American Poverty Simulation Analysis
Poverty is a major problem facing our society, in 1964, President Lyndon Johnson declared war on poverty in the United States, he did so when he signed “the omnibus ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY ACT OF 1964. The law created the Office of Economic Opportunity aimed at attacking the roots of American poverty” (ushistory.org, n.d.). The poverty simulation gave me a different perspective on the obstacles that faced lower income families in our society, as you will come to learn in the following paragraphs.
In the poverty simulation, I was the father: Kris, age 36, employed full time at the General Employer. I worked 40 hours per week, which included some weekend and holiday work. Other family members were, mother: Kellie, age 36, who was unemployed, daughter: …show more content…
Going to work and for long hours, and standing in line to receive pennies was an insult, and I felt belittled, and worthless. The experience of my family made me feel responsible for the misery they were going through. At times during the simulation, I contemplated of stealing from others to meet the monthly payments.
During the simulation, I was astonished to hear one million, seven hundred thousand in York county. “According to the 2007–2011 ACS, 42.7 million people or 14.3 percent of the U.S. population had income below the poverty level” (Macartney, 2013). Participating in poverty simulation did impact how I think about the situation facing low income families in our society, even though I felt that all the options were not utilized. For example: In the case above, I could not comprehend why the mother was not seeking employment or acquiring new skill that would help her …show more content…
In the simulation, when the father had to go to work, he had to purchase the transportation separately before going to work, after work the father had to cash in the check at the bank. If one of the three organizations were to close for day or a week to the extent that I the father could not go to work, or get transportation tickets, or cash in the check, I, and my family would be devastated since we lived paycheck to paycheck.
I believe education is a way out of poverty, society should deal with poverty by opening greatly funded government or state boarding schools for lower income families. A boarding school would be a great escape from the crime ridden neighborhoods, and would be an environment that promotes growth. Apart from establishing more boarding schools, I believe the government should open more libraries in the impoverished neighborhoods, with vast amount of useful resources. Society responsibility role is to provide opportunities, and it is up to the individuals to take advantage of the opportunities presented to
In the poverty simulation, I was the father: Kris, age 36, employed full time at the General Employer. I worked 40 hours per week, which included some weekend and holiday work. Other family members were, mother: Kellie, age 36, who was unemployed, daughter: …show more content…
Going to work and for long hours, and standing in line to receive pennies was an insult, and I felt belittled, and worthless. The experience of my family made me feel responsible for the misery they were going through. At times during the simulation, I contemplated of stealing from others to meet the monthly payments.
During the simulation, I was astonished to hear one million, seven hundred thousand in York county. “According to the 2007–2011 ACS, 42.7 million people or 14.3 percent of the U.S. population had income below the poverty level” (Macartney, 2013). Participating in poverty simulation did impact how I think about the situation facing low income families in our society, even though I felt that all the options were not utilized. For example: In the case above, I could not comprehend why the mother was not seeking employment or acquiring new skill that would help her …show more content…
In the simulation, when the father had to go to work, he had to purchase the transportation separately before going to work, after work the father had to cash in the check at the bank. If one of the three organizations were to close for day or a week to the extent that I the father could not go to work, or get transportation tickets, or cash in the check, I, and my family would be devastated since we lived paycheck to paycheck.
I believe education is a way out of poverty, society should deal with poverty by opening greatly funded government or state boarding schools for lower income families. A boarding school would be a great escape from the crime ridden neighborhoods, and would be an environment that promotes growth. Apart from establishing more boarding schools, I believe the government should open more libraries in the impoverished neighborhoods, with vast amount of useful resources. Society responsibility role is to provide opportunities, and it is up to the individuals to take advantage of the opportunities presented to