Movie Report : Living On One Dollar

Poverty has now become “As American As Apple Pie”, a situation we choose to ignore, and along with it the millions of families who suffer from it. Many have this tendency to believe that they are safe from falling into poverty; unaware of the multiple situations that can cause one to fall into poverty. It makes one wonder what’s keeping them from tipping over, eventually leading to the question, what makes poverty so common, and why is it still around?

Linda Tirado, author of Hand to Mouth Living in Bootstrap America, tells her story of what it’s like to be working poor in America, as well as what poverty is truly like on many levels. With a thought-provoking voice, Tirado discusses her journey from lower class, to sometimes middle class, to poor, and everything in between. Throughout the read, Tirado goes on to reveal why poor people make the decisions they do in a very powerful way.

People are still living on $2 a day here in the United States. As one of the wealthiest countries in the world, how is it possible for people to live with this little amount of money? I know that I cannot. In $2.00 a Day, Jennifer Hernandez, a single mother with two kids, is a person who lives on $2 a day as she tries to survive and support herself and her kids in the collapsing economy. The minimum wage job for cleaning houses reinforces the cycle of poverty that Jennifer and her kids live in. This cycle of poverty reveals that there needs to be major changes to the economical infrastructure of the United States since the poor cannot get themselves out of poverty even though they actively look for work or have a job.

A journalist who has Ph.D in biology wanted to know how people could live with just seven dollars per hour. In Nickel and Dimed, the author, Barbara Ehrenreich, introduces how people live with low-wage jobs. She told that employers sometime see their employees as potential criminal, their employees' work environments do not suit for their works, and the employees's wages does not satisfy what they need to survive.

The book $2.00 a day was written to acknowledge the struggle of those who live deep under the poverty line, if you can even consider that to be a living. It's two authors, Kathryn J. Edin & H. Luke Shaefer, show current (2015) real world examples from struggling single parents, homeless families, and those who have fell into a series of unfortunate events demonstrating how those who live in the $2.00 a day poor are not lazy, but instead the opposite. Throughout the trials of trying to find a job, keeping food on the table, and raising children, these people have been working much harder to stay alive in poverty than those who are fortunate enough to be living in the middle or upper class. As the book progresses through the different stories

Poverty is an issue that has affected society since civilization was first created. Even with a globalized economy and economic opportunity prevalent nearly everywhere, there is still a vast majority of people who live in financial strain. According to recent information obtained by the World Bank, “10.7% of the world’s population live on less than US $1.90 a day”(World Bank 2013). In the United States considered the wealthiest nation on Earth, the poverty rate is 12.7% which is 40.6 million people(US Census Bureau 2016). Though some people are in poverty because of their own choices, poverty is a result of structural institutional practices in place.

When considering poverty, most would focus on monetary values and claim that a way to fix poverty is to generate more money. Sarah Burd-Sharps and Kristen Lewis, co-directors of Measure of America, strive to get people talking about other factors of poverty rather than just income. If Burd-Sharps and Lewis are right that opportunity inequality is a big problem, as I think they are, then we need to reassess the popular assumption that money is the cause of poverty. . Inequalities in health, environment, education, and wealth are creating disadvantages for younger generations that can limit success.

People state that humans in the United States do not make enough in order to survive. However, in the documentary presented by Chris, Zach, Ryan, and Sean we see people that only live with one dollar a day. Their pursuit to learn about those who live with one dollar a day led them to a travel to Guatemala.

As you can see, there are more than the basics of poverty. These poor people struggle on a daily basis to provide the needs of themselves and their family. Poverty affects adults and their children in so many ways. I believe that poverty should be one of the main focuses of America. I have deep sorrow for these people doing whatever they can to make money. I think that poverty needs to be decreased in the United States. I don’t know how the people in poverty do it. They have a weight that they are carrying on their shoulders that they shouldn’t. It’s time for a change.

There are different people in different locations with different living situations in the world. Everyone is different. Some people are rich and some are poor, but that’s how society works. The rich are getting richer and the poor seem to be getting poorer. In the book Nickel and Dimed; On (Not) Getting By in America published in 2001 by Barbara Ehrenreich, an author with a Ph.D. in biology, the topic of poverty is explored. Ehrenreich wrote this book based on her curiosity of how uneducated people with low wage jobs survive life in poverty.

