Today is Blog Action Day 2008. The topic for this year is Poverty.

Why do we need special days for thinking about things such as education, poverty, hunger, homelessness? Why cant we, every day, do something to help make the world a better place.

Poverty is an interesting thing. The poorest of the poor in one country are considered rich in others. So what is poverty? Is it a state of mind?

Here are the 2007 US statistics, as presented by the US Census Bureau:

Highlights

• The official poverty rate in 2007 was 12.5 percent, not statistically different from 2006.
• In 2007, 37.3 million people were in poverty, up from 36.5 million in 2006.
• Poverty rates in 2007 were statistically unchanged for non-Hispanic Whites (8.2 percent), Blacks (24.5 percent), and Asians (10.2 percent) from 2006. The poverty rate increased for Hispanics (21.5 percent in 2007, up from 20.6 percent in 2006).
• The poverty rate in 2007 was lower than in 1959, the first year for which poverty estimates are available, while statistically higher than the most recent trough in 2000 (11.3 percent).
• The poverty rate increased for children under 18 years old (18.0 percent in 2007, up from 17.4 percent in 2006), while it remained statistically unchanged for people 18 to 64 years old (10.9 percent) and people 65 and over (9.7 percent).

How is poverty defined in the US?

There are the numbers behind poverty. So the question becomes what do we do?

Should the poor be left up to their own devices? Should the poor be required to pull themselves out of poverty, or should they be provided handouts?

I dont know.

But, I do know that the quickest way to change your current circumstance is through education. Everything I have accomplished in my life I can track back to the expectation that I would become educated, and (I think more importantly) that education doesnt only occur in a classroom.

Access to education must be made a priority for all people, but especially the poor. When a single person is making less than $10,590 ANNUALLY its hard to think of much beyond eating and shelter. Education then must first allow people to satisfy their basic needs.

People have said many things about the Black Panthers, but growing up in the SF Bay Area, the best programs they started was the Breakfast Program for school age kids. That program has since died away, but I would hazard to guess that kids who were fed prior to going to school were more successful.

Is poverty a state of mind?

No, but the feelings of despair, failure, lack of connection and belonging all are. By starting with education, its the first step to helping the poor overcome the artifical road blocks to success.

Is the solution that simple?

No, but the ability for each of us to affect true change in the world, in our communities exist. Donate time, money or expertise locally. Dont rely on others or the government to affect the change you would like to see.

Just do something.

Popularity: unranked [?]