How important is the issue of poverty in the USA to you?

[dajoki]

Poll question: How important is the issue of poverty in the USA to you?

With all the talk about health care going on right now I decided to try to find out exactly what people think about the root of the problem, POVERTY. I have questioned family, friends, aquaintances and my Congress people about this issue and have been surprised with some of the responses I have gotten.

So I decided to expand my query to DU where I am sure to find many varied opinions. I am also curious to hear what you think could be some common sense solutions to this huge problem, so please let me hear them.

I am going to use this small, completely unscientific poll to pass on to my Rep. and Sens. so they can see just how bad it really is.

[dajoki]

1. Whoever voted no problem...

I would like to hear why you think that way.

[texastoast]

7. The board is rife with trolls

Rife, I tell you.

[dajoki]

9. And they lurk in the shadows...

afraid to show themselves.

[texastoast]

26. Because they have been trained to be very very skeeeered

They can't tell the difference between respect and fear.

[ZombieHorde]

2. First civil rights, then education, then poverty. nt

[Deja Q]

30. Fair enough. Go live in poverty and see what happens.

When people aren't in poverty, they'll feel more like human beings in the first place. I like a sense of freedom, a good standard of living, having opportunities, and not living in poverty. That makes me feel more like a person than living in a cardboard box.

Maybe I'm missing something. But the lack of depth in your response clearly shows you're missing something too. Or don't you take the situation seriously enough, save for a "nt" at the end of one puny sentence?

[dajoki]

32. I can see...

you clearly understand why I am asking this question. It all comes down to being an equal and respected member of the human race.

[ZombieHorde]

33. "Go live in poverty and see what happens."

I have lived in poverty.

"But the lack of depth in your response clearly shows you're missing something too."

I simply stated how I voted.

Civil rights are extremely important to me. Safe and legal abortions, the end of Jim Crow, gay marriage, no more torture, fair elections, etc.

Education is important because it increases scientific advancements which can save the lives of many, gives people opportunities they would not otherwise have, increases the number of liberal voters, etc.

-------------

I really don't understand your personal attacks.

[YOY]

3. It's tied to so many other isses that it remains tied at the forefront.

All with unemployment, education, the penal system, the legal system, and general economic health.

It's all connected.

[dajoki]

6. Yes, I hear what you are saying...

and agree for the most part, but I think it all comes back to the root problem of poverty.

[YOY]

10. But certain poverty cycles can be broken if proper change is enacted elsewhere.

A better educated person (improving the public school system) has less chance of going to prison and a greater chance of working a well paying job or even say...starting a business.

It's all connected. You fix one and you help the others.

[Dappleganger]

12. Yes...education, health care, living wages.

It's all interconnected.

[dajoki]

14. What about the disabled?

[YOY]

17. Dupe

n/t

[YOY]

18. What about them? If they are given more opportunities to succeed. They will.

If the steps are given a ramp on the side and the hearing impaired are given a translator to help understand the professor then the door is open.

[dajoki]

20. That's a big IF!! n/t

[YOY]

22. No it's not.

It's all part of the resources that you put in to improving education, infrastructure, employement, etc... They just have to make sure their voices are not unheard.

[dajoki]

27. I'm sorry, but...

you are not making any sense to me whatsoever. What you are saying has nothing to do with what I'm talking about.

[dajoki]

13. I cannot disagree...

but when someone is raised in abject poverty, they have little chance of succeeding.

[YOY]

15. That's why you fix the other facets to help them succeed.

Bush I talked about leveling the playing field. He was full of shit of course but the concept of making it just as easy for the ghetto kid or the Appalachian "hillbilly" to go to Harvard as it does Johnny Blue-blood is not an impossibility if the educational system had the bucks and support that it needed.

It's not an impossibility with enough resources.

Honestly, you can't fix poverty by giving folks a ton of money...that would disastrous.

Actually having a net to prevent folks from falling into poverty and a helping hand to make sure they can climb out are the ways.

[dajoki]

21. Enough resources are the key n/t

[YOY]

23. And those resources have to be reallocated from somewhere else...

say the bloated defense department budget and their inability to cut back in a post-cold war world.

[dajoki]

28. That I agree with!! n/t

[Aloha Spirit]

4. What bugs me immensely is the lack of affordable housing in urban areas.

Even in "progressive" cities it's still a big problem.
It would be cool if there was something like Habitat for Humanity but on a larger scale.

