Question: Do you believe that people who are very poor are
probably to blame for their poverty?
My belief
is that people who are very poor are not always to blame for their poverty. In
the first article titled RIP, the Middle
Class: 1946-2013, Edward McClelland recollects the thriving middle class
and its tragic downfall. He refers to America’s first Great Recession at the
beginning of the 1980s which caused many people to lose their jobs. From here
he says that there only seems to be two classes, both the extreme ends and no in
between. McClelland blames the government for the failure of the middle class. He
then goes over a recent survey which many stated that the American dream was
simply not being in debt. Incorporating these thoughts with my question the
poor cannot be at blame because sometimes other factors, like getting laid off
of work due to the economy, is out of their control.
In the
next article, From Nickel and Dimed,
Barbara Ehrenreich tells her experience working for a house cleaning service. She
recalls the poor pay and almost cruel conditions with which they had to work
in. A lack of a proper break and no fluids while on work for a $6.65 an hour
pay seemed less than desirable. However, it was a steady job and money was
money. Some of the people she worked with couldn’t even afford food so enduring
this working environment was necessary for survival. My view on this is that sometimes
people are born into already poverty stricken families and therefore have to
simply work for survival. Education and all that comes second to finding where
their next measly meal will come from. This cannot be their fault. These people
cannot focus on rising above poverty when they have no means to do so and are
obligated with the challenge of immediate survival.
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