Scratch Beginnings_ Me, $25, and the Search for the American Dream - Adam W. Shepard [105]
It’s a pretty simple concept, actually: one day, you’re twenty and full of potential, and the next day you’re eighty, submerged in a world of reminiscence. Are you proud of those last sixty years, or are you looking back with a chip on your shoulder, mad that you could have done a little more?
The bottom line is that we have a lot of work to do. Attitudes need to change, big time, on both fronts: the livelihood of the poor is at stake just as is the livelihood of the higher ups. We’re only as strong as our weakest link, right?
In the end, though, where do we turn for help? Whose responsibility is it to offer assistance to those in need?
Well, everybody’s.
I’ve already made an attempt at pointing out that those at the bottom can work harder to do their part. Pull yourself up by your bootstraps. There’s nothing revolutionary about that aspect of my story. That’s just life. Some people get it done; others don’t. Some people merely have a dream, while others have a vision of turning that dream into reality. Some people put ten percent of their paycheck in the bank, and others buy lottery tickets and beer. I read a story recently about a guy that went to a financial advisor with $42 when he was twenty-eight. “I don’t know what to do with this money,” he said. “But I want you to show me.” He saved all of his extra money every month, and thirty years later, he retired as a millionaire.
But what about everybody else? What about government programs? Surely, current welfare programs just aren’t cutting it, but what is the alternative?
To begin with, we need to acknowledge that our system is flawed and that we can be doing better. There isn’t one fix-all answer out there, but there are steps that we can take to begin to appease the cycle of poverty. A friend of mine from Ohio—Neil Cotiaux—offered me those steps:
More free classes on parenting skills are needed to help create a better environment for at-risk infants and young people.
The government must step up its commitment to clean, safe, affordable housing in new and innovative ways. Too much is spent on defense and not enough on domestic programs. Affordable housing needs additional support from both the legislative and executive branches at the federal and state levels. Home ownership education programs for first-time home buyers appear in good supply, but the stock of accessible housing needs work.
Free financial literacy instruction in the vernacular of the street or in immigrants’ native tongue must be widely offered. Stock market board games sponsored by local companies in high schools sound nice but don’t address the proper issues—needs versus wants, saving versus spending, developing a budget, etc.
Reading is a core foundation. “Reading aloud” and reading instruction at the preschool level is essential. It helps develop a core competency, and it (hopefully) demonstrates that someone cares.
Customized bundles of social services delivered by a local coalition of volunteers, nonprofits, and for-profits should be increasingly built into new housing supply. Bring parenting, financial literacy, housing maintenance, and other skills to at-risk individuals and families where they live. Gather a (somewhat) captive audience in familiar, nonthreatening surroundings.
Reform school funding formulas to make the caliber of instruction more equitable across districts.
Place the snowballing cry for universal access to college education in the proper perspective. Where should finite government resources go—to support vulnerable children getting started in life or to those more ready to enter the halls of ivy? Fund the sons and daughters of the working poor first, and let them find their way. They may find their way through Job Corps (http://jobcorps.dol.gov/), an apprenticeship, the military,