Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Honors Nonfiction Article of the Week 9/19/12-Due Friday

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/29/opinion/sunday/why-cant-we-end-poverty-in-america.html?adxnnl=1&_moc.semityn.www=&pagewanted=all&adxnnlx=1348025227-0O51QDOKMhDjZ6In7ODYvQ

All classes may post here.  Please react to the article in three to five sentences.  Be sure to reference the article.  If you wish, you may comment on a classmate's post, but this is not required.

41 comments:

  1. This article really shocked me; I hadn't realized how bad the economy really is. What makes this article interesting to me is all of the statistics that the author gives. Yes, it is a little overwhelming, but once I took a moment to comprehend what I had read, I realized that many more people than I expected struggle with poverty everyday. The statistic that I think is most important to this article is when the author states, "According to the most recent data available from the Census Bureau, 104 million people — a third of the population — have annual incomes below twice the poverty line, less than $38,000 for a family of three." I think this was really important, not just because it stood out to me, but because I think everyone should know this. Especially the government. In my opinion, the governments job is to make life as easy as possible for the citizens of America. They should be able to fix this huge issue with poverty, but I don't understand why they can't. The author says that there needs to be more jobs with decent wages; well why can't that just happen? I don't understand why it is so complicated to fix the economy and decrease the percentage of people in poverty.

    Katlyn G. Period 2

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  2. What was most shocking to me about this article was that 104 million people (a third of the population) make less than $38,000 for a family of three people. That is next to nothing, considering that money could be used as a year of college education. Also, more than half the jobs in America are low-paying. I always just assumed that more people had high-paying jobs, and there were few that didn't. A quote that shocked me was "One result: six million people have no income other than food stamps. Food stamps provide an income at a third of the poverty line, close to $6,300 for a family of three. It’s hard to understand how they survive." This shows the real issue of poverty in America, and how much it's actually affecting society. The government should be able to fix this problem, or at least offer jobs or money to those that don't have either. Or, if the low-wage jobs aren't paying enough, the government should be able to give these people enough money to support themselves. I understand that the economy isn't in the best shape right now, but that doesn't mean that people should be on the poverty line. Even if the government can't help as much as it wants to, they need to try to benefit these families in some way.

    Cassie F-C, Period 5

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  3. I found the author of this article to be very critical of low-wage paying jobs. One of the author’s four reasons for a large percentage of poor individuals and families was low-wage employment. I personally see low-wage jobs as necessity not a problem. Low-wage jobs often place the family or individual dancing around the poverty line. However, a little income is better than no income. If someone does not possess the skills or background necessary for a high paying job, then they shouldn’t be given it just because low-wage jobs may be one of the “causes of poverty”. That’s why low-wage jobs are important; they offer employment opportunities for nearly all levels. I personally don’t agree with this author’s criticism on low-wage jobs.

    Eden W. p.5

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    Replies
    1. The problem with low paying jobs is not that the positions exist but that they pay an unlivable wage.

      Delete
  4. I was appalled by this article. As stated by Reagan, 30 years ago, our country “began a war on poverty and poverty won” as suggested by the fact that there are 15 million more people in poverty today. I was surprised at the amount of people living in poverty today and the fact that they survive on so little. I can't imagine living on less than $34,000 a year like half of the low wage workers do. A change needs to take place. In my opinion, the government should continue to distribute food stamps as they have been a “powerful antirecession tool in the past five years, with the number of recipients rising to 46 million today from 26.3 million in 2007.” Also, the rich should pay their “fair share of running the country.” I do not believe the minimum wage should be increased though because it will result in inflation. Inflation would cause the value of the dollar to decrease, resulting in rising prices. So what's the point of giving these workers more money if they have to pay more now?
    David E Period 5

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  5. This article was very shocking to me. I realized that our country had poverty; I just never knew that there was so much. The most interesting thing to me was all of the facts the author gave about poverty; he kicked it right off with “The lowest percentage in poverty since we started counting was 11.1 percent in 1973. The rate climbed as high as 15.2 percent in 1983. In 2000, after a spurt of prosperity, it went back down to 11.3 percent, and yet 15 million more people are poor today.” His first point was how the percentage of poverty has increased in the past 40 years or so. What this article really made me think is why poverty is still such a huge problem after all of these years. As Katlyn said above, the government is supposed to help us. Making more jobs would be a start; the government could see what happens and go from there. So why is it taking so long to fix this ongoing problem?

