POVERTY IN THE UNITED
STATES.,
THE RICHEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD
Mary Rose McGeady, D.C.*
Covenant House International
New York, New York
Sister
Mary Rose presented these remarks on a panel addressing the topic
of the "Context of Poverty" at the Vincentian Chair of Social
Justice Moral Dimensions of Poverty Conference. She offered seven
paramount causes for the perpetuation of poverty in the United States
of America. She developed this list as a result of her experience
at Covenant House where she encounters poor children each day. Sister
Mary Rose proposes that there is a significant history to the "fundamental
realities" of poverty in the richest country in the world.
It
is much easier to talk about the reality of poverty in the United
States than it is to answer why this reality exists. One can discuss
poverty from many different angles; from the purely economic viewpoint,
from that of political or public policy, from its social impacts,
from the responsibilities of the body politic or the poor themselves,
or from the gospel or moral viewpoint as we are today.
To
make any serious attempt to ask the "why" question, one
must add to all these viewpoints the historical perspective because
the history of poverty in our nation tells us so much about why poverty
still exists in this, the wealthiest nation on earth.
I
will attempt to comment on the reality of poverty in the U.S. today
and trace what I see as some of the reasons it persists. I will also
comment on how I see poverty touching the lives of thousands of young
Americans we serve through our Covenant Houses. For those of you who
don't know much about Covenant House, let me say that we serve predominantly
poor teenagers, most of whom are runaways or rejected kids with little
of stability in their lives. They come from living situations characterized
not only by material poverty, but also by a lack of permanency. Most
of our kids have been passed around all their lives, in and out of
foster care, in and out of relatives' homes, and always lacking a
sense of belonging and the love and care that every kid needs. Most
have never lived with two parents, many know only one parent, or no
parent and have essentially endured all the sufferings of seriously
disadvantaged kids. Much of what I will present comes from direct
experience with these teenagers. We served nearly 60,000 of them this
year in 20 Covenant Houses in six countries. Although four of those
six countries are in Latin America, I will limit my remarks to the
American scene. Poverty in Latin America is on an entirely different
scale and even more extreme than we know in the U.S. No fact concerning
poverty is truer than that it is a relative thing. The poverty in
Guatemala is very different from the poverty in the United States,
although many of its effects are the same.
In
our American society today, when we speak about poverty we keep changing
the basic definition. These changes reflect how we see poverty occurring
relative to the rest of the economy or in relationship to those at
higher economic levels. We speak of those who live below the poverty
line, and we define that line as the amount of money a family of four
needs to live a marginal life. It is supposed to represent the point
above which 80 percent of the population live, or the bottom 20 percent.
This means barely enough money to buy simple food, pay rent, and buy
other necessities. Today, the poverty line for a family of four is
placed at $16,700 a year, in contrast with the definition of the same
poverty line in the year 1988 when a family of four was below the
poverty line if their income was less than $12,090 a year. These figures
represent what the lowest 20 percent of the population received as
income from any source and were therefore the level at which welfare
eligibility began in some states. This was also the level at which
entitlement began for food stamps, Head Start, and the National School
Lunch Program. The change over 10 years of approximately $4,700 was
a 38 percent increase. Many states, especially southern states such
as Mississippi and Alabama never attempted to bring the welfare allotment
up to the poverty line, and the poor in these states still live considerably
below that of the rest of the nation.
It
is difficult to give an exact figure of the number of poor people
in our country, but figures now coming forth of the number of people
who were on welfare combined with the numbers remaining give us ball
park estimates of such numbers. The United States Catholic Conference
has used a conservative number of 35 million poor in the U.S. whether
working or not. Statistics give us indications of some of the reasons.
Figures show higher numbers of poor among minority populations in
our large cities. White populations in places like Appalachia are
equally high and speak to us of regional considerations, realities
that often result from availability of material resources and general
employment. Cities and towns that have experienced "bust"
periods following "boom" periods, such as Indianapolis claim
that today they have their highest ever number of poor people or those
on welfare due to very high unemployment resulting from drastic market
changes. In the case of Indianapolis, fluctuations in the iron market
with much importation from Japan, caused the change.
