Broken system shows rich and poor remain the same

Dominic DeCono

The rich get richer and the poor stay poor.

                An unfortunate trend has begun to take off in the past 40 years in America where poverty level are rising and folks who are born poor tend to stay poor throughout their lives.

                Since the late 1970s, wages have remained fairly stagnant while the cost of living has continued to rise, causing some experts to postulate the end of the “American dream” for many.

                Paul Harasha, a sociology professor at MCC, said there are definitely a large number of factors going against poor people in the United States currently.

                “Most lower-income jobs don’t give benefits, full time hours or even great opportunity’s to advance and with school as expensive as it is, it makes that much harder for those at the very bottom,” he said.

                Harasha also said that students and folks who are content being poor also tend to stay poor throughout their lives.

                “It really is a lifestyle choice at a certain point. Those who want to get out of poverty will find a way but those who are too intimated by other factors often never find a way out of that life,” he said.

                Gerard Biddix, a social worker for United Way, said part of the problem he sees with students and younger folks is the culture they come from.

                “In my experience a lot of poor kids come from homes that are often unstable and have little to no guidance for them and it has a heavy influence on them,” he said.

                Biddix also said that many of the social programs available to poor folks aren’t utilized as much as they could be.

“Food stamps, welfare and other sources of income are available for a lot of younger and middle aged folks but they don’t take them out of pride,” he said.

  • Mesa Legend Staff

    These are archived stories from Mesa Legend editions before Fall 2018. See article for corresponding author.

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