[dajoki]

5. I agree and its not only in urban areas n/t

[The2ndWheel]

8. Poverty is not the root of the problem

It's a by-product of the solution.

[dajoki]

11. Huh? Please explain n/t

[The2ndWheel]

25. Poverty is particular

It's the result of how we(as individuals and as a species) interact with our habitat/environment/eco-system/whatever you wish to call it.

To me, for poverty to be the root of the problem would require that we exist within an economic system. We do not, but we do impose an economic system.

[dajoki]

29. Aren't...

imposing an economic system and existing within an economic system the same thing?

[The2ndWheel]

39. That might depend on which side you're on

[dajoki]

40. But if a system is imposed, you must exist in it n/t

[The2ndWheel]

44. Which is why poverty isn't the root of the problem

[dajoki]

46. I see what you're saying...

the system DOES need changing, but I was talking about being raised or stuck in poverty. Children or people who fall into poverty have way less opportunities than middle and upper class citizens.

[dysfunctional press]

16. not as important as it may be in the future.

being human, i am more concerned about the issues that affect me directly.
healthcare is my main concern.

[Streen]

19. ....

There are some things that shouldn't be prioritized over others. Some things should be held equally important, championed with the same vigor.

[me b zola]

24. Economic justice would single handedly fix many of our problems

If there were an equal playing field backed up by a safety net w/o holes it would touch near every aspect of society. Criminal justice, health care, and many aspects of civil rights. Then again, if people weren't constantly staving off the wolf from the door they would have the time and recourses to fight where discrimination exists. So yeah, economic justice is the number one issue.

[dajoki]

31. Very well said n/t

[dajoki]

34. I see that there is...

a pretty large majority so far who think its the most important issue. I would like to hear what you think are some solutions.

[Hannah Bell]

35. in its broadest sense, it's the only issue.

[dajoki]

43. That is exactly what I'm talking about!! n/t

[JuniperLea]

74. Exactly!

How anyone can think otherwise boggles the mind! Everything else becomes so much easier to fix when the basic human existence here is held up to a better standard. Healthcare is part of that poverty issue too.

I'm getting pretty tired of seeing all the selfishness... :cry: Babies with bloated, starving bellies be damned as long as my pet issue is served! I don't know how people can live with themselves, honestly.

[varelse]

36. Wars and lack of affordable health care contribute to poverty

war in particular has lead to increases in untreated health problems, deficit spending, and homelessness and other problems which contribute to poverty. Health issues are the number one cause of bankruptcy. It's all tied together.

[dajoki]

37. I wish more people would realize that n/t

[varelse]

80. I voted for the #1 option

poverty is the most important problem. The solutions, however, are all related to other issues we consider important. Economic and social justice, education, health care, and peaceful solutions to conflicting regional interests, even electoral reform, are all tied to the problem of worldwide or even national poverty.

I refer to education as one piece of the poverty solution in a different sense than I usually see it given - as a path to better or higher paying employment.

Rather, in my view, a proper education would help us to understand the truth about poverty - the fact that it truly is not necessary in a civilized world - and would encourage citizens from an early age to contribute to the solution rather than accepting poverty as acceptable or even inevitable part of human society.

[dajoki]

86. More people...

should look at it that way, being part of the solution and learning from an early age that it is not acceptable.

[Odin2005]

38. K&R

[JNelson6563]

41. It is my #1 issue.

And our country's greatest shame.

Great to see you Dajoki! :hi:

Julie

[dajoki]

42. Hi Julie...

How ya doin'? Its great to see you again too!!:pals:

Keep in touch when you have the time, OK?

[Hydra]

45. Poverty creates dozens of other issues

There is no excuse for a first world nation to have anyone suffering from poverty...but it's endemic to the system we're running. Time for a new system.

[dajoki]

48. Yep n/t

[JuniperLea]

76. See my post #74... I think you are spot on!

We should be ashamed of ourselves for putting anything above eliminating human suffering in our own country.

[LWolf]

47. Other: Extremely important, but I won't rank one extremely important issue over another. nt

[dajoki]

49. OK...

But I think I covered that in the answer that says it important, just like many other issues.

[redqueen]

50. Those results are shocking.

Nobody's threatening to support primary challengers in '12 or whateverthehell due to lack of action on homelessness.

Weird.

