What Drives The Poverty Rate
The poverty rate was up for the third year in a row, according to 2003 records and that included almost thirteen million children. Walking the dog this evening along my snowy, moonlit mountain road I pondered just what it is that drives the poverty rate. Outsourced jobs and the third-world pay rates of McDonalds and Wal-Mart are too easy an answer. We’ve always had shit jobs at the bottom of the ladder. What for the most part has lifted the gifted among the poor has always been reasonably good health and education. That’s where desire comes from---from not being chronically sick and knowing there are other options beyond what you see in your neighborhood.
So, it’s strange to me that we as a nation continue to close down and nail over two of our most basic freedoms---staying healthy and getting an education---combined they are the fuel that runs our economic engine. The crunch of snow under my boots kept me free of considering the human issues behind all this. Humanity is hard to ignore…