Poverty is a Problem!
According to the United States Census Bureau, 11.4% of American Citizens are living in poverty. This issue has become a normalized problem in our country that has nothing normal about it. Although government funding aimed to alleviate poverty has been abused by individuals in the past, it remains the government's duty to reform the system to create a more efficient delivery of basic human needs, and better economic means to those in poverty.
There are more basic human needs than food, water, and shelter: being a first world country, the United States government needs to reform something within the system to make the tangible needs accessible to every citizen. There is no single fix that would magically make all citizens have equitable access to food, water, and shelter, but there are steps that can be taken. To help aid clean water to citizens, legislation needs to invest in infrastructure in lower socioeconomic areas, along with strengthening shut off protections to ensure no American goes without water. In terms of food, there needs to be action taken to expand food assistance like SNAP. To increase shelter for individuals, homeless shelters aren’t the sole fix. It is necessary to increase the supply of affordable housing, along with rent stabilization policies. The issue isn’t scarcity, it is proper distribution and affordability.
The prior examples used are all tangible fixes, there are still intangible fixes that are a root cause of keeping people below the poverty line. In the article, Hey, I think we’re unconstitutionally alone now: The eighth amendment protects social interaction as a basic human need, author Laura Matter stated, “Social isolation is on a par with high blood pressure, obesity, lack of exercise, or smoking as a risk factor for illness and early death”(292). Although the factor of social isolation is intangible, it’s as much of a right as water is to individuals. Poverty increases social isolation. This is apparent through lack of transportation, time, or safe spaces to interact with others. Social isolation then makes it harder for people to find housing, jobs, and various other networking opportunities. This in turn creates individuals without an escape from poverty. Reform is needed within government policy for housing, schools, public places, and community programs to increase social interaction: which is the first step above the poverty line. Just as food, water, and shelter are basic human needs, social interaction helps aid people's mental and physical wellbeing to help escape poverty.
There are no short term economic fixes to poverty. Stimulus checks and stipends help short term for individuals in poverty, but don’t help them stay above the poverty line. The immediate aid of cash in hand is essential to helping pay for rent, food, water, or utilities, but doesn’t aid permanent change. There is no change in the income structure of already struggling individuals. Housing and the cost of living continue to rise, there is no gain in asset building, and the systemic issues still remain. Checks and stipends are putting a band aid on a bullet hole: even though the money is spent, the problems will still arise later. A long term systematic fix that citizens have been demanding for years is a raise in the minimum wage. A livable wage wouldn’t necessarily force people to be smarter with their finances, but would still help families and individuals out of poverty. An expansion and equitable approach to education would tremendously help with diminishing poverty drivers like unemployment, lack of education, and networking. An expansion in community colleges and trade schools, and better academic funding in lower socioeconomic areas would help people with financial literacy and job stability. Medical debt is a driving factor in long term poverty: a way to combat the healthcare crisis could look like expanding medical eligibility, and lowering prescription and insurance costs. Long term economic reform with the goal of combating poverty would help keep citizens above the poverty line more than millions of stipends and checks ever could.
The old saying of “you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink” applies directly to economic reform and helping people escape poverty: although you can make a better life accessible through hard work and consistency, it doesn’t mean people will always act on it. SNAP was created to help to aid Americans in poverty to fulfill their nutritional needs. The system has been abused and taken advantage of by individuals, which in turn keeps them below poverty, and creates a stigma of tax dollars being wasted. This abuse of SNAP is seen through retailer fraud, non-food purchases, and beneficiary trafficking. The stigma surrounding the misuse of EBT and SNAP frustrates many tax payers and acts as a catalyst for questioning the relevance of it. The reality of the topic is that the fraud and abuse seen are minimal in terms of the overall financial situation. Approximately 1%-1.6% of all SNAP use is fraudulent. In the grand scheme of things, less than 2% of the aid is misused. Is the system perfect? No, but it is an essential part of our country for 42 million people rely on it per month according to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistant Program.
Poverty is a problem in the United States. Although government funding aimed to alleviate poverty has been abused by individuals in the past, it remains the government's duty to reform the system to create a more efficient delivery of basic human needs, and better economic means to those in poverty. The problem legislation faces isn’t about equality, but equity, for all situations are different, and all individuals require different needs.
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