Annotated Bibliographies
In this portion of the Poverty Circle, we’ve collected a series of articles that aid in the argument of the “bad.”
1. The War on Poverty
United States, Congress, House. “The War on Poverty: 50 Years Later: A House Budget
Committee Report.” The War on Poverty: 50 Years Later: A House Budget
CommitteeReport, 2014. https://budget.house.gov/uploadedfiles/war_on_poverty.pdf
In a 2014 report on poverty and how it relates to government spending, the House Budget Committee evaluates how different government ‘safety nets’ have impacted poverty in America. In the article, they look at many different programs to see how they affect tax rates, how they can be better implemented, and how they can cooperate with each other to get the most out of the American budget system. The House Budget Commitee argues that these programs should not be eliminated. However, they do agree that funding should be redistributed among the various welfare programs.
2. Living on Almost Nothing in America
Edin, Kathryn. $2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America. Mariner Books, 2015.
Kathryn Edin’s book provides a dehing tailed description into the everyday life of poor Americans living on next to nothing, or more specifically, those living on only two dollars a day. From a struggling elderly black man to a single white mother with asthma, Edin uses detailed accounts of real people struggling to make ends meet in America. She ties in statistics from her own investigation and other reliable resources to conclude that the problem facing these $2 a day Americans is their lack of cash income, which allows them to buy clothes, food, and every other necessity they may need. Edin spends most of the book validating this problem and finally concludes with the solution. She argues that making cash available, such as welfare programs and housing availability, and raising the minimum wage can lead to an end to poverty.
3. Capitalism, Crisis, and Class
Dufour, Mathieu, and ÖZgür Orhangazi. “Capitalism, Crisis, and Class.” Review of Radical
Political Economics, vol. 46, no. 4, 2014, pp. 461–472.
What happens to the workforce after an economic turndown in an economically rich country? A study conducted during the 2008 crash in the US was done to find the answer to that question. The studies found the “burden of the crisis fell disproportionately on labor and the poorer segments of society.” Also, the information showed the public debt increased, but the pricing of many products did not go up. The author argues the government policies and the social structure caused the high-income classes to come ahead out of the crisis.
4. Framing the Poor: Media Coverage and US Poverty
Rose, Max, and Frank Baumgartner. “Framing the Poor: Media Coverage and US Poverty
Policy, 1960-2008.” Policy Studies Journal, vol. 41, no. 1, 2013, pp. 22–53.
The government spending on poverty over the past 50 years has been based on the public’s perception of how poverty looks. The article describes how the opinion has been swayed over the past several years by different factors. One factor is Ronald Reagan telling the public that the people in poverty are lazy. This put a new picture in the public’s mind and lead to a increase in poverty. There are many other examples in supporting the author’s opinion of how the poor have been framed for being lazy and have suffered for it.
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