    Rebecca W Period 2

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  6. This article was really eye-opening for me. I never realized the extent of the poverty and how bad it is in America. I was shocked when it said, "In 2000, after a spurt of prosperity, it went back down to 11.3 percent, and yet 15 million more people are poor today" in the article. It saddens me that a good amount of people in America are in poverty. The article made me realize how hard it is to get by in America for single parents with families, while working a low wage job. The author stated in the article that these families may make $23,000 a year. This is extremely hard to live on, especially with a family. However, I disagreed with the author when he said, "At least we have food stamps. They have been a powerful antirecession tool in the past five years..." I think that by giving people food stamps, we are helping them temporarily, but in the long run, it will come back to hurt them. They may become too dependent on the government, and without food stamps, they will find a better job. I don't think the minimum wage should go up, because then the companies would have to pay more people more money. This would cause them to fire people, and create less jobs, which would hurt the economy even more. I think the country should create more jobs that are skilled and pay much higher wages. We should also train more people to work the skilled jobs, so that their salary is higher.

    Haley K. Period 5

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  7. While I was reading this article, I was in disbelief as to how many people in America suffer from poverty and how hard they struggle to make ends meet at the end of the month. I was well aware that the economy was has not been in good shape but I didn't know that 2/3 of our country suffers so badly. When the author mentioned the statistics, such as, "The lowest percentage in poverty since we started counting was 11.1 percent in 1973. The rate climbed as high as 15.2 percent in 1983. In 2000, after a spurt of prosperity, it went back down to 11.3 percent, and yet 15 million more people are poor today." Fifteen million more people are poor today. That last line really was an eye-opener because fifteen million is very far from a small number. It makes me concerned to know that our country has this large of an amount of poverty,especially when we have so much power as a country to fix things. When the author mentions that we as a whole have done a lot that has worked to help lessen the amount of poverty, it shows all the tactics we've come up with like social security, welfare, food stamps, and income-tax credit; yet it also shows the tactics we haven't come up with, which we should be brainstorming everyday to try and help the people in need.

    - Francesca L.
    Period 1

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  8. At first, the full extent of what the article was saying didn’t affect me. It was just numbers and statistics, which, to be honest, I’m not very good at. However, one thing really stood out. “One result: six million people have no income other than food stamps.” It seems impossible for people to survive off of food stamps alone, and even then their lives must be awful. Another thing that struck me later in the article was when they were talking about how even though there are so many people in poverty, barely getting by, “Representative Paul Ryan and his ideological peers would slash everything from Social Security to Medicare and on through the list, and would hand out more tax breaks to the people at the top.” That seems grossly unfair and very selfish. While this article is very biased, I definitely agree with the author.
    -Amy B Period 1

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  9. This article was very shocking to me. It is sad to know that so many people struggle with poverty. It is encouraging to know that welfare programs have cut poverty in half, but it is also scary to know that it could all be taken away which would leave twice as many people poverty stricken."From Social Security to food stamps to the earned-income tax credit and on and on, we have enacted programs that now keep 40 million people out of poverty. Poverty would be nearly double what it is now without these measures, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities." I think that if there were more jobs and if middle class people thought for the poor rather than the upper class, we could make a huge dent in poverty in America.
    -Anna T. Period 5

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  10. After reading Nickel and Dimed and reading similar articles to this one, I wasn't that shocked with the statistics of this artcile. Though the fact that "15 million more people are in poverty today" is something that needs immediate attention. I agree with the author when he says that the first action to take to reduce poverty is to have more higher paying jobs. However, this is much easier said than done. The country is in so much debt and the economy is not doing so well. "We know what we need to do — make the rich pay their fair share of running the country, raise the minimum wage, provide health care and a decent safety net, and the like." These would be the ideal things to do, but as the author mentions, it is difficult to change all of this.
    Ayeshra A Period 1

