Public+Policy+-+Pollution's+Impact+on+Poverty


 * Pollution's Impact on Poverty**

Brittany Haupt Poverty Due to the Economic Recession Poverty is becoming more and more common. It is due from the effect of the current economic recession that the united states are facing right now. Poverty is one of the bigger public policies that are making Americans and US leaders question how big poverty is going to become. Citizens are questioning if the current President, Barack Obama can help the American people out of poverty. Since the recession started in the past few years, many people can see themselves slipping farther and farther into poverty. Poverty can happen to anyone who has been laid off from their current job. Being laid off is the main factor that causes the economy to fail. Since the economy is in a downward slope, fewer jobs are available for people to work because the owners cannot afford to pay all of their workers. Since people are laid off, their possessions also become an ordeal. How will they pay for their car, house, and health care? Many Americans question all of these thoughts. When one industry fails, that leads to other industries also failing. For example, if the auto-industry is failing and shuts down for good, the steel industry and rubber industry will most likely also shut down because they will have nothing to produce. When one industry falls it becomes a domino effect for the rest of the companies and industries involved with helping them. Poverty is an evil thing that happens to more and more people each and every day. People wander how they will survive through this unfortunate current situation that is sweeping throughout the United States. Job security is a big role in how to prevent poverty from happening to not only you, but your family. People are now starting to look into jobs that will always be needed throughout time. Jobs like doctors, nurses, and teachers will always be in high demand. Other than looking for job security, President Barack Obama is looking into new ideas that will hopefully save the United States from falling even deeper into the economic recession. Not only is President Obama looking to help the United States, he is also looking into help the world poverty also. On April 2, 2009 President Obama, as well as other leaders gathered together to attend the G-20 meeting in London to discuss how to help counties and how to help all of their current financial needs (Sundell). If all of the countries come together, then not only would it take care of the current situation in the United States but also will take care of the other countries problems worldwide. The leaders of the major countries that are suffering, including Obama, are pressing the idea of a global “new deal” act in order to help people and alleviate global poverty (Sundell). If the World Bank distributed money out to poor countries that could help resolve the problem of poverty that so many nations are having. I think that if all of the world’s leaders can come together and figure out a plan that will not only benefit their country, but worldwide countries, than the world can step out of poverty. The United States should feel fortunate that we are not the most unfortunate and poorest country that exists in the world. President Obama handed out a stimulus package to all citizens that filed their taxes on February 17, 2009. However, the stimulus did not do what the President and the rest of congress thought that it would do. They intended for people to go shopping with the free money that was handed out to put money back into the economy. When people spend money, that money flows back into the economy and can help lift us out of the recession. Instead of spending the free money, most people just put it in their bank accounts and saved it for a rainy day or just in case money. I do not think that handing out another stimulus package would help the United States come out of the recession. “The Institute for Research on Poverty is vitally interested in how the new spending and tax provisions in the stimulus and budget bills help keep families and children from poverty in these hard times, how the education initiatives prevent layoffs due to falling housing prices and foreclosures and might help raise graduation rates of our colleges, and how the health care dollars help families who lose their health insurance when they lose their jobs” (Smeeding). The IRP does not understand how one stimulus package can just simply fix the problems that the country is experiencing today. I think that the institute is looking for the future resolutions on how to fix this, not just how it will help now.  The institute for Research on Poverty is trying to look for new ways to help families beat the recession and how to help them recover from being in poverty from these unfortunate events from the economy failing. Poverty is a dreadful thing that people have to go through, but it is sweeping not only the United States, but also other countries across the world. The only way to recover is to help ourselves.  We cannot just wait for the government to figure something out, people need to try to help themselves as well as others. If everyone came together including the United States as well as other countries around the world, hopefully we can come to a decision in how to solve the problem of poverty. Many people are blessed that they do not feel the effects that other people living in poverty feel. Although the United States is in a economic recession right now, this country is still very fortunate compared to the other countries around the world that are expected to feed their families on just two dollars a day. Poverty is a horrible thing to face, and no one wants to live in poverty, but that is the way it is for some people and we really should help one another to get everyone out of poverty.   Works Cited [] – Timothy Smeeding []  - Kristin Sundell