"Poverty in America" NPR

[applegrove]

Poverty in America

NPR

http://www.npr.org/programs/specials/poll/poverty/

"SNIP.............................


Americans perceive the federal government’s definition of poverty as being too low. The government says that a family of four with an income higher than $17,029 is not poor. However, more than three in five Americans (64%) say that a family of f our with an income of $20,000 is poor, and two in five (42%) say a family of four earning $25,000 is poor.

More important, perhaps, is the way low-income respondents themselves described their lives. Not surprisingly, people living below the official poverty level reported the most serious problems - in such areas as having enough money for rent, transportation, or food. But people with incomes between the poverty level and twice the poverty level also reported serious problems in these areas. For instance, about 40% of the people in that group say they or someone in their immediate family fell behind in their utility payments or couldn’t pay for medical care in the last year; and more than a third say that at some point they had too little money to buy enough food. By contrast, only 17% of those making more than twice the poverty level reported not being able to afford enough food.

Americans are divided over the causes of poverty. About half the public says the poor are not doing enough to help themselves out of poverty, and the other half says that circumstances beyond their control cause them to be poor. Low-income Americans — that is, those making less than twice the federal poverty level, or about $34,000 per year for a family of four — are only slightly more likely than other Americans to feel it is due to circumstances. But when asked about specific causes of poverty, low-income Americans are significantly more likely than other Americans to name drug abuse, medical bills, too few jobs (or too many being part-time or low-wage), too many single-parent families, and too many immigrants. When asked what is the No. 1 cause of poverty, low-income Americans are much more likely to name drug abuse, and the poorest Americans — those living below the federal poverty level — are nearly twice as likely as middle- and upper-income Americans to rank drug abuse so high. The non-poor are more likely to say that the No. 1 cause of poverty is poor-quality public schools, but, as noted in the chart below, both groups are equally likely to name schools as a major cause.




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[applegrove]

1. Sad that people see drug abuse as a cause not a symptom of poverty.

And this at a time when studies are showing that poverty puts huge stresses on your brain.

[RainDog]

2. thanks for this thread

a neuroscientist recently did work that showed crack users could stop using with sufficient incentive that made a difference in their lives... and in this case, it was 20.00.

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/aug/05/high-price-carl-hart-review

I think the study has something to tell us, tho, about the "cart before the horse" thinking that is part of the divisiveness of treating some people's problems as moral failures, while those with some economic safety have problems or make mistakes or... on and on.

This nation has developed a narrative that blames those who need help, rather than helping them. It's so puritanical and backward to treat people in such a way.