which everybody is entitled to a home and food. Sadly that isn't the case and thousands of children everyday die from malnutrition or poor living conditions. The government should come up with policies to assist the poor who are getting deeper and deeper into poverty with each passing day and instead of coming up with programs that only benefit people who are able to sustain themselves they could come up with policies that could even raise the minimum wages and this would help most people who are struggling just to have the basics. The 1% that controls the economy should be kept in check and instead of them getting tax breaks whereas the poor are paying taxes they opposite should instead be implemented. But the one thing that would end the poverty is when we all start seeing each other as one and not just "they" and "us" and this is because individuality is killing and making the fight against poverty hard since it is every man for himself and God for us all. Each one of us should put themselves in the other persons shoe and think if that was they in that position then what would they have done different? We are our brother's keeper and the moment we realize that money goes as fast as it comes and the perfect example is with the house boom that had people in a high but in the end most of them ended up being homeless and starting life from scratch. The same way poverty does not come knocking and giving you warnings it can happen just to anyone and anytime and one should ask themselves that if it came calling how prepared would you be? We all should learn to get rid of the individuality and care for the other just the way we should want them to care for us.

Works Cited
Smiley, Tavis, and Cornel West. The Rich and the Rest of Us: A Poverty Manifesto
Video: Born Rich
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