Wealth/Poverty/Social Class

Wealth/Poverty/Social Class The question of the United States national budget and any resolutions to this dire struggle are deeply rooted in the controversial ideas presented by Thomas Malthus in an excerpt, “An Essay on the Principle of Population” that states, “… in every society in which the population increases it will eventually produce more people than it can feed, thereby condemning a certain percentage of the population to live beneath the subsistence level” (324). The idea that the general public is unaware of overpopulation or the contingency of it is appalling. The subsistence level that Malthus refers to was sought to be rectified by the government’s development of entitlement programs such as Medicaid, Medicare, and
There have been situations where families have had extreme tragedies, death of the head of household, loss of jobs, or fatal illness, leaving the financial survival of a family with no other solution than to depend on the charity of government assistance. The difference seen between these cases and people that are lifelong members of Medicaid is the determination to persevere the trials of life. Families with a desire to advance in life, eventually leave government assistance within a couple of years because they have established means on their own. Many years ago, my family received Medicaid and Food Stamps on and off for ten years, but never more than a consecutive year at a time. My step-father, who worked in construction, was at times unable to find work due to inclement weather conditions or simply lack of work opportunities for a small construction business owner. In lieu of this knowledge, my mother planned for tomorrow as if it were here today, and saved because she was aware that construction was a fickle profession. Through her savings and a commitment to improve our quality of life, she raised four children and went to school, achieving her bachelor’s degree and currently teaching for the Brownsville Independent School District. Her story of triumph over the low-income stigma of society can be anyone’s story of success. The initial problem with these specific entitlement programs is easy to see; it is present in the name itself, ‘entitlement programs’. We are a blessed nation, and as such should not feel entitled. Instead, we should feel privileged that we were born in a country such as ours that is able to provide assistance when needed, and should only be used when needed, not as permanent