To
be poor in our materialistic culture is to be faced with living in
old, often dilapidated housing, in neighborhoods where many other
poor cluster together, and to be without access to amenities treasured
by most Americans, such as good and local health care, reasonably
priced food, good jobs, good transportation. To be poor in our materialistic
culture also means you will live without good public services such
as regular garbage collection, good schools, good police protection
and security. Most of all, poor people crave the respect and dignity
which is due to every living person. Those of us who deal with the
poor everyday know that just what aspect of being poor hurts the most
differs from person to person and from day to day. The real pressures
of life constantly impinge upon the poor who must beg for help to
meet each new crisis since they never enjoy the luxury of reserve
funds for the rainy days, and it rains all the time on the poor. Many
poor people are born into poverty and remain in that state all their
lives. The latest figures are telling us that one percent of the population
in this country control 47 percent of the wealth, a startling and
disgraceful disproportionate distribution of the world's goods.
So
this brings us to ask ourselves why that is so. In response to the
why questions, I target seven reasons which I believe are paramount
causes for the perpetuation of poverty in this country. For me, these
are fundamental realities, many with a significant history. My judgements
on this list come from our Covenant House experiences where we meet
these reasons every day among the lives of our kids. My list can be
challenged or improved upon in our discussions.
SEVEN CAUSES OF THE PERPETUATION OF POVERTY IN THIS COUNTRY
1. Immigration
First,
we are a nation created by immigration and generally immigrants enter
the social and economic systems, especially the work force, at the
bottom. Rarely do members of a first generation of immigrants move
far enough up on the economic ladder to no longer be categorized as
poor. Current statistics report that 24 percent of children living
below the poverty line are in families of recent immigrants. The problems
around legalization complicate the issue, and further reduce opportunities
for recent immigrants. We see teenagers who were brought to this country
as babies by their parents. They don't even know they are illegal
until they try to get a social security number, and it is extremely
difficult in the present climate with Immigration and Naturalization
Service (INS) to get legalized.
2. Education
Secondly,
education, or lack thereof, is frequently the major factor in keeping
poor people poor. This directly impacts job opportunities and general
advancement in society. In modern society, skills, especially in technical
tasks, are essential for employment adequate to support a family.
School systems poorly tuned to the needs and attitudes of the poor
have failed to motivate poor people to make the necessary investment
in the time and effort needed to really get ahead. Middle class minorities
will usually attribute their success to their educational opportunities.
They have something to sell in the marketplace. There is also a relationship
between immigrants and education with some groups valuing education
highly and seeking it as the greatest advantage they can offer their
children for the future. At Covenant House we place high priority
on completing high school and on job training.
3. Public Policy
The
history of public policy in the U.S. has kept many poor people poor.
From the days of the passage of the Social Security Act in 1935, which
first created the possibility of public assistance, welfare has been
a mixed benefit, with fathers essentially expected to be absent from
the family. The modern version of the welfare to work programs often
continue to keep the poor people poor because of the inadequacy of
the minimum wage and employment in jobs lacking in dignity. We used
to speak of the war on poverty, but now we seem to be waging welfare
warfare and more frequently criminalizing the poor. We witness the
constant fight in the realm of taxes where those who have or seek
private goods and services continually challenge the provision of
public goods and services for the poor. Cuts in public programs have
characterized public policy during the last few years.
4. Greed
There
is an undeniable situation of greed among the "haves" especially
the wealthy upper class which accepts as a given the presence and
suffering of the poor, and believes they have a "right"
to a larger share of the world's goods, sometimes to great excess.
Some, of course, share their wealth, but rarely to any degree of equity
or real empathy for the poor. There are more billionaires in our country
than ever and their number continues to increase. What used to be
a list of Fortune 500 millionaires is rapidly becoming a growing
list of billionaires. What is today the American dream? Is it a job
and a home of your own? No, it is of two or three houses and expensive
cars, vacations, and money to invest in the stock market!
5. Prejudice and Racism
Prejudice
and racism are strong factors relative to minority poverty, and there
is now considerable evidence and research demonstrating that race
and ethnicity continue to place minorities at a disadvantage in most
employment competition. Recent negative action regarding affirmative
action programs demonstrates the abiding presence of racism and prejudice
in this nation. In our own state 25 percent of black men less than
24 years of age are in prison which is evidence of the desperate situation
of most young black men in our country. The negative mark of slavery
has left a scar on the black male and sometimes residual negative
attitudes block his opportunities to make progress.
