Second Poverty Simulation At a recent conference, I went through a second poverty simulation. In structure it was identical to the first one I did. In my own role, though, this was a totally new experience. In my first simulation, I was a "provider." I dealt with the poor, but I wasn't one of them; I was the mortgage banker. This time I was poor--a breadwinner mom with three kids (one of them pregnant) and a laid-off husband. I thought I knew what it would be like. NOT!
Well before the whistle started the simulation, my family and I were deeply into how to get things done. Our pace of speech quickened. We passed materials around and dropped them and picked them up backwards. From my first experience, I knew that many families in the simulation would not get their families fed, so I made it my personal priority to get food every week (15 minutes) of the simulation. For the first seven minutes of the week, I had to go to work, then I needed to cash my paycheck, get gas (transportation vouchers) for the next week, and go buy food.
| My youngest child--the one who was removed for neglect--was a stuffed bear. |
My family did OK. Dad and the sixteen-year-old were both able to do things during the day. We got food every week (OK, partial in week 4) and paid the mortgage and car payment. One of our children was removed from the home for neglect (she got left behind) and we were almost callous about it. Dad went over to see about getting her back; there was no one supervising her so he just brought her back home. I also found that I did a horrible job at work (we had to fill out surveys). My mind was not on the work--it was on what the rest of my family was doing, whether there would be a long line at the quicky loan place, which place was closer to the quicky loan place--the mortgage place or the JFS, would my husband get us some food stamps this week... My handwriting on the surveys sprawled all over the place and I wrote down random responses. Not the model employee, but my family did eat.
In my rural community we have lots of churches, mostly small and self-started organizations, meaning that a man (usually) who feels the call starts his own congregation or spins one off from another church or takes over an existing church. These churches come and go, strengthen and weaken, and are not affiliated with any major protestant religion. In the villages (no place in the county counts are a city), we have actual denominations--Methodists, Baptists, Freewill Baptists, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Catholics, Community of Christ. However, the denominations struggle with attendance levels and are also dependent on the personality and/or leadership skills of a particular preacher.
The local preachers I know are decent people--even the ones who would consider me the Anti-Christ if they knew the membership cards I keep in my purse. I know of one small group of these ministers meets regularly--primarily pastors from mainstream denominations--and can assess community needs. In larger rural towns, ministerial associations can be a major voice that calls attention to needed changes and reforms for the poor.
Poor on the board Organizations who help or make money off the poor should be urged or mandated to include some poor people on their boards. The boards I have been on (and the one that is my boss) are made up of middle class to upper middle class professional people with college degrees. We talk about the poor as though they were an abstraction--and to many of us the poor are an abstraction. We make programming decisions and funding decisions that affect them without consulting them. Board members are generally people of good conscience who reflect the goals of the organizations they direct. But they may lack in their knowledge of other sectors of our society--well-off people would certainly not want boards made up of only poor people to make rules and decisions for them!
The Twelve Socioeconomic Levels - United States
Thinking in terms of lower, middle, and upper class Americans is an oversimplification. I like the dirty dozen given in this list. I pasted this from someone's Facebook post--if you can verify the source, I will gladly give the author full credit. I used to be an 8, but have sunk to a 4 through medical expenses and illness. I have hope of hopping back to 8 someday with the support of my education and family support, just like most 4s.
1. Generational Poverty - The harsh conditions of this type of poverty may keep these families from breaking the barriers for generations.
2. Working Poor - These families live paycheck to paycheck, often in fear of being laid off.
3. Working Class - Generally these workers have more stable employment than the working poor. They may use their hands and bodies as a primary tool to do their work.
4. Situational Poverty - A crisis (e.g., health, divorce, etc.) results in an income drop causing these situations. They generally make it back to middle class due to assets such as education, family support, etc.
5. Risen from Poverty Middle Class - They have gained some resources. They often become the “safety net” for others (their immediate family, friends, etc.).
6. Illusory Middle Class - These Americans have houses, cars, TVs, etc., but they also have staggering debt associated with each possession.
7. Lower Aspiring Middle Class - Adults imitate neighbors with consumer purchases. Going to college is emphasized with children although they may not have gone to college themselves.
8. Solidly Middle Class - They own their home and have investments or business. Assume children will be college graduate/professionals.
9. Upper Middle Class - They have a higher income due to professional jobs and/or investment incomes.
10. Millionaire Middle Class - They have a net worth of over a million dollars, but have not mentally accepted their wealth.
11. Owning Rich - They own income-producing assets sufficient to make paid employment unnecessary.
12. Ruling Rich - They hold positions of power in major institutions of society and may live secluded lives or are protected from the general public.
No comments:
Post a Comment