Community Crime

Steven Beatty
Midterm Essay #1
Prompt 1 People in America for years have been living under the assumption that they can do anything they wish and can be successful based on the idea of the “American Dream”. As it’s seen through the recent recession and the 1920s’ depression the poverty issue has seem to put down the idea of the “American Dream” and some people have given up hope they can be successful. A recent radio talk show host has stated that, “Nobody has to be poor in this country. If you’re poor, it’s because you’re irresponsible.” My opinion is that if a person is poor it doesn’t mean they are irresponsible they may just have a hard time making enough money to provide for themselves let alone a family of four, and don’t have the luxury like upper-class individuals who may be born into money and never have to work to be successful. To start off my argument I’d like to discuss on how America defines a person as poor. America distinguishes a person as poor if they are under the “poverty line.” Even if the family’s income is a dollar under the poverty line they will be labeled as the poor by the government. As of the year 2010 for a family of four the threshold was $23,050, which when broken down into a monthly allowance is only $1900. Those families in all means wouldn’t have the resources to enjoy modern day luxuries like Apple products or having the ability to enjoy eating out at restaurants. Just because a family doesn’t have much money to spend on things outside the necessities, it doesn’t mean they are irresponsible. The parents in the family may be happy with their career choice and have a steady paying job in which it doesn’t pay a lot of money. If they are happy with their life and essentially their American Dream then there is no right in saying that they are irresponsible. It’s also been found that a shocking 42% of the population is below the threshold and many of them earn as much as $9,000 below the poverty line. A family that is living under the poverty line may have to live with minimal pay as well as live off food stamps and other government help programs. Living off food stamps does provide the option to place money in other important expense or even opening a savings account at a bank. The cost of living is increasing every year and shows no sign of stopping with the rising debt and budget cuts. Families that have kids in this generation have to pay much more for education as the needs to have up to date technology is essential so they aren’t left behind. In the technology boom over the last few years the necessity of having a computer has become required instead of an optional piece of machinery. Machines are costing more and more and when the use of internet is required it adds a monthly bill to a family who has no money to spare. For adults having a steady job coming out of a recession and having an unemployment rate at around 8% and providing children with an education is a great accomplishment and provides a brighter future for the children of our young country. Kids that are lucky enough to attend college during these times face the decision of going and taking out thousands of dollars in loan or skip out on attending college. Being a sophomore in college and only having two years until I’m thrown into the working world with most likely some amount of debt will without a doubt put me under the poverty line. I believe I will have success and even though it may take me ten to twenty years to get rid of my debt I’m proud I’ll have a degree which is much more important with unemployment being where it currently is. Based on the radio show host I would be “irresponsible,” however when has is it ever been frowned upon to graduate college. For many students they are the first person to attend college despite their status level of income or where they grew up. For those students earning a degree it will provide him/her with a future where the chance of being poverty is greatly reduced and they will be able to easily provide for their future family with no issue. It’s not to say people who don’t attend college won’t be successful. The world is always in need of trade workers such as plumbers and electricians. No matter the career path a person may take and if they have a degree or not, if it is their goal in life and if it turns out they live under the poverty line it doesn’t mean they made a irresponsible choice. It’s even becoming harder for college students to find a job once they graduate due to the recession which is making the need to obtain a master’s degree more important which essentially costs the student thousands of dollars putting them in more debt. How can anyone be counted as irresponsible when the price of living and education is rising year after year. No one wishes to be poor and many people are hardworking citizens who are finding themselves with lower pay levels pushing them below the line. The area a person lives in can impact how a person grows up and the morals they gain, however it has no relationship to how wealthy a person can be. For example a person living in Compton is surrounded by more poverty then Mission Viejo. A person living in Compton doesn’t automatically label them as an irresponsible person. It may simply be the only place they are able to find a house, apartment, or condo they are able to afford during that time. Compton having high crime rates and other crime makes it easy to be known as an area where people do the wrong thing and don’t try in life and live off the government. It’s been known that Compton has around six percent of the population who have successfully obtained a bachelor’s degree. All the people that have only received a high school diploma or even dropped out are probably seen as not responsible due to them spending money on drugs and committing crime, where the truth is many people would like to get their family in a better living situation and are willing to work long hours for minimal wage. As seen in the film in class seeing how the neighborhoods in Texas were against there being a day labor building due to being scared of the be reputation they will bring to the area. It was seen that they brought nothing bad to the area and were simply trying to get by and provide for their struggling families back in Mexico. By far the only way they are being irresponsible is if they crossed the border illegally and without a work visa. People who are labeled as poor in this country in some senses are easily the most responsible people. Having to deal with issues like getting enough food to feed your family and providing children with clothing and an education insuring they have a bright future, and being able to have a job that last more than a few weeks is a challenge the average working class family usually thinks twice about. Being in a poor family they don’t get the social connections to be able to get jobs because you know this one person, having to work to get that dollar pay raise is the greatest accomplish. In no way should the poor be labeled as irresponsible because they work for everything they earn in life and just because they may have a bad experience and live in the worst of places it doesn’t mean they can’t be the next CEO of a major company.