Ruffin 1 Philena V.

Ruffin Megan Keaton ENG-111-06 9 July 2013 Ending Poverty in America Putting a period on poverty has long plagued the majority of the leadership of America. Poverty is a problem that exists in every state and city in the United States of America. Many writers and theologians have proposed solutions to ending poverty. In this paper I will explore a few of the many proposed solutions. The author, Barbara Ehrenreich, briefly mentioned chastity training (refraining from sexual intercourse) for poor single mothers in the magazine article titled (#1)The Nation, which was part of the original welfare reform bill over 5 years ago. Chastity training should be maneuvered back into the welfare reform bill. This training is a form of education that will educate girls and young ladies, whom are not married, about not having sex before they are married and established, thereby helping to decrease poverty. It will do so by reducing promiscuity and the reproduction of children of whom the parents are not yet financially independent. Chastity training includes imparting knowledge on the importance of marriage. They will learn that two parent in the homes stand a better chance at financial independence than one parent homes. This will lend a helping hand in the endeavor to end poverty. Ending Poverty in America, written by Joye Moses, suggest that, [e]ducation truly opens doors to new opportunities and forms a solid pathway into the middle class. By operating this pathway at all altitudes, it will assist with bringing poverty to a halt. This pathway will work best when both parent and child is included in the passage. This passage entails giving every child,

Ruffin 2 especially the underprivileged, the right of entry to excellent early childhood education and expanding preschool programs like Head Start. Expanding the program will help America to reach more children earlier on in the education process and they will not be left as far behind. This will help to cultivate the child into his or her willingness to learn and the further he or she gets into their education the more they will have learned the importance of learning and studying. Incorporating good study habits earlier in their lives will help them to become critical thinkers at an early age and make better decisions as they develop economically. The Obama administration has stated that they see eye to eye with the idea of the expansion of preschool programs in impoverished neighborhoods as mentioned by Joye Moses in her book. This administration understands Mosses view on how these ongoing efforts will play a vital role in advancing the pre-K-12 education of children at or below poverty level by increasing the learning time of students, encouraging elevated expectations and accountability. Emphases should also be placed on improving teacher quality in these communities. By providing them with better teachers their quality of education and moral concepts will improve and they can began to think and maneuver like those who have quality teachers in their schools. Furthermore, higher education must become more easily accessed by the poor. This includes increasing the maximum grant to 70 percent of the average four year tuition for public establishments. Simplifying the application process to enter into college and granting incentives will encourage and increase graduation rates among those at or below poverty level (Joye Moses). According to Peter Edelman, America must make bigger investments in its education and proficiency development approaches in order to put an end to poverty in the US. Peter Edelman used this statement about jobs as a solution to poverty: The first thing needed if were to get people out of poverty is more jobs that pay decent wages. Our economy

Ruffin 3 America needs to make sure that we employ full employment policies to assist us with ending poverty in America. A policy that will hold the rich employers accountable for doing their part in managing the country and elevating the minimum wage will provide results, as well as decent health care benefits for employees. This policy will enable the poor to sustain themselves without the assistance of social programs. Joy Moses said; Work is definitely a key antidote to poverty. This demonstrates her conformity with the importance of jobs as it relates to the economy. The opportunity to improve upon skills will increase workers opportunities as it concerns obtaining and maintaining employment. Therefore larger ventures in job training and job placement must be implemented on all levels to fight the war on poverty. The implementation of more training and placement will produce more skilled and more effective employees from the less fortunate community on the jobs. The more skilled and the more effective they become, the more likely they are to become entrepreneurs as well. More entrepreneurs will increase job opportunities and decrease unemployment. Social programs play a key role in ending poverty in America as well. Ehrenreich writes, So it was in a spirit of righteousness and even compassion that Democrats and Republicans joined to reconfigure social programs to cure not poverty but the culture of poverty. The Clinton administration replaced welfare with Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). This program promotes job searching and employment among the poor because they have a time clock that consists of five years to be on TANF after each child is born. After five years the cash benefits will end. This will force those who would remain on TANF (if they could) back into the working world instead of relying on cash assistance and accepting the trenches of being economically disadvantaged as a way of life.

