Q2) The issue of poverty has long been an issue of concern and debate in this country. Since our founding we have alternately worked to help the poor and blame them for their condition. Discuss, from a liberal point of view, our state government's recent efforts to limit assistance to the poor, specifically the reduction in cash assistance. And then discuss the same issue responding to the same questions below from a conservative point of view.
a. Discuss why reform may be necessary
b. Discuss wealth inequality in the country as is impacts the issues faced by the poor
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c. Discuss faith based initiatives as an answer
d. Discuss what the private sector might bring to the table
In the United States today, the real system is an oligarchy controlled by the wealthy and big business interests rather than a democracy, so naturally the system is not particularly concerned with the poor and the marginalized. Social workers are expected to deal with the wreckage produced by a system that benefits only a wealthy few, but the real problem is the system itself, which is fundamentally unfair and unjust. Religious organizations and nonprofits do indeed to a great deal of work to assist the poor, the homeless and those without access to housing and healthcare, but there is never enough funding to meet all the real needs. Certainly conservatives wish to dismantle the welfare state and leave the poor to the mercies of the ‘free market’ but the results of those types of policies have already become very clear over the last thirty years. As far as the private sector, it only lobbies to protect its own profits and interests and will not do anything for the masses of poor people in this country. Economic and social policy offer many examples of how the power of elites and corporate money controls Congress and both political parties to the detriment of the workers, consumers and the public interest in general. Wall Street and the financial industry lobbied Congress heavily to weaken laws and regulations that controlled speculation of the kind that led to the Great Depression of the 1930s, and then when the inevitable crash came in 2008-09, they lobbied for the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP), the most expensive corporate bailout in history. Combined with trillions more from the Federal Reserve, and the lost wages, incomes and home values, the total cost of this crash was higher than the Gross National Product of the United States.
Poverty and homelessness are serious issues in the U.S. today, especially because of the current recession, with levels of poverty and unemployment higher than at any time since the 1930s. Blacks and Hispanics are being affected disproportionately by homelessness, as well as poverty and unemployment in American society. This is just another example of the racial caste system and institutional racism that goes far beyond that of social class, and has always been the case in recessions and indeed with every other social and economic problem in American history. Racism has always been related to other social and economic problems, especially poverty, police brutality, social class and lack of economic and educational opportunities. From the early-1970s, poverty and inequality in wealth and incomes have also increased, and this affected blacks more than any other group. By 2000, 1% of the population had almost half of the wealth in the United States (West, 1993, p. viii). Nearly 10% of young black men were in prison and 40% of black children lived in poverty, but this was hardly part of the national political agenda (West, p. 4).
Poverty and homelessness are caused by racism, lack of education, alcohol, drug abuse, and individuals who have been born into poverty and are not able to afford the means to get ahead, such as going to college. Homelessness is defined as the lack of a regular, fixed nighttime residence, no matter whether the homeless live with relatives or sleep in parks, shelters or vehicles. About four million people experience homelessness at some point during the year, including 1.3 million children under age 18, who usually make up about one-third of the homeless population (Bingle, 2008, p. 5). In the current recession, the homeless population may have doubled due to foreclosures and mass unemployment, and the number of people in extreme poverty could be as high as ten million. This level of poverty is one of the key factors that will lead to homelessness, along with lack of affordable housing, mental illness and addiction (Bingle, p. 8). Other common predictors for homelessness are veterans suffering from Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and persons from broken homes who have been in the foster care system (McNamara, 2008, p. xii). Homeless men are more likely to be excluded from social services, and in the rural areas few of these even exist at all, while the elderly homeless are often forgotten and ignored. Since blacks and Hispanics are also more likely to be poor than whites, and to have inferior medical care and employment and educational opportunities, they always have at least double the rate of homelessness than whites. wealth and incomes for minority groups, which were already far lower than whites, have been in severe decline for the past few years (Baumann 2001). Compared to the trillions of dollars in federal assistance that has been extended to the large financial institutions from TARP and the Federal Reserve, programs to aid the poor and homeless have been very inadequate, and are even being cut back on the local, state and federal levels.
