A child in Kabul, Afghanistan, which is among the poorest countries in the world. Photograph: Altaf Qadri/AP
@awetsellThere are so many people in the world that are considered poor. It seems as if there are more people that are poor than those that can live comfortably. Why do you think that is?
Our country was built on an obtuse foundation. Although we were colonists that all had to fight for freedom from Britain, there still existed people, who didn’t have the skills to make a good amount of money so, they became poor as a result of not having a facet in which to produce a good sum of money. There were also other races that experienced heavy discrimination. Indigenous people were forced to start conforming to colonists’ standards and didn’t have the knowledge to properly navigate the new starkly different world of the colonists. Slavery was on a whole other level, for years, African Americans were forced to endure slave work and depend on their masters entirely to live. Once slavery was outlawed, and African Americans were “free” Once slavery was outlawed, and African Americans were “free” Jim Crow laws and prejudice ensured that they could never earn as much as a white man. Women didn’t truly get proper rights until about the 19th amendment, and even then society was built around the man had power, and for a while, women had a fewer job opportunities and didn’t make the same salary as a man. All of these are multi-generational, and some levels of these still persist today. Think of me, a white male, I grew up in a middle-class family, and I’m probably going to become middle class as an adult since I’m getting a college education. Now, what about an African American girl, the same age as me. I’m not saying this is always the case, but here family, due to prejudice and discrimination. Never had the ability to get a college education and both parents are stuck working multiple jobs to make ends meet. It’s going to be a lot more difficult for her to get a job than for me to get a job because although college is not a necessity, it is a good starting point, now she must worry about her family all while being discriminated against as a minority and as a woman. The point is, that a good starting point is crucial, and some people aren’t as lucky to get a good start. So, until we can guarantee a good start for all, poverty will persist.