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Poverty Workshop 2009
- 1. Poverty: Concepts, Policies & Strategies
- 3. What are Some Causes of Poverty?
- 17. Questions?
Hinweis der Redaktion
- This presentation on poverty is a core orientation training module for all AmeriCorps*VISTAs. We have adapted the traditional training for the needs of Campus Compact VISTAs and incorporated a section on government policies that alleviate poverty and build assets. If you have any questions during the presentation, feel free to interrupt us. We are also counting on you to share your expertise and experiences, if you feel comfortable doing so. Your fellow VISTAs will remember your insights much longer that they will remember our presentation!
- we have several learning objectives for this presentation.
- Flipchart
- Explain to participants that there are many lenses through which we can discuss poverty. The causes of poverty are complex and people in poverty are not a homogeneous group. The term includes people ranging from the homeless to the working poor. We could spend the entire session on how the distribution of wealth impacts poverty, or how poverty is built into the structure of our capitalist economy, or the implications of tax laws. The hope is that you will be better prepared to address poverty as VISTAs once you understand the context in which you are working: VISTA is the only national service program whose mission is to address poverty. Campus Compact VISTAs work specifically on creating long-term partnerships, educating lifelong citizens, and making institutional changes in higher education to alleviate poverty.
- Age: Children comprise the greatest numbers and percentages of people in poverty. Race & Hispanic origin: The highest numbers of people in poverty are white; however, people of color have the highest percentages of their population in poverty. The African American unemployment rate is historically double that of the white unemployment rate. In the first quarter of 2009, black unemployment was 13.6% compared to the white unemployment rate of 8.2%. This is particularly clear when examining wealth. African Americans own only 7 cents for every dollar of net worth that white Americans own; for Hispanics the figure is only slightly higher at 9 cents for every dollar. Household type: Out of the large number of married households, a small percentage of them live in poverty. Out of the small number of female-headed households, a large percentage of them live in poverty. 2/3 of adults in poverty are women, 44% of single mothers remain below the poverty level. Employment status: The total number of people in poverty who worked full time or part time is higher than those who did not work at all. Educational attainment: The more advanced one’s education is, the less likely it is that he/she will experience high rates of poverty.
- Understanding poverty is an important anchor for your year as a Campus Compact VISTA. Institutional politics, the diverse missions of community partners or campus offices may make it a challenge to remember your anti-poverty mission for the year. Sometimes investing in long-term transformation, like incorporating community partnerships into a curriculum, seem less important than getting out there and addressing pressing community problems. But at the core of every one of your work plans is the anti-poverty mission.
- The organizations and campus offices where you will work may have programs to address both relative and absolute poverty, from tutoring programs that help narrow the education gap to collecting food for homeless shelters.
- Relative poverty is also about comparative access to health, education, public safety, and other public resources. European countries do not use an absolute poverty measurement like ours to measure inequality. They measure a person’s distance from the median income, which captures the notion that we are poor or rich within the context of our community.
- There are many paths into and out of poverty; many events throw people into poverty and many events help people exit from poverty. Responding to trigger events may be central to your work on campus, from planning alternative break trips to areas affected by hurricane Katrina to tutoring programs for children of incarcerated parents.
- The fact that most people in poverty work full time indicates that there are structural and institutional factors that prevent many households from leaving poverty. Unfortunately, America is steeped in a tradition of splitting people in poverty into the “worthy” and “unworthy,” and people in generational poverty are often blamed for not pulling themselves out of poverty.
- Theoretical models are helpful for us to begin to absorb the realities and nuances of the communities where we will live and serve. Every community is at a different intersection of these larger state, national, and global issues, so solutions have to be appropriate for specific communities. Nevertheless, it’s important for you to understand poverty at an systemic level, because you are responsible for making sustainable, systematic change. As a VISTA, you’ll be grappling with the big picture to protect and secure economic stability for your community.
- Income supports like TANF and food stamps protect some families from absolute poverty. Helping families develop assets above basic consumption needs helps protect against economic shocks and may break the cycle of generational poverty. For the vast majority of households, the pathway out of poverty is through savings and accumulation, so families can plan beyond one paycheck or emergency.
- We often think of government welfare as income transfers to low-income families with children. However, a broad range of government programs redistribute tax funds to low and moderate income families. It is helpful to understand government welfare as three general categories: fiscal, occupational, and social. First, government programs that support fiscal welfare include taxation, monetary and fiscal policies. Income, property, estate, capital gains, and corporate income taxes can all be tools for wealth and income redistribution. The Earned Income Tax Credit is an example of fiscal welfare that offers benefit to low-income working families. Second, occupational welfare includes jobs, wages, and unions, like the Workforce Investment Act, or Welfare to Work programs. VISTA could also be considered an occupational welfare program! There are two kinds of social welfare programs, social insurance and social assistance. Social insurance programs, including Social Security, Medicare, and Unemployment Insurance, are contribution based and offer benefits for workers across the income spectrum. Social insurance programs require workers to pay for care through payroll taxes, thus creating more equity of income throughout a person’s life. Unlike social insurance programs, social assistance programs do not require a contribution, and are more redistributive to low-income citizens. Social assistance programs are means-tested, which means that a client must prove that they earn less than a particular income. Basic need programs include Medicaid, programs that subsidize housing costs, and Food Stamps. What other Social Welfare programs are designed to alleviate poverty and build assets? Unemployment Insurance Social Security Social Security Disability Insurance ADFC/TANF: Temporary Aid to Needy Families Food Stamps and WIC Heating Assistance and weatherization services Child Care Subsidies State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) Section 8 Rent Allowances (vouchers) EITC: Earned Income Tax Credits IDAs: Individual Development Accounts Tax Codes, bankruptcy, property laws, home mortgage deductions The GI Bill
- We’ll be breaking out into small groups soon. Does anyone have any questions or thoughts now about models of poverty, asset-building as an anti-poverty strategy, or redistributive government policies? Second years, VISTA leaders, and program directors, do you have anything to add before our next activity?
- Groups present out their ideas to address regional poverty-related issues