In the current recession, with levels of poverty and unemployment higher than at any time since the 1930s, the poor and minority groups are once again being affected disproportionately. Poverty and homelessness are just symptoms of deeper structural problems in the U.S., including generational poverty, racism, discrimination, and extreme social and economic inequalities. Angry, impoverished, and alienated minorities in ghettos realize that there is no place for them in American society, and adopt music, culture, lifestyles and sexual behaviors that emphasize their separation from white, mainstream society, even though black conservatives condemn this. This type of poverty is structural and passes from one generation to the next, and this pattern of segregated housing and schools and a failed public education system in the inner city was set decades ago, and has been made worse in the current recession. Since the 1960s, when the civil rights movement ended in urban riots and the assassination of Martin Luther King, there has been no political will in the United States to address these problems of poverty, racism, inequality and segregation. This is just another example of the racial caste system and institutional racism that goes far beyond that of social class, and has always been the case in recessions and indeed with every other social and economic problem in American history. Black wealth and incomes, which were already far lower than whites, have been disappearing in the past few years, although little or nothing has been done about this.
Q3 Discuss 1) your perception of social welfare policy, (are the policies generally working, why or why not - what might be changed to provide better service or improve the "safety net" - is a safety net necessary) 2) how you see your role as a future social worker working with policy issues, no matter the professional role you may fill. (5 points).
Social welfare policy is definitely not a priority in the U.S. compared to the more powerful influences of the wealthy and large corporate interests, and the safety net is hardly adequate to deal with the massive social and economic problems that exist. This was already clear enough before the present recession, although now of course the situation is even worse. Social workers are expected to put a Band-Aid on these problems but the reality is that human needs are not a priority in this society and those who advocate on their behalf have no real power under the present political system. At best, the poor and minority populations of the inner cities have been treated as a problem of social control and law enforcement. Unlike the era of the civil rights movement led by Martin Luther King, no mass political and social movement is likely to arise in this era to correct these problems of racial profiling, poverty and discrimination. There was hardly likely to be any significant political and economic transformation of America in the era of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, or it seems even under Barack Obama. Given the level of economic and social disparities in American society, which have increased greatly in the present recession, poverty, homelessness and inequality are hardly likely to disappear in the foreseeable future.
One policy that might improve the social safety net and the living conditions of the poor would be to limit the control that the very wealthy and large corporations have on the political process. They are only protecting their own elite interests, while always demanding tax breaks for themselves and cutbacks in social programs. Obviously they care nothing about the poor and minorities in this country—the lower 47% as Mitt Romney called them—and only want to benefit themselves and balance the budget on the backs of the lower classes. Corporations should not be allowed to donate any money to politicians or political parties, and all elections should be publicly financed. Of all the possible reforms that would be necessary and beneficial in the country the most important would be to remove the power of big money from the political process. In 2000, the presidential elections cost $3 billion, which increased to $4.1 billion in 2004 and $5.3 billion in 2008, while the off-year elections cost $1.6 billion in 1998, $2.2 billion in 2002, $2.8 billion in 2006 and $3.6 billion in 2010 (OpenSecrets.org, 2011). In 2012, the presidential elections are likely to cost $6 billion or more, since the floodgates are open for special interests to donate unlimited amounts, and in secret. Almost all of this money came from large corporations and wealthy individuals, who can now give unlimited amounts of money because of Citizens United and other recent Supreme Court decisions. At present, a proposed amendment to the Constitution to overturn the Citizens United decision and ban corporate donations has already been proposed in Congress although it has not found many co-sponsors. This type of amendment should be passed, because the power of big money in politics has turned the country into an oligarchy rather than a democracy. Building a strong democracy again in America, especially for the poor, the marginalized and minorities will require a major shift in political and economic power away from elite groups and corporate interests.
REFERENCES
Baumann, Z. (2001). Thinking Sociologically. Blackwell, 2001.
Bingle, J. (2008). Homelessness in America Today. NY: Rosen Publishing Group, 2008.
McNamara, R.H. (2008). Homelessness in America, 3 vols. Greenwood Publishing Group.
The Money behind Elections (2011). OpenSecrets.org. Center for Responsive Politics.
http://www.opensecrets.org/bigpicture/index.php
West, C. (2001). Race Matters. Boston: Beacon Press.
