I attended the Student Organized Symposium’s (Topic of US Poverty) opening lecture today. Dr. Harlan Beckley gave insightful presentation on the ethics of the US poverty rate, while focusing on how to aid the more disadvantaged communities. Working closely with Washington and Lee University and Middlebury Alumni, Nancy Shepherd, Beckley is the founding program director for the Shepherd Program, which is a program that promotes the academic study of poverty and human capability to undergraduate and law students. The program strives to combine this academic rigor with the personal experience of its students. The resulting goal is a cognitive approach and initiative to engage in various endeavors to counter this rising conflict. I found that Beckley himself exemplified this in his lecture by combining his mastery of economics with the behavioral struggles poverty causes.
Beckley commenced by explaining that the set poverty rate for a US household of four is under $22,000 and currently 14.3% of the US population lives under that statistic. What’s even more disappointing is the break-up of that percentage. Both Single Parents and 31% of people who have not acquired a high school diploma directly affect the high poverty rate. As a developed nation, it is essential that we have an organized method of countering this portion, but I feel there is a reluctance of the public to look for these statistics rather than maintaining an “Illusion of Happiness” that doesn’t confront this reality. Yet, the sad truth is still that one in every five children currently lives under impoverished conditions, and if you are Black/Latino your chances of living below the poverty line are also multiplied by three. Our infant mortality rate is also repulsively higher than most developed nations, confirming 21 countries with better rates. Yet, Beckley also pointed out however that the poverty rate for citizens above the age of 65 has been reduced as a result of social security. So if we can identify an importance in protecting our elderly in this system, than why not our infants and children? Why can’t we improve living conditions for our bottom wing? Is this the result of inequity of voice in our society?
I also found remarkable how Beckley compared the Poverty Rate to Per Capita GDP. His statistics exhibited that Per Capita GDP of a nation may rise, but the poverty rate does not have to fluctuate as a result. So a nation can undergo vast economic growth and while having half of its citizens still below the poverty line. I was shocked to see Beckley’s statistic, which illustrated a wage comparison between the poorest wings in the USA to that of Germany. The lowest economic branch of US Citizens, still having a Per Capita GDP that is 20% greater than Germany, collect less than half the wages of the lowest Germans. This is the income inequality that the forces society to have unequal environmental concern, and class struggle. If wages aren’t going to be properly distributed, how can we expect market forces to act accordingly? This also made me wonder, if GDP wasn’t even a recorded statistic, could the US possibly be considered a developing country?
A reason we study history is to learn not repeat the same political mistakes our species has made in the past. However, we still consistently make the same mistakes in other things, like how we value numbers. Would it be ranting to be connecting the “Illusion of Wealth” our GDP creates to the “Illusion of Wisdom” in our SAT scores? If not, that comparison should run parallel to a history lesson.
Here’s a link to the Shepherd Program: http://www.wlu.edu/x12034.xml
It was shocking to read some of the statistics in Fred’s post, especially the one about the U.S having worse infant mortality rates than 21 other developed countries. I agree that there is, as Fred said, a reluctance of the public to look for these types of stats. But the media/government also plays a role in these issues being ignored and kept out of public attention. This reminded me of what was said in the last chapter of “Empire of Illusion.” In it, Hedges says that “the destruction the corporate state has wrought has been masked by lies” and that “the advantage of false statistics to the corporations is huge.” Hedges goes on to describe how the CPI (consumer price index) has been manipulated by the government to keep inflation levels looking low. And, if the unemployment rate today included those who have stopped looking for work and those who can only find poorly paid part-time jobs, the U.S’ current level of unemployment would be 15% not 8.5%! (181-182) Obviously, it is pretty easy to manipulate statistics to make it look like things are better than they are.
This also fits in with the GDP issue Fred talked about. GDP, in general, is used as a basic measure of how “well-off” a country is. But, if GDP can increase and poverty levels can stay the same, then obviously it is not a true measure of how well a country’s people are doing. Not only that, but it reveals that most of the economic gain our country makes goes straight into the pockets of the wealthy.
The U.S should be ashamed that poverty levels are so high in such a “developed” country. But the U.S should also be ashamed about how few of its citizens are informed, and how poorly the media has portrayed these issues.
I found Fred’s point about the obsession with GDP instead of concern about poverty rate to be applicable to other aspects of our culture. As a whole we are a nation obsessed with numbers and statistics. This leads to students being placed in categories based on SAT scores and GPAs. If you look at professional sports in America, statistics have become an obsession. People play fantasy games based entirely on players’ statistical production and there are people who dedicate their lives to developing new statistics to classify athletes by. Defensive statistics were recently developed in baseball in order to give a better understanding of a player’s impact both offensively and defensively. The problem with statistics is they don’t show the whole picture. You could have a basketball player who averages 30 points a game and if you don’t know that they also commit 10 turnovers a game they seem like an all star. Like Emily said, If America goes around flaunting it’s GDP but hides its poverty rates then an illusion of wealth and prosperity is created. Without all the facts its impossible to see what’s really going on in our country and most people don’t put in the effort to find out the whole truth.
As humans we have created poverty. If you really look at the concept of poverty, it does not make much sense as to why it exsists. Shouldn’t everyone live comfortably and not experience the hardships of a poor life? Socially and emotionally, we as humans should prevent poverty because it goes against everything that we as humans seek in life. But we do not and that can be proven through Fred’s statements about US poverty.
Particuarly, the fact that GDP can increase and the poverty rate can stay the change exactly proves the point. When the GDP of the US increases it is in terms of the wealthy classes getting richer and the lower classes at best staying the same or probably more likely getting lower. Since democracy does not support any spreading of the wealth and it is apparent that trickle down economics do not work, it is obvious that an increase in GDP will have no affect on the lower classes. As long as this country embraces a staunch support of capitalism, where a small group of people share the means of the capital, I do not see how it will be possible for poverty levels to be decreased.
As well, going along with the “Illusion of Wisdom” our country’s elite college systems will inevitably continue to support the education endeavors of middle and upper class America. Because our education system, in no way, supports the lower class, kids born into poverty will face an enormous odds to increase their economic means.
Essentially, the US should be ashamed of our poverty levels because we are stuck in a viscious cycle with so many fundamental issues. It would be really interesting if Middlebury introduced a poverty minor to see if some of these problems could be fixed. I would definitely be interested.
very interesting on the “Illusion of Wisdom”…
Two things in Fred’s post really stood out for me — first, the statistics about senior citizens and social security, and secondly, the comparison between poverty rate and per capita GDP. I think that its very strange that our nation has found a way to improve the lives o f and protect those who are 65+, but have not found a way to increase child and infant mortality. It also doesn’t even seem like the US is publicly working towards improving infant mortality. It’s also an issue that’s been kept pretty much under wraps. I had no idea that the US had mortality rates worse than 21 other developed countries until I read Fred’s post.
I also was struck by the idea that a nation can increase GDP while maintaining the same, high poverty rate. This brings us back to the idea that corporate America is economically fueled, and firms will do anything to maximize profits and make their way to to the top. The fact that the US as a whole can increase their GDP but not spread the wealth through the classes says a lot about our nation’s attitude. Not only is it proof that “trickle-down economics” does not actually work, but it also exemplifies our selfish outlook on personal gain.
some good points, here, Emily