[dajoki]

51. It is weird...

that is why I would like to hear some solutions suggested.

[redqueen]

52. Well increasing funding for HUD is a good start.

National Coalition for the Homeless has several irons in the fire but they are all vying for funding at a time when we've just had the investor class fuck us all from hell to breakfast.

[dajoki]

53. Thank you...

and you are right on both accounts, The National Coalition for the Homeless having some good ideas and the screwing because of the lack of funding. I sometimes wonder if these people realize that by curbing poverty, they too would benefit.

[redqueen]

55. That organization deserves so much more support.

They do SO much more than simply advocate for the homeless. They address the causes: poverty, for-profit healthcare, etc.

[dajoki]

57. Yes they do...

I have done quite a bit of research on poverty and homelessness and this organization always seems to come up as a needed advocate.

[Hydra]

59. The investor class doesn't care to make more money

That was a big revelation for me and why I want a new system. The thing that pisses the top 5% off more than anything is when someone else in the lowers classes DARES to think that they are just as good and should have a place at the table. As much as they enjoy their wealth, it's more important to them that the other people don't have it than that they have the chance for more. Thus, they sabotage real progress in favor of progress that they control, and thus control what we get.

I suspect in a true socialist system, all of us could live like them in a clean and green system. That idea horrifies them- what would make them 'special' at that point?

[dajoki]

60. I think what you say...

is probably the reason why we will not see the system change.

[Hydra]

64. The system is what it is

And it does what it does...and it does it extremely efficiently.

I'm not expecting anything to change until people realize just how bad our system really is...and you can't make someone realize that. Therefore, I'm not holding my breath. On the other hand, as much as the top class vilifies us, they NEED us...We don't need them. That weakness will at some point break all of this...but what will replace it?

[dajoki]

67. That is an intriguing question you ask n/t

[dajoki]

62. Also shocking...

is that the bottom response got any votes.

[redqueen]

83. I have to hope it's just trolls.

Then it wouldn't be so shocking.

[JeffR]

54. dajoki, thanks for this poll!

I actually voted the second option, for this reason: As was touched on upthread, poverty as a single issue really ties back into the broader concept of social justice, which for me includes a big economic component. It's tied into real equality of opportunity, a meaningful social and economic safety net, and - a huge factor - government spending priorities. We spend nearly a trillion dollars a year on defense. By comparison, China (the world's only other nominal superpower) spends about one-eighth of what we do on defense.

The solution to poverty, at least fiscally, lies in that huge wasted sum of money, along with the means to ensure real universal health insurance, first-class education for all, improved infrastructure nationwide. Until spending priorities are radically realigned, nothing will change. We're seeing renewed blather these days about "entitlement" programs threatening to bankrupt the nation, which is ludicrous but always resonates with the rugged individualists and the Randian Cult of the Selfish. The real threat of bankruptcy centers on defense spending. All we're really "defending" ourselves against is becoming a truly civilized country.

I also want to add that it needs to be recognized that the poor are not simply neglected by this society, they are actively discriminated against, shunned, their voices marginalized or silenced, their self-esteem threatened in a myriad of ways, their lives made immensely complicated by challenges many of us who have an adequate standard of living can't even comprehend. The poor are castigated for their poverty. This says something deeply unsettling about America. It's disgraceful.

[dajoki]

56. Thank you Jeff...

for your extremely thoughtful answer and insightful remarks. If more people had the same passion that you show I would have faith in us being able to turn things around in this country. But the true words you speak about the discrimination against people for no reason other then lack of money makes my heart sick.

[Romulox]

58. For me: #1. Healthcare; #2. Poverty. The two issues are almost inseparable, imo.

[dajoki]

61. Agreed n/t

[JitterbugPerfume]

63. poverty is the root of all evil

it breeds sickness , hunger , illiteracy, ignorance, and hopelessness

[Fire1]

65. Couldn't have said it better. Ditto.

[JuniperLea]

70. Well said!

Everything else is an uphill battle in deep sand because of poverty. If we take care of poverty, many, many other things become easier to deal with.

[Heidi]

66. I don't rank my priorities like that. It's important, but no more important than other human rights.

The poor and straight can marry the partners of their choice and enjoy many, many breaks (including joint filing of income tax returns) that our GLBT brothers and sisters are not permitted. I see denial of any human right as part of a larger problem: there are many, many among us who can't feel accomplished without pushing someone else down. That culture of "I got mine and screw everyone else" has to end.