Ruffin 4 Ehrenreich spoke briefly and effectively about the Republican Party broadening the scope of the plan of the Democrats and creating programs that instruct TANF recipients on how to improve their attitudes. By improving their attitudes, the recipients will become more capable of obtaining and retaining employment. When employers see that potential employees from the TANF program have great attitudes they will be more likely to hire them and keep them thereby providing some relief of poverty. Drug testing for applicants of safety-net programs and as a stipulation of getting unemployment benefits were also introduced by the Republican Party. Drug testing citizens who receive assistance from social programs will deter them from drug usage. They will be more likely to job search more often and obtain employment faster. They will also be able to save more money once they are employed if they are rehabilitated. When they are clean they have the chance to reflect and make appropriate decisions. Those who are receiving unemployment benefits and being drug tested will also have a clear head that will make them more productive job seekers. Enabling them to pass a drug test increases their chances of finding quality employment more quickly (Ehrenreich). According to this statement written by Moses, she is in agreement with Ehrenreich and gives a wider prospective on social programs available to the poor. She states, Multiple programs were created that still exist today, including Job Corps, Head Start, Pell Grants and federal student loans, Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps, and Volunteers in Service to America.

Ruffin 5 Job Corps will provide training to clients and they have various fields to explore. Head Start will introduce the children of the poor to the education process earlier therefore providing early intervention that will reduce the dropout rate which leads to poverty. Pell Grants and federal loan programs will continue to assist students get into college who, otherwise, would not be able to afford it. Medicare helps to keep parents healthy so that they may work and helps to keep their children so that they may attend school regularly. Medicaid helps to care for the grandmothers and grandfathers that have to take care of their grandchildren due to the absence of one or both parents. Volunteers in Service to America help by implementing reading and writing programs for underserved children and adults. This program helps them to become better readers and caretakers of themselves and their resources. They also assist with organizing employment programs mentioned by Moses. Peter Edelman keeps in accord with Moses and says that keeping our current resources and sustaining our current possessions is a must because it will help us to remain stable as we move forward with ending poverty. Sustaining our Social Security and Medicare will help the elderly to sustain themselves by using monies that they have already paid in taxes (reusing their own money). America must hold the wealthy socially responsible and not continue giving them tax breaks. If this class pays a fair percentage of their capital in taxes the government can decrease the amount it takes from the poor in taxes. Moses also suggests that a social program to

Ruffin 6 assist with childcare is a very resourceful tool to ending poverty. Parents will be provided with a safe and nurturing environment for their children while they are at work allowing them to focus and do a better job which leads to raises and increases job security. Stable childcare means that the employee will show up for work regularly and on time which aids in job retention. Federal and state governments aid that offer assistance to low-income workers must become in fact sufficient to truly address the need for this form of social reform. Edelman introduced the reality of political activism playing a very vital role in ending poverty in America in a profound way. He implied that America has to change its politics by involving the middle class citizens, whom rank between thirty and seventy percent, to vote in a way that benefits them. The people that are elected by that percentage of citizens will be more prone to make themselves parallel with those at or below poverty level. Middle class citizens must be encouraged to identify more with poor people than those who are at the top. One of the primary political solutions is the changes in the demographics of electorate that create opportunities for whats needed to end poverty through politics. The distrust of the younger generation of voters toward the empowered institutions of our nation will produce politicians that are more honest. Impoverished members of our society will participate more in politics when the candidates address their circumstances. We must produce a change that starts from the bottom up. People will begin to vote for candidates that stand for what they want and need which will produce a change that will induce the ending of poverty (Edelman). Providing better quality teachers is the best way to help with the ending of poverty in America. Teachers are the stewards of cultivating students. Quality teachers will develop our children and adults into productive citizens. Raising the pay of teachers is foremost prevalent in ending poverty in the USA. This society should honor the profession of teaching more than it

Ruffin 7 honors sports and even doctors. Teachers have the job of teaching and developing the entire civilization and if compensated properly, they will put forth immeasurable effort and assist with accomplishing the goal of ending poverty in America.

Ruffin 8 Cited Works Moss, Joy. "Ending Poverty in America Dream of a Nation." Center-for-American-Progress. Dream of a Nation: 253-57. Edelman, Peter. Poverty in America: Why Cant We End It?. The New York Times Sunday Review/The Opinion Pages, 28 Jul. 2012. Ehrenreich, Barbara. "Rediscovering Poverty." Nation 294.14 (2012): 4-6. MAS Complete. Web. 26 Jun. 2013.