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  11. Though the overall concept expressed by the author in this article is completely appalling, I don't agree with all of the statements he said and at times, I found that his tone came off as a bit arrogant. Of course, all of the statistics throughout the article paint a very clear picture of just how poverty-stricken our country is and how significantly it has affected such a major chunk of people in our population. Hearing that, "104 million people — a third of the population — have annual incomes below twice the poverty line," is an immediate shock to most people since it's such a big number and it's horrible to know that, that many people struggle to survive each month in order to have the bare necessities to live. However, the author also made a bold statement about low-wage jobs being a huge factor in poverty and though that may be true to a certain extent, I believe these low-wage jobs are actually very important. Any income is better than none at all, and these jobs are in some way important to our country's economy. When a low-wage job is the only thing a family is able to get to support themselves, it's better than having not money coming in at all.

    -Sarah C. Period 5

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  12. Although the author makes a very clear argument in this article, I do not agree completely with some of his points. The author believes that low wage jobs are one out of a few reasons that the nation has not achieved more: "The first thing needed if we're to get people out of poverty is more jobs that pay decent wages. There aren't enough of these in our economy." I think that low wages are essential in our economy, and it is especially apparent in Nickel and Dimed, that the upper class depends on the lower class. If the low wage jobs were to disappear, the upper class would need to do the low-wage jobs themselves to keep the companies and big businesses going. Even though minimum wage may not be enough for a family of three, it is sufficient for an individual. Also, if everyone were to get "decent" wages, people would start to slack off and I don't think we would have the most efficient job industry.

    Lianne Y, Per. 5

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    Replies
    1. I hope you do not mean that it is morally just for the lower class to work for insufficient pay so that the rich may live in comfort. Yet this seems to be the intent of your position. Do you really think that it would be bad for these people to work only one full-time job? If you freely admit that minimum wage can only support one individual should the poor be prohibited from reproduction?

      Delete
  13. I find it saddening that the information in this article fails to shock me. This country has never had sufficient social services and its political composition has been backsliding to the right since the death of FDR. FDR, a moderate, championed a full spectrum of human rights that has not had presidential support in the US since. His 2nd bill of rights would have added the basic UNESCO rights of food, shelter, medical care, education, and gainful employment into the Constitution. It saddens me that the current president has displayed neither the will nor the ability to institute such a radical step for human rights here in the US. To his credit the political climate is hardly ideal for such reforms, as this article alludes to with its mention of candidate Ryan. Without such reforms the US will continue to rank near the bottom of the industrial world in its treatment of its poorest citizens.

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  14. Even though it saddens me to read about how many people are currently in poverty, that does not mean that they never had the chance to make something of themselves. Yes, the minimum wage is low, but did they ever think about getting a good education? I know that there are some people who simply could not help being in poverty, but I bet the percentage of people in poverty would go down if people knew some of the opportunities that they had. As the article states, many people have "social Security to food stamps to the earned-income tax credit" to help them survive in this economic crisis; therefore, that does not mean that the government is doing nothing to try to help these people. This article also makes me wonder how so many people make a living with making such a little income every year, which I will never understand. People making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year are still struggling in this economy, so it really blows my mind to realize the percent of people in poverty in the United States.

    -Lizzy B Period 1

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  15. I find this article very upsetting to read because of how many people are in poverty or close to it. I did not know that 150 million Americans are all having so much trouble just getting by. "104 million people — a third of the population — have annual incomes below twice the poverty line, less than $38,000 for a family of three." Reading something like that really shows you how bad some Americans are right now. This article also talks about low income jobs are a factor in poverty. I think
    that this is true but I also think it's better to have a low income job, rather than not have any job at all. I believe a lot needs to happen in order to get Americans out of poverty.