The streets roared with loud car horns as my parents and I walked down the polluted sidewalks. It did not matter how far I walked or what part of the city I was in, I’d always see homeless men, women, and children were all around. Those who were not already passed out from starvation held their hands out to us, to me, in desperation. The looks in their eyes told stories of pain and loss. Yet they lived on, clinging to life, waiting patiently for the next rupee. “Don’t stare at them,” my mother commanded. “But why? We have change, let's give them some!” I demanded. “If we give to one person, all the others will come, and we don’t have enough for everyone,” she responded. Her brutally honest words lingered as I helplessly walked past the crowds. This experience not only taught me how fortunate I was, but it also made me want to fight harder. To fight for all the people who could not fight and to one day give them a voice-a chance in our unfair hierarchical society so that they too could be self-sufficient and pursue their own endeavors. I was determined to make a sustainable

No one denies living on less than $2/day as a single person is a struggle. Add to that the responsibility of children and potentially, extended family. This is the story of all too many people in the bottom 10% (and more) in the United States. Because such individuals receive the short-end of the stick, they feel compelled to trade in their SNAP benefits for cash, which are not that beneficial, regardless, because of the 2:1 payoff. In this novel, all of the individuals are portrayed as those who experience an unfair struggle which continues to perpetuate their emotional and financial misery. Don’t get me wrong, I sympathize with their plight, but I do know of, and have seen, in previous employment, many individuals who have capitalized on

Lack of money, health insurance, and other poverty related issues have also led to lower academic performance among children in poverty. In David Berliner’s Letter to The President, he explains how “medical problems are harming student learning in our schools” (252). Since poor children may not have health insurance, or their families may not have the funds to see a doctor, poorer children miss more school due to illness. Also, more children in poverty come from single parent homes, which leaves numerous children on their own after school. In fact, “three fourths of all single mothers are in the labor force” which means there happens to be usually nobody at home to assist poor children with their homework, or help them study for tests

The pinpoint cause of poverty is challenging to find. People who live well off and are above the poverty line may be quick to assume that laziness, addiction, and the typical stereotypes are the causes of poverty. Barbara Ehrenreich, a well known writer on social issues, brings attention to the stereotypical ideology at her time, that “poverty was caused, not by low wages or a lack of jobs, but by bad attitudes and faulty lifestyles” (17). Ehrenreich is emphasizing the fact that statements like the one listed, often influence readers to paint inaccurate mental pictures of poverty that continue to shine light on the ideology of stereotypes being the pinpoint cause to poverty. However, there are many other causes that are often overshadowed, leaving some individuals to believe that poverty was wrongfully placed upon them. Examples would include: high rates of unemployment, low paying jobs, race, and health complications. Which are all out of one’s ability to control. There is no control over a lack of jobs and high rates of unemployment, nor the amount of inadequate wages the working poor receive. Greg Kaufmann, an advisor for the Economic Hardship Reporting Project and The Half in Ten campaign, complicates matters further when he writes, “Jobs in the U.S. [were] paying less than $34,000 a year: 50 percent. Jobs in the U.S. [were] paying below the poverty line for a family of four, less than $23,000 annually: 25 percent” (33). Acknowledging Kaufmann’s fact, the amount received for a family of four is fairly close to the yearly salary of a high school graduate, which means, receiving that kind of pay for one man may seem challenging, now imagine caring for the needs of four individuals. To make matters worse, certain families receive that amount of money and carry the burden of paying for

The United States is the wealthiest nation in the world, but yet poverty remains prevalent. Childhood poverty affects every aspect of their life. “Poverty is not having income for basic needs, food, medical care or basic needs and housing” (Crosson-Tower, 2014, p. 59). Poverty is affecting thousands of Americans every day, and it isn 't sparing anyone of a particular race, age or gender, leaving people on welfare, and without homes, or transportation. Poverty is a crisis that deserves attention from everyone, and it has many faces that are often not recognized