But here's a solution: stop throwing people in jail. Make use of sentencing alternatives. Create jobs -- I'd rather have my tax dollars used to pay people painting murals on abandoned buildings than to pay for a pointless war -- and sentence people to do something they're proud of doing. A new era of WPA, for example.

[JuniperLea]

69. You equate marriage...

With shelter and food and healthcare (freedom from intense pain and suffering by millions)? Really?

[Heidi]

72. No, I said I'm able to care about more than one human right at once.

You?

[JuniperLea]

77. I think starving and homeless...

And those in pain need to come first. I care about a lot of things, but I would rather see the end to human suffering on the most basic level. It makes sense in a humanitarian way, as well as a fiscally responsible way.

[JNelson6563]

84. Agreed.

To say all hardships are equal is one of the most erroneous notions ever.

This person



is no worse off than a gay couple who have home, health and all else but the right to get legally married?? Ok, no.

Julie

[JuniperLea]

85. Chilling photo, Julie...

It drives the point home. I'm saddened at the loss of priority, and the bashing...

[varelse]

79. By supporting the principle of universal human rights

we attack one of the root causes of poverty and inequality. Poverty is the disease; but inequality is the primary cause, and a universal agreement to recognize the natural rights of all humans would be an enormous step forward toward the cure.

One of the many important human rights is the right to choose one's own life companion(s) and found a family. Not surprisingly, those who are able to marry enjoy measurable economic and health benefits which apparently derive from the community-sanctioned relationship. Children of married couples are less likely to live in poverty than children of single or divorced parents.

It really *is* all tied together :)

[JuniperLea]

81. I completely agree!

I do, however, support the application of a band aid to the poverty situation... right away. The number of people, mainly children, who go without food and shelter is staggering. Millions of American citizens are starving daily. They really cannot wait for the root causes of poverty and inequality to catch up... they'll be dead, or ill and suffering even more by then.

The child poverty rate is reaching 18 - 25% in many states!

http://feedingamerica.org/faces-of-hunger/hunger-map.aspx

[varelse]

87. So do I

actually, it's more like we need a tornequit - a bandaid won't even temporarily slow the bleeding :(

[dajoki]

71. I agree about the WPA...

And did you notice that the Supreme Court, just last week, ruled against using DNA to prove innocence of prisoners?

[JuniperLea]

68. Ok, the four Freepers who voted should just be banned right now...

Disgusting creeps.

[dajoki]

73. Cowards...

won't even defend their choices.

[JuniperLea]

78. They are vile...

and disgusting, and horribly selfish.

[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

75. Poverty is very important, but is it a result or a cause of other problems?

Hence lies the dilemma. In many ways, it is the result of poor health, education and job opportunities. In many other ways, it is a cause of these and other problems.

However, poverty should not be used as a crutch to try not to improve oneself. By this, I mean that, even if you are poor, you can still try to read, write and speak in a standard form of English to make yourself appealing to employers; keep up your physical body and appearance; treat people with respect; not abuse drugs or alcohol; not have sex without protection; etc.

FYI: yes, I was very poor as my dad was a struggling young engineer working for a company that did not pay him for 5 months and then went bankrupt (he never saw the money he was owed), all while supporting my mom and the two of us. We ate pasta with butter and parmesan (in Italy, that's what very poor people eat because the ingredients are cheap) for Christmas and Easter, as well on most other days for a very long time.

[Hannah Bell]

82. you have the causality backwards,

[maryf]

88. KIck

Error: you can only recommend threads which were started in the past 24 hours

Thanks Dajoki!:hi:

[TBF]

89. Dajoki, I checked of highest importance, but only because

I believe it's the symptom of our biggest problem, economic inequality. I believe the system needs to go, capitalism is not serving anyone except a few very rich masters. Also, would like to add that no one should be without health care, food, or shelter. It all goes together, the root case is the same, and it's horrific.

In solidarity, TBF

[dajoki]

91. Thank you TBF!!

[kenny blankenship]

90. Now would be a good time to post another poll: how important is poverty to the Democratic Party

meaning the elected Dems in Congress, Governor's Houses and the Presidency.

It should look like the inverse of this poll.

[dajoki]

92. That is why...

I started this, so I can report it to my Dem Rep. and two Dem Sens., who's staff seem clueless when I call them.