    Jessica Beler Per. 1

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  16. I always knew that our country had people in poverty, I just never knew that there was such a large number of people in poverty. I thought that there were more people in this country with high paying jobs. One of the first lines in this article states, "With 46 million Americans — 15 percent of the population — now counted as poor, it’s tempting to think he may have been right." But, I'm glad the governmnent has tried to do some thing to help the poor in our country. There are several programs out there to help the poor such as Social Security benefits, food stamps, etc. In the aricle it also says, "Poverty would be nearly double what it is now without these measures, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities." Also, even though I do have sympathy for the low wage workers, it is kind of their own fault for getting these jobs. If more people had gone to college and gotten educations, maybe there wouldn't be so many people living in poverty because of low wage jobs.

    Miriah V. period 5

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  17. While I feel I am very aware about the current economic crises, this article still shocked, and saddened me. For example, when the author states, “…six million people have no income other than food stamps. Food stamps provide an income at a third of the poverty line, close to $6,300 for a family of three.” This statement proves how many people of our nation rely on the government for aid. A thought that constantly comes to mind is where would these people with out assistance. Would they be homeless? Or would they work harder to try to find a job or maybe open their own business. It is human nature to need help. However, when does the government say that’s enough? Reading both this excerpt and Nickel and Dimed truly opened my eyes wider to our nations problems, and made me think more that something needs to be done before the numbers increasingly grow.
    I am in total agreement with Eden that low wage jobs are a necessity. Higher paying jobs require higher education and if someone does not meet those standards of the education they should not be given a higher pay. The low paying jobs also allow the less educated people to have a job.



    Isabella S. per 2

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  18. This article reiterated a point that has been presented in most of the articles and books we have read on the subject of poverty. The low-wage worker cannot successfully live on their current weekly paychecks. As Eledman explains, “The wealth and income of the top 1 percent grows at the expense of everyone else... It is a truly vicious circle.” Following this quote, Eledman predicts that if the middle class becomes educated enough and can unite, the there is a serious possibility that the common people can topple the 1%. However, I am critical of Eledman’s predictions because I think he makes it sound like a revolution and redistribution of the wealth will come relatively easily because he summarizes it in one paragraph. In reality it would be a long and dangerous process which I feel isn’t made apparent in this article.

    Griffin S. Period 5

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  19. This article was very upsetting to read and informed me on how bad poverty actually is in America. I knew that America had a lot of poverty but I had no idea how bad it really was. In the article it said that "104 million people have annual incomes below twice the poverty line, less that $38,000 for a family of three." it was very shocking to read this. It's hard to believe that so many people are living that way. I also found the difference between race in povert was so great, "Minorities are disproportionately poor: around 27 percent African Americans, Latinos, and American Indians are poor, versus 10 percent of whites" I knew that generally minorities tended to be looked at as poorer but I had no idea that it was such a difference in povert percents. I definitely agree with the article when it says one of the ways to get america out of poverty is to create more jobs with decent wages. Unfortunately, creating jobs with decent wages isn't very easy. Getting America out of poverty is going to take a lot of work and a lot of time.

    Jackie W Per.2

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  20. The most important part of this article to me was when the author spoke about how "There’s been growth, a lot of it, but it has stuck at the top… [and] 99 percent of us have been left in the dust". The sad truth is that our country is not in times of extreme economic hardships (not saying things are good, just not that bad),yet we still have millions of people in poverty and working Americans that go hungry because they have to spend all of their income feed their families. The USA is one of the richest countries in the world, and that isn't going to change any time soon; if the super rich in this country have to downsize a bit and only spend ten million dollars on their yacht or private jets instead of fifty million in order to feed starving children this should be done without hesitation. We know what needs to be done and we have the power to do it; this country needs to change quickly.

