Session 14 Update Immigration and its effect on Poverty

Immigration seems to play a much larger role in our economy than I previously was aware of.  The irony of the fact that this country was founded on immigration and improved by their labor is that now, many of us refer to immigration as a cause of poverty instead of a side effect of it.  In the film depiction of Siler City, NC, both white and black culture have had to adjust to no longer being the simple majority and instead having to carve out a smaller piece of the social pie.  The view from the white perspective seems to be one of fear of the loss of values and American traditions.  Overcrowding in schools, loss of control of the economic markets, and perhaps even fear of having to acknowledge another prevalent language.  The white relationship with blacks was one of financial control and a subservient society willing to accept the Christian based rules of engagement when justifying the unequal treatment.  The white relationship to the Hispanic or Latino is vastly different as the Latino seems to be rapidly dominating the other cultures and generally defiant as he refuses to adapt the white culture, customs, and languages.  The booming Hispanic population in Siler City is representative of the changing social environments of many other larger cities and I believe the film used Siler City as a sample of the larger population.  The Hispanic workforce has a significant positive impact on the local and regional economies while a relative negative impact on education, crime and community.  The collective black view of the Hispanic culture seems to be one of competition.  Where at one time, most of the service jobs or undesirable positions were reserved and expected to be filled by black people in that city.  Despite the negative considerations to the non-glamorous job descriptions, those jobs still provided some economic and social stability within the black community.  With the widespread illegal immigration issue that has become prevalent in the city, employers can offer less money to illegal immigrants and therefore not have to hire legal ones for the same non glamorous positions.  Without an opportunity for regress, the displaced black worker may eyeball the Hispanic as the villain in the unemployment and instability of their neighborhoods.  I see a different vantage point.  The villain in this is clearly not the Hispanic people, whether illegal or legal workers.  When they are illegally employed, the employer can underpay them, refuse to pay overtime and take advantage of their cheap labor.  The industries that employ the illegal workers are the villains.  Another caveat is that the governments who allow the employment of the illegal workers fail to enforce laws already established to prevent such conditions, they too become villains.  So it seems that all three groups in the sample are struggling to deal with the new face of their social structure.  However, identifying the true culprits of the negative aspects and forcing them to be accountable is a great step towards addressing the issues.  Once again, greedy, profit driven capitalistic corporations are the evils that are causing the ripple effects in Siler City and across the nation.  Simply put, the illegal aliens’ justification for trying to get here is work.  It appears all too easy to control the invitation and then lessen the blow to the social considerations.  Lastly, immigration is not wrong in and of itself.  The very idea of immigration is what has helped this country to flourish and be one of the strongest countries in the world.  Evil corporations use media driven distractions to keep the public focused on the wrong issues while they pad their coiffures and enjoy their spoils.  Isn’t it time for a revolution?

Session 13 Housing and Community Development

Housing seems to be a critical component of poverty in the United States and particularly here in the local metropolitan Atlanta area.  This session showcases many of the problems in public housing and offers a few solutions.  Mon Valley Institute is a collaboration of CDCs working together to revitalize a local Philadelphia neighborhood.  Philanthropic groups like The Visionaries dedicate time, pool resources and build relationships to help under-privileged and the ex convicted criminal.   Adequate Housing seems to be a core goal for the communities they serve.  Like the MVI, the LISC organization works in the Palm Beach County region of Florida attempting to pool political, banking and human resources to revitalize distressed neighborhood plagued with blight and foreclosures.  Their goal is to rehab communities using local sources to build from within.
Here in Atlanta, housing continues to be an issue despite the Atlanta Housing Authority’s mission to decentralize poverty and tear down project housing communities.  One problem I cited earlier in the course is the huge problem with relocating a family from project homes into single family homes in great neighborhoods when no or little education is given.  Lawn maintenance, property cleanliness, contributing to the peaceful enjoyment of the community is a huge issue.  While the problem that is sought to be addressed can appear to be noble, homeowners, like myself, do not want to live next door to someone who has no sense of community, thinks that the home is best suited for a loud party and that there is nothing wrong with parking the non-running car on the lawn.  As a former employee of a large housing authority, common complaints were of excessive fighting and boisterous activities from section 8 voucher program participants as well as unauthorized inhabitants, private businesses being run out of homes, excessive police presence, and even discharging of weapons.  Renee Glover’s vision could be an eventual model for local housing authorities everywhere to demolish their projects and relocate the indigent families, but in its current status seems to be a monumental failure.  Program participants are notorious for destroying their landlord’s homes, stealing appliances and being general nuisances to the communities they have moved into.  Atlanta Housing Authority should create resources to help families transition into their homes and provide training on how to be a good neighbor.  Their Compliance team should be enlarged and allowed more discretion when it comes to holding the families to a standard of family obligations.
While poverty is certainly affected by lack of proper housing and even concentration of it, the rush to correct it seems to exacerbate the community issues and stigmas placed on poor people.  Voucher holders are allowed to move every year which not only adds to the vagrancy of a neighborhood, but costs the landlord considerable money to rehab the properties and get them ready for the next renter.  Also allowing such movement does not create an incentive for being a good neighbor.   There is very little expectation for the program participant to improve the communities they move to.  The current economy causes landlords to be desperate and rent to anyone with a voucher.  This condition can lead to the demise of an otherwise quiet and peaceful neighbor.  Both LISC and MVI should employ the training of life skills to make sure that the people that they help to find housing are willing to be homeowners willing to work hard to preserve the homes and communities they live in.

Session 12 UPDATE Social Security as it relates to poverty

Social Insurance’s intentions were to prepare the American worker for a retirement free of indigence or relying on family members.  Workers meet a minimal requirement of ten years of work history to be eligible for benefits.  Social Security is paid for by contributions from both the employee and the employer.  The benefit is paid commensurate to inflation, and allows both seniors and disabled Americans to survive without a working income for the rest of their lives.

The Social Security Trust Fund is a fund currently designed to bring in more revenue dollars than it needs paying benefits out to participants while maintaining a cash reserve of the funds.  Old age and survivor benefits  make up a significant portion of the Social Insurance trust fund while disability, hospital care and part D make up the remainder.

Our Government has repeatedly borrowed against the surplus funds over the years to payoff outstanding debts and stimulate the economy.  However, this practice has left few means of actually sustaining the fund and ensuring its security in the future.  Analysts have predicted that the fund may be depleted as soon as 2017 and that within 75 years actually experience an almost five trillion dollar deficit.

Since this forseen eventuality seems eminent, bean counters are dramatically cutting back benefits to participants in the program.  These people are being forced into and below the poverty line simply because they may not have had any other plans for retirement and they must live on reduced benefits.  Our government needs to make good on the loans they have taken from the Social Security funds and create viable plans to generate more revenue to ward off the pending doom of the immediate future.