6. Out of Wedlock Pregnancy
Out
of wedlock pregnancy especially among teenagers, continues to be a
precipitant factor for dependency and poverty among women and children.
The fact of a million pregnancies in this age group every year with
at least 500,000 live births to teen mothers has long been a strong
predictor of poverty for both mother and baby. These pregnancies are
a signal of deprivation and many young mothers seek the dignity and
love that they believe comes with motherhood.
7. Skewed Moral Conscience
I
list last, but indeed very importantly, the skewed moral conscience
in this country that has attained an immoral level of comfort with
the reality of the poor both in our nation and throughout the world.
Too many take it for granted that the poor exist and many blame the
poor for their suffering; many still have the attitude that the poor
can pull themselves up by their own bootstraps.
All
of us are descendents of immigrants, and those of us who can trace
our roots usually can trace the likelihood of poverty among our ancestors.
My father's grandfather came from Ireland during the potato famine
around 1846. He came to Pennsylvania and most likely worked as a coal
miner, a low paying job, but one that was immediately available and
usually lasted as long as one desired and paid enough to support a
family in a modest way. We have no record of his educational level,
but it is highly probable that he could barely read and write. Two
generations later, my father graduated high school and technical school
but not college and became an air conditioning engineer who worked
for the federal government and enabled our family to gradually enter
the working middle class. My generation was the first to go to college.
For many Irish immigrant families, the most valued occupation was
the priesthood, and in many families the first educated member became
a priest. In many families, the other children, especially the girls,
sacrificed and worked at menial jobs to support the education of the
priest. An element that makes a critical difference among immigrant
groups is the value placed on education. This is very evident today
among many Asian- American immigrant groups who value education highly
and compete strongly with other American students for achievement
while their parents often work at menial jobs. Still, we see most
new immigrants struggling for available employment and willing to
work hard to survive. They remain the working poor usually for at
least one generation, providing there is a wage earner in the family.
When there is no wage earner, women and children tend to suffer the
most and are most likely to become dependent. We see this reality
everyday in the kids who come to Covenant House, most of them from
single parent families, many from former welfare families, and many
from families where the earner had a very low paying job.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ACTION
When
one turns to solutions, we can only tate that action is needed in
many critical areas and each of us has a role to play in working toward
a more just society and being genuine advocates for the poor in our
midst. We need strong public policy and the role of government is
critical. We need good day care for working mothers, health care for
the millions of poor who have none. We need our churches and schools
to take a strong role in promoting abstinence among teenagers. All
schools need to broaden their preparation for the world of work and
provide more specific skills training. We need a more level playing
field for minorities, not the shrinking number of minorities in medical
schools as we saw last year in California due to the killing of affirmative
action. We need a more welcoming and more moral attitude toward immigrants,
instead of the kind of backlash we saw here in Queens recently. When
it comes to the problem of greed, we need to promote among all people
a sense of when we have enough and more than enough, stress the responsibility
to share, and in this regard prick our own consciences and ask if
we have. Finally, we all need to pray that all people will be filled
with an understanding heart, the kind of heart that Solomon prayed
for when God offered to give him anything he asked for. Let each of
us leave here today begging God to give us that understanding heart
and the love of the poor that characterized St. Vincent de Paul,
the founder of the Vincentians who sponsor this University and today's
opportunity for reflection. I congratulate St. John's University for
its continued fidelity to the mission of outreach and education for
the poor.
*Mary
Rose McGeady, D.C., a Daughter of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul,
has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Covenant House
since 1990. Covenant House International is an agency dedicated to
the care and rehabilitation of street kids in U.S. cities and five
other countries—Canada, Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras and Nicaragua.
Sister Mary Rose is a Trustee of St. John's University. She is
also on the Board of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy,
based in Washington D.C. and its Task Force on Religion and Public
Values. She earned a B.A. in Sociology from Emmanuel College and a
M.A. in Clinical Psychology at Fordham University. She holds numerous
honors and awards.
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