    Evan B per 5

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  21. Reading this article I was very surprised to learn that there is so much poverty in American. I have always knew that there was poverty and that there is really nothing you can do to it, but I never realized how bad it was inside of our country. I couldn't believe this, "...number of recipients rising to 46 million today from 26.3 million in 2007. I couldn't believe that it was that high in 2007, and I was shocked to hear how high it is today and how quickly that it rouse. I think that the only way to fix America's problem would be to start making things in America. Making things here would create jobs which is great for the economy. I also believe strongly that capping doctor's salaries to 150k would help because it would lower the price of medical bills, and it would increase the number of doctors who do the job because they love not because they are money hungry. Also I would make doctor's visits free, similar to what Canada does.

    Brian Fitter -- Period 2

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  22. This article really shocked me and opened my eyes to how many Americans deal with poverty. The part that really got to me was when the author stated, "Half the jobs in the nation pay less than $34,000 a year, according to the Economic Policy Institute. A quarter pay below the poverty line for a family of four, less than $23,000 annually". It's hard to believe that so many people have to live this way and have to deal with the constant thought of "how am I going to pay this?" It is also sad to think about how many people need the aid of the government and to think where they would be without them. But in the end it is better to have a job than no job. Also if people wanted a higher paying job than they should have planned ahead and soughtout a better education.

    Morgan Lazowy Period 2

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  23. In the article the article states that "The first thing needed if we’re to get people out of poverty is more jobs that pay decent wages." Though this is something that needs to be achieved to ensure the people of America are meeting needs, it is wishful thinking. Our nation would have to undergo total reform for this to occur and though it is a pressing issue in the government, too many politicians are busy fighting over healthcare to try and fix the issue. I don't mean to say our whole government is a failure but I believe more people need to fight for better wages and jobs. The author of this article brings up so many valid and correct points that contribute to the increasing amount of people living in poverty and like he says at the end, people, especially from the 30th- 70th percentile need to vote for politicians that will consider their financial needs who will also look at the state of those not even making middle class. Unfortunately, this issue has a lot to do with government, and with the amount of people who just don't care, it will be tough to make a change and decrease poverty, but it can be done.

    Fatoumata S.- Period 2

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  24. I was very upset and troubled after reading this article. Even though I was familiar with the fact that poverty is a very significant issue in the U.S. right now, but I had no idea the situation was this bad. I learned from this article that way to many people are not making enough money to support a family or even themselves. The author, Peter Edelman, stated, "Half the jobs in the nation pay less than $34,000 a year...A quarter pay below the poverty line for a family of four, less than $23,000 annually." The article also pointed out how much harder it is for a family when there is only one adult making money. The article stated that "Poverty among families with children headed by single mothers exceeds 40 percent." Even if the problem is getting better, it is obviously still not where it needs to be.

    Justin W. Period 5

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  25. I found it so surprising when i read about how many people in America deal with poverty. One thing that i liked about how the author wrote this article was that he had put statistics about poverty in American into his writing. One thing that he put in that made me stop and re-read because it was so hard to believe was when he said "In 2000, after a spurt of prosperity, it went back down to 11.3 percent, and yet 15 million more people are poor today.” The author is talking about the poverty percentage in this. It's hard to think that so many people in America live like this, and probably people in the schools that we go to as well, and we just don't really realize it. I just don't really get how there can be so much poverty in what some people call "the Land of Opportunity". I think that one way to fix the poverty issue, or at least help it, would be to have it so that there are more jobs in America for people to work and earn money, and eventually get themselves out of poverty. I also think that raising minimum wage could help as well.

    Maxine H, Period 2

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  26. While reading this article I found myself shocked and appalled at the statistics. America is truly well below the poverty line in many aspects. However, what we consider the poverty line in America is very different in3rd world countries. While our poverty issue is looming over our head the government has failed to create a long term solution to the issue. With so many issues to face you would think the government would open its arms to its country and provide more jobs, whether they be secretary, janitor, mail room worked, or representatives. The government itself has the ability to create hope in a time of despair. However, as the author states, "it is a viscious cycle"

