In an ideal world...

Well if you've been following my blog, you can probably tell that I'm an idealist. I admit it. To me, it means that I believe another world is possible. So naturally, I had to write a blog on what I'd love to see in this world. There's no way that God put too many people on the planet and not enough resources. People are living in poverty because of the huge unequal distribution of wealth in the world. I'm in no way suggesting that the we take from the rich and give to the poor, I just wish people would look out for each other. Wouldn't it be great if, as a society, instead of putting emphasis on getting what you wanted out of life, we made it our job, our responsibility to meet the needs of the people around us? Some may argue that it's not in human nature, but I would argue otherwise. I've met some genuinely good people in my life. It's definitely possible. There will always be people in need and I know I can't change the world, but believe me, I will keep trying.

On a less serious, emotional note, thanks for following my blog all semester, oh mystery reader. Who knows if I'll ever write in this thing again, but it was fun while it lasted. Enjoy your life... we only get one of them!

You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope some day you will join us and the world will be as one. 

Detroit Poverty Summit 2008

Homelessness and poverty have been issues that have interested me for some time now. So when I heard about the Detroit Poverty Summit last year, I skipped school for the day to check it out. In theory, it was amazing to think about hundreds of Michigan residents getting together with our governor and other high-powered officials to discuss the problem of poverty. I couldn't tell you how excited I was to attend. Jennifer Granholm and some high profile people made speeches and then we all broke into smaller classrooms. I chose "Race and Poverty". At the end, each region made a list of priorities for the next year.

                                           picture of Governor Jennifer Granholm at the event

Is it enough though, to hold one educational event one year? How many other states are taking the same initiative to end poverty? Why aren't these events held every year so we can check progress? Why aren't more low-income and homeless individuals included in the process? I'm not sure how much has been accomplished in each region one year later but I appreciate the effort of the few to benefit the many

website: http://www.michigan.gov/poverty/0,1607,7-253--204835--,00.html

We know how we're all affected by this recession...

but how are the homeless affected?

Well, homelessness was an issue before the economic recession, so it certainly hasn't improved. Many agencies and non-profit organizations have found it difficult to make budget cuts with a such a limited budget to start with. In addition, the number of homeless people in the United States has risen dramatically since 2007 (by almost 20%!) with foreclosures and unemployment.

According to economic sources, the recession is officially over. It'll take quite a while for the economy to bounce back but we will bounce back. But what about the homeless? In 2008, it was reported that the poor were still recovering from the recession in 2001. And that one wasn't nearly as bad. The poor will be feeling the effect of this recession long after the economy is back where it was.

Homeless hit hard by H1N1

http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/sns-health-swine-flu-homeless,0,2606961.story

Since I know no one is going to click on this link, I'll give you a quick synopsis of the article, written December 8, 2009.

According to the article:
-the homeless are way less likely to get an H1N1 vaccine
-the homeless are way more likely to suffer from serious complications if they get H1N1 (three to six times more likely than the average person
-many free clinics have ordered their H1N1 vaccines but have yet to receive their supply

So what's being done?
-the National Health Care for Homeless Council prepared a manual for all shelters and soup kitchens and such for the prevention of the spread of influenza and H1N1

And there you have it folks.

Look out your window

It wouldn't be fun to sleep outside on a night like tonight.

Think about it...

Something new I found out about today...

Warning: not specifically related to US politics

Every year for Christmas, my mom and dad ask my brother and I to donate at least $25 to the charity of our choice. I didn't want to put it off to the last minute (one year, I didn't make my donation til March) so I was researching what charity I might donate to. I came across one very interesting, very different charity called Kiva. 

Kiva is an non-profit organization that links donors to entrepreneurs in developing countries to help them out of poverty. It's more of a "lending process" than a donation. When the business takes off, the entrepreneur repays the loan and the lender is free to take that repayment or re-loan it to another entrepreneur. 


http://www.kiva.org/


So, I know what charity I'm donating to this year. Merry Christmas!

minimum wage

The new federal minimum wage is in effect for 2009. Minimum wage workers can now expect $7.25 an hour, as opposed to $6.55 an hour prior to 2009. While it's great that Congress finally passed a law to raise the minimum wage, empirical data has shown that anyone living on a minimum wage salary makes less than $15,000 a year, below the poverty line ($23,500). Based on this data, and recent inflation rates, it's easy to see that a minimum wage salary, common among the unskilled/uneducated poor population of this country, is not enough to be pulled out of poverty.

The other side of the argument is that raising the minimum wage would actually be a detriment to the country. As employers are forced to pay employees more money, many legislators and interest groups believe that employers will want to hire more skilled workers, leaving out anyone from inexperienced high-schoolers to the unemployed poor. In addition, they say raising the minimum wage would cause high-schoolers to drop out (supposedly, a minimum wage salary is enticing enough for some to quit school and not go to college), reduce other job benefits (though healthcare reform might debunk that claim), reduce competition, and cause suffering in Third World countries that are home to multinational corporations.

While I'm no economist nor political scientist, I did my research! While raising the minimum wage to mirror the cost of living wouldn't bring everyone out of poverty, it would definitely reduce the number of people living below the poverty line. Many studies have shown that unemployment rates would stay the same with an increase in the minimum wage. If unemployment did increase, the change wouldn't be a major economical one. Based on my research on welfare reform (I did my essay on it!), a raise in the minimum wage would decrease the number of people in government assistance programs. The average minimum wage worker is an adult, contrary to popular belief that minimum wage workers are teenagers living with parents. The bottom line  is, the current minimum wage, though better than it was last year or two years ago, is not fair. When kids and families are affected, the issue becomes a moral one.


Still interested? Watch "30 Days: Minimum wage". It's a enjoyable way to approach the issue. The link is posted below.

http://www.fancast.com/tv/30-Days/62565/562085655/Minimum-Wage/videos