Recommendations
- Education is needed in order for poverty to decline. Without education, nobody knows the hard core facts and statistics about it. So the education that is needed covers many aspects of this issue, poverty. One being that people in low incomes need to know what they can and cannot afford to buy. If they have a low income, they need to not have the new iphone, but rather use that money for a less expensive cell phone, and the rest of the money being saved can go to buying groceries. Well this can be done by having free counselors. Free is key here, because without free this process will not work. People in these situations deserve dignity, and if they have to pay they may feel to uncomfortable. Also this type of education will help these people in these hard times make a plan. A plan is something that can be aught to these people since most never had this type or kind of education on how to structure their life. Once this structure is implemented, we then can have these counselors help and keep these families and singles in line and accountable. In the end this will start to lower the poverty level down, because smarter choices will be made.
- Next we need education in our schools. Our schools hold all the future members of our society in them. Without those children and young adults being educated, we cannot even think about having the slightest change in this issue. Because without them, they just grow up in a life with blinders on. One way in which we can get this education to these children is have our local food banks go in and talk about what they do, who they see, and who they help. This will give the tools needed for children and their parents the idea in there head that yes they too can help make a difference in their community, which then will have an effect on poverty throughout the nation. Another things is to have more food banks making it known that they need help, and every donation counts. Yes some schools do a donation week for these task forces, but what if we just did for more than a week. Imagine every kid in every school in the nation bringing in one can food item, that would be enough to help make a dent on the poverty level.
- Tax breaks is another way to go. The middle class, is the hard working class. All the classes are the hard working ones, but the middle class controls the majority of the United States’ society. These people work hard for their living, and they need a tax break from all these hefty taxes. Now, once given this tax break these people will have more money, and more money to donate. If the tax return forms had a check mark box where they could write in how much they want to give to a food bank or a local charity, to give some if not all of it back this would help raise funds that these organizations need. Although this is a long shot, it is still a shot. Donating gives organizations the freedom to purchase things they are desperately needing in their personal location. In this case, the government does need to intervene and help with making sure the organizations are getting the funding needed to keep on helping the poor.
- Prices of food need to be cut down as well. Fruits and veggies need to be cut down on prices because people with little income, see junk food cheaper and buy it because it goes farther. But the nutritional value is not there. A balanced diet is needed in order to have and make sure that these people see the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. If the prices of organic foods go down, more of these lower income families will have enough money to purchase these better foods. Now as we are combating these starving citizens in our country, if we can give them better nutrition we can make sure that they have a better lifestyle. With better health and focusing on that, we can cut costs down the road on these healthcare problems many face from either malnutrition or the eating of junk food. With lower prices on better foods, yes the market might take a hit for a while, but we as a society have the obligation to take care of each other, not just ourselves. Lowering prices at the store will greatly help the issue because money can go and be spent on making their life better, and helping them move up to a better living arrangement possibly.
- One of the recommendations our group talked about was building more housing for people currently in poverty. With this recommendation, we would have to look at the cost of building the housing, as well as maintaining them. Some issues that could possibly arise such as people who stay too long, or people possibly being less motivated to get a job and build a life if there is a way for it to be handed to them. When we spoke to Mr. Budnack, we found that one of the things that Parker Task Force does, is they sit down with the families and make a plan about how to get themselves out of their current situations. A system like this would obviously need to be present so that people are working towards improvement and not just sitting around. Another thing to look at would be funding, which could be donated. It would cost quite a bit to be able to house so many people, so that would be one of the biggest factors.
- More than half of the students attending public schools were living in poverty as of 2013. In Parker, as well as many other places/states, most school or task forces have systems to help out the kids in poverty that attend public schools. While we were at Parker Task Force we learned that students in Parker who attend private schools that are in poverty, will be provided with a backpack every week that has food and other necessities. This is also done in a way that makes the students not embarrassed, and helps their parents so that they are provided for through the rest of the week. We believe that expanding these efforts somehow could greatly impact the poverty rates
- One of the most common age groups of people in poverty is seniors. In Parker, of the people living in poverty, there is an overwhelming number of senior citizens. With the cost of living being so high, it is often hard for people to move out of their houses or keep up with rent. As Mr. Budnack mentioned, seniors are the least likely to go out and find a new high paying job with long hours. In a time when most of them should be enjoying retirement, instead they are faced with harsh realities of no money. Housing is a major issue and one that the communities should consider. There should be some responsibility and care shown for those in our community who are struggling. For seniors who cannot live on their own, assisted lived should be made easily accessible and affordable. Housing, such as apartments, should also be built taking this age group in to mind. Additionally, information and support should be provided to seniors so that they are aware of the resources available to them. This could be in the form of brochures in the mail or information that is advertised in some way.
- In an age that is ever increasing with things such as technology, there is an apparent lack of knowledge about how to prioritize. Most families living in poverty still want to pay for the luxuries of a better off lifestyle. Over half of the families own video game systems (Heritage Foundation). 92% of poor household own microwaves, 43% have internet and 50% have a personal computer (Heritage Foundation). While these items are not necessarily bad, they do become an obstacle when trying to overcome poverty. Which is better: providing your kids with a full lunch for school or providing them with television for a few hours? The sad reality is that many families are unwilling to give up their luxuries, such as smartphones and appliances, as they fear it will be missed. When in truth money could be saved without the monthly costs of these items. A step in a better direction for the future could be a generation who knows how to prioritize. Those who cannot afford the monthly bills of such luxuries should not own them. The well-being of one’s family must be put first. How do we do so? A monumental task at least, it too begins with education. Families who are struggling need education from local businesses, charities, etc about money management. This will create a generation able focus on the important things and be one step closer to being above the poverty line.