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  27. America is wealthy enough to end poverty in almost every city of the country. However, the way that they would have to do it is by taxing the rich. Is it really fair to be taxed more than you already are if you are wealthy? The wealthy are already taxed relatively higher than other Americans. I was also was appalled that, "According to the most recent data available from the Census Bureau, 104 million people — a third of the population — have annual incomes below twice the poverty line, less than $38,000 for a family of three." While I did know that the gap between the wealthy and the poor was rising, I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that a third of the population has incomes below the poverty level. Lastly, as I read some of the comments above I disagreed with one of Maxine’s statements. She stated that one of the ways to end poverty was by raising the minimum wage. I do not believe the minimum wage should be increased because it will result in inflation. Inflation would cause the value of the dollar to decrease, resulting in rising prices. With rising prices, everyone will end up paying more for what they consume. Therefore, it would continue the increase of poverty in America.

    Cassidy M P2

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  28. While reading this article really nothing came to me as a surprise. One fact that did frighten me is that "15 percent of the population" is considered poor. Although 15 percent may not seem like a lot, our nation contains over 300 million people and that 15% seems a whole lot more significant after knowing that. The author did make some fairly intelligent solutions to solve poverty like "make the rich pay their fair share of running the country, raise the minimum wage, provide health care and a decent safety net". This seems like an intelligent idea, why wouldn't anyone want to do this? What the author doesn't state in this article is how difficult that task would be. Although poverty is an issue, not everybody would want to abide by these laws in the manner stated. Once again, the author seems very intelligent but fails to realize the difficulty it is to obtain such "perfection" that he talks about in the article.

    Cory W. Period 1

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  29. Many people in this country would like to that the American government is doing nothing to help the poverty in America, in the article it say, "To say that 'poverty won' is like saying the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts failed because there is still pollution." I completely agree with this statement because there are so many aids to the poor. But in order to get rid of poverty more people under the poverty line need to use the government aid to their advantage instead of just using it instead of getting a job. I understand that there are not many open jobs right now but that doesn't mean a person can't stop looking for a job and just live off welfare and food stamps. Hopefully with all the aid the government is giving and the support from the rest of the country we can help lower the amount of poverty in America.

    Christina Smith p.2

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  30. This article in my opinion is just informing the public of what they already know is occuring. Many of the people in low wage jobs are stuck there because they don't have a good enough education to get a higher paying job, and I think that can be fixed to help out our economy. Many people are suffering and the government needs to step in and help them more. I think more government run programs should be created like social security and food stamps with many benefits. "But realistically, the immediate challenge is keeping what we have." This statement sums everything in the article up.

    Anna Atkinson Per. 1

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  31. After reading this article on Poverty I realize that it is stating quite a lot of facts that may be interesting to some, and not very much to others as it is very liberal. One of the more interesting facts that I found from reading this article was that over a half of American jobs pay under $34,000 a year, and a Quarter pay under $23,000 a year. Now think about a single family with 3 kids living off a annual income of under $23,000, it's no wonder why many of the government assistance programs are running out of money. There was another point in the article that said that 6 million people lived off of $6,300 worth of food stamps each year, sometimes that was for whole families. One other thing that I found this article was and that was very liberal, like saying, "Make the rich pay their fair share of running the country, raise the minimum wage, provide health care and a decent safety net, and the like. But realistically, the immediate challenge is keeping what we have. Representative Paul Ryan and his ideological peers would slash everything from Social Security to Medicare and on through the list, and would hand out more tax breaks to the people at the top." Which I agree with completely, but it would be interesting on what a more conservative view on the poverty issue would be so you could get both sides of the story.

    Quinn Bohan P. 2

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  32. Reading this article it was really shocking and sad to know that millions of people in America are poor and get paychecks that are under $23,000. I knew that our economy was bad but i didn't know that it was this bad where many single parents who have children can hardly make ends meets even with them getting food stamps, or other help from the government. I found it really shocking to know that many states want to reduce how much many and help that families get. It said,"many states actually reduced the size of their rolls and lowered benefits to those in greatest need." It is really unsettling that some states would actually lower the benefits that people get just so they can save money, but its from those who actually need the benefits that they can provide.I just really think that this is an issue that really needs to get resolved because if "six million people have no income other than food stamps" than is a problem.

