Session 13

Housing and Community Development

I am very pleased to see that there are so many different housing and community development policies out there. Before now, I really did not know much about the housing policies or what exactly they were all about. What I do know is that environment does contribute to people being in poverty. Those living in low income populations are surrounded by other individuals with some of the same problems as them. Therefore, communities need to be integrated. In a previous post, I mentioned a theory about achieving a society with low concentrations of poverty and there actually is a program out there just for that. The HOPE IV Program actually tries to break up poor communities (such as traditional Section 8 housing) and create mixed ones which will benefit poor families and have a positive impact. Another program that interested me was the HOME program because it helps low income families with affordable housing. I am so glad to hear that there are grants out there and people out there want to help those in poverty succeed. People in poverty still deserve decent homes and should be able to afford one that they will be able to one day call their own. As we know there are millions of people in America who are living in poverty; therefore, we have so much work to do in order to help all these individuals. 


Perhaps the government actually does care and wants to rebuild poor neighborhoods. President Obama has made it his duty to try to help urban communities. He wants to provide more money for the Community Development Block Grant as well as other grants. From what I learned about this act, it seems like it could really benefit low income families and metropolitan areas as a whole. He wants to educate them, provide them training that will give them skills for a good job and also help them save on their energy bills. 


I really did learn new information from this session. I can see that there is a lot being done in the housing aspect. However, this alone is still not going to help bring people out of poverty. These programs have been around for many, many years and yet poverty has still been increasing. Moving them to better housing is just a start and more steps need to be taken.

Session 12

Social Security

Why?
Social Security has been a big dilemma in the United States lately. I believe that there is an issue about it running out because of the recession. The United States is in so much debt that the government will have to acquire trillions of dollars for the Social Security Trust Fund in order to pay all the benefits. 

It says that the payroll tax would have to rise more than 18% under the current system in order for everyone to get their benefits. I think that people deserve their Social Security. It is a benefit that every hardworking individual deserves. However, with the payroll tax increasing, that just means more and more low income families will continue to stay in poverty. More and more money will be taken out of their paychecks which will make it even more difficult for them to provide for their families. Therefore, this does not help resolve the poverty issue at all.

What's being done?
There have been discussions about higher income families paying more for Social Security which in itself will be an issue for those individuals because I'm sure many of them feel as though that is their money and they should not have to pay more. Also, another solution that would be of controversy would be to cut benefits. Personally, I know that if have been working hard for at least 10 years, then I would feel as though I deserved all my benefits. Moreover, those in poverty will be hurt by this solution the most which does not solve anything....Recently, The Recovery Act was passed in February 2009 and this act is offered to the disabled, senior citizens, etc. The President really wants to help the Social Security issue and give everyone what they deserve especially the elderly. 


Hopefully, these solutions will help to boost the economy and help with creating new jobs for individuals. In result, this well hopefully help to solve the poverty crisis.   

Session 11

Health Care Controversies

Healthcare has always been an issue in the United States. I was shocked to see that from 2008 to 2009, 7.5 million children were uninsured. Many of those children were those in poverty. Not to judge anyone, it was not hard to believe that Hispanic children had a higher uninsured rate than the other races. I guess this may have something to do with many Hispanics who are new to the country or just cannot afford it. It is sad to see that the poor populations have to go without health insurance. In my opinion, that really doesn’t make sense. How are they expected to be able to afford insurance if they can barely put food in their tables? This is just another benefit that those in poverty are not capable of having. With that being said, if those in low income populations do have to go to the hospital, they acquire another expense. Doctor and hospital bills are not cheap. Health care costs and prescription drugs cost are steadily increasing. As a result, those in poverty are just going to get more and more in debt.

What’s being done?

There are a few programs out there that I know from my knowledge that already benefit some poor families. I use to have an aunt who received Medicaid for her and her family and I know that it really helped her out a lot. Just for the simple fact of knowing that with her low income, her children would still be able to receive the proper doctor assistance if they needed it. Also, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program helps uninsured children if their families over qualify for Medicaid. Just recently in March, President Obama signed a Health Care Bill that could help those in poor populations. The bill would lower health care costs and hold insurance companies accountable. In my opinion, I believe that this could really be beneficial and could really help many Americans who do not have the means to afford health care. Families will have coverage and can rest easy just by knowing that their children will be taken care of medically. However, many Republicans and others are against this bill and there is an ongoing debate as to whether or not it should be dismissed.