A Framework for Understanding Poverty (17 page)

Yet another notion among the middle class and educated is that if the poor had a choice, they would live differently. The financial resources would certainly help make a difference. Even with the financial resources, however, not every individual who received those finances would choose to live differently. There is a freedom of verbal expression, an appreciation of individual personality, a heightened and intense emotional experience, and a sensual, kinesthetic approach to life usually not found in the middle class or among the educated. These patterns are so intertwined in the daily life of the poor that to have those cut off would be to lose a limb. Many choose not to live a different life. And for some, alcoholism, laziness, lack of motivation, drug addiction, etc., in effect make the choices for the individual.

But it is the responsibility of educators and others who work with the poor to teach the differences and skills/rules that will allow the individual to make the choice. As it now stands for many of the poor, the choice never exists.

Extreme Poverty, Poverty, and Near-Poverty Rates for Children Under 5 by Living Arrangement: 2003

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census

Household Income in 20% Increments of Total: 2003

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census

NOTE: The U.S. Census Bureau publishes income and poverty charts each fall for the previous calendar year. For the most current information provided in this format, visit www.ahaprocess.com.

U.S. Median Income for Persons Age 25 and Older, by Sex and Educational Attainment: 2003

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census

NOTE: The U.S. Census Bureau publishes income and poverty charts each fall for the previous calendar year. For the most current information provided in this format, visit www.ahaprocess.com.

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census

NOTE: The U.S. Census Bureau publishes income and poverty charts each fall for the previous calendar year. For the most current information provided in this format, visit www.ahaprocess.com.

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census

NOTE: The U.S. Census Bureau publishes income and poverty charts each fall for the previous calendar year. For the most current information provided in this format, visit www.ahaprocess.com.

Research Notes

AUTHOR'S NOTE: The following Research Notes have been selected to correlate with the content of this book. The quotations and sourcing are intended to supplement, not replace, the Bibliography. The intent also is to buttress the primary premises of this book with the perspectives of many other keen observers in the field. It is the author's hope that this book and these notes will spark further study of-and caring involvement in-the culture of survival in North America.

Introduction

How do we break the cycle? Educate the parents, especially the mothers, of the children in school; "the educational level of mothers is the most important influence on the educational attainment of children."

"Mayer reviewed studies and tried to match parents' incomes with children's outcomes. Good outcomes were high test scores, having a job (or being in school) at the age of 24 and earning high wages. Bad outcomes included dropping out of high school and becoming an unwed mother. Of course, children of middle class parents do better than children of poorer parents."

Banfield described the situationally poor: The group lacking money-comprising the disabled, the unemployed, and some single mothers. They had middleclass values, "could benefit from government income support," and "could usually recover from a setback (job loss, divorce)."

The extended family:

When a break is made from the extended family, the person may feel he has more control of his own life, yet he's "threatened by the loss of a sense of fraternity with people you value."

Lewis, Anne C. "Breaking the Cycle of Poverty." Phi Delta Kappan. November 1996. Volume 78. Number 3. p. 186.

Samuelson, Robert J. "The Culture of Poverty." Newsweek. May 5, 1997. Volume 129. Number 18. P. 49.

Ibid.

Sennett, Richard, and Cobb, Jonathan. The Hidden Injuries of Class. London/Boston: Faber and Faber, 1993. First published in U.S.A. in 1972 by Alfred A. Knopf, New York, NY. p. no.

By the early 20th century, it was recognized that "many children were destitute because their fathers had died or deserted them."

Child poverty rates in the U.S. are high when they are compared with other rich industrial countries' rates: in the mid-198os (most recent data available):