    Emma Nwagboli Period 5

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  33. I believe that this article was written to show that, while the government has been helpful in these hard times, they haven't done enough. I agree with Emma when she stated that it's sad and shocking to know how low the income is for a quarter of the nation's population. There's so much more that could be done to help those families in need. The article stated, "lower income people will participate (in politics) if there are candidates who speak to their situation." However, right now, we have a president who would rather limit the amount of money candidates are allowed to use on campaigning. I think the poverty is a problem in this country that the incoming generation will have to fix.
    Aaryne Antell
    Period 5

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  34. I think the article was quite schocking. Half the people in the U.S. work for under $40,000 and if you have 3 kids, how do you survive. In the article it also says people get over $6000 a year in food stamps and in our economy i can see how easily that number can be reached. Jobs are harder and harder to get, but people still need to eat. If our economy dosent pick up our governments budget will shrink to a very little amount.


    Conor Smith
    period 2

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  35. I was very shocked and disturbed by all the people struggling with poverty today. The fact that, "104 million people — a third of the population — have annual incomes below twice the poverty line," really caught my attention in this article. The poverty crisis is something that needs to be controlled and brought to attention immediately. People are relying on food stamps and government aid to just get by day to day. I feel more steps should be taken to try to get America on a better economic route so that low wage workers and the poor can have a better life for themselves and there families.
    Jocelyn G period 5

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  36. After reading this article,i was surprised at some of the statistics. When i think of average yearly pay for a family, i my mind there is no way it is should be less than 60,000, however in reality it is below 38,000. I cannot believe how people live on this day to day, and for some people it is imposible, which is why there are food stamps and welfare. In the text it says, "One result: six million people have no income other than food stamps. Food stamps provide an income at a third of the poverty line, close to $6,300 for a family of three. It’s hard to understand how they survive." These familys are not even earning enough for food, which is a serious problem, not to mention that the food stamps do not get the most healthy, top of the line foods. Thank go d we have food stamps, and welfare, otherwise poverty could be double what it is today. These programs keep 40 millions people out of poverty today. What would America be like if there were 40 million people in poverty? Its hard to even think about. There are already so many things preventing poverty, however i think even more steps should be taken.
    Julia W. Period 2

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  37. This article was very informative, in that i learned more shockingly sad statistics about our ever growing poverty stricken country. I find it sad that America produces so many low earning jobs,Half below $34,000, yet we still remain the wealthiest nation on earth. America was created to avoid ever having a system that is run by a wealthy elite, yet this is the face of America today. We choose freedom over equality, we choose materialism over socialism. We face challenges in the future that will test America and maybe even change the fabric of our own society. But, Americans have overcome many social obstacles, the elimination, to an extent, of poverty is just another hurdle the USA will face in the coming years. I cannot predict how we will overcome this obstacle, but I know that through more caring policies and through more understanding politicians that the road ahead shall be one t be marveled upon.

    Steve Z. Period 5

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  38. This article is very interesting because it explains most of the reasons why people are poor and why the economy is in such bad shape. The author explains how they believe the best solution would be to create more jobs. Although I believe that would help immensely, I think we should also cut the tax rates for programs we are already spending so much of our money for. If we have less taxes, than we will have more money to spend and help businesses.
    Carlye M. Period 5

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  39. Reading this article about the amount of people who are still living in poverty really shocked me. I was very surprised to read that the percentage of people living in poverty increased from 11 to 15 percent because it feels like there is so much being done to help them, but apparently enough is not being done. "Social Security to food stamps to the earned-income tax credit" This is what is being done for the poor now which does help a little, like for example the food stamps help, but income tax is something that isn't very helpful. "20.5 million people earn incomes below half the poverty line" which means some of them can't even qualify for income tax. In fact most people are only collecting food stamps. In order for the percentage of people in poverty to decrease, I think that more needs to be done to help the people who need it. Whether this be a cut in tax rates or even an increase in minimum wage.
    Brittany S. Period 5

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