make poverty history

dont know if anyone saw this...

http://www.g8reboot.net/mph

i wonder if those stats are true or not...

Pretty sure they are since I just took Sociology and was quiet shock about the poverty we have in our own nation as well as the poverty in other nations. The poverty in our nation is just under our nose in the inner city. I don't know if it has changed much since the book I was reading for the class was published. But fact of the matter was the people living in housing projects and the inner city were not provided with enough education leading them when they got older to belong to a gang or be part of some other money related thing. Don't get me started other nations since third world countries are not industrialized they don't stand a chance. Don't get me wrong I'm not a preacher, but I do find this subject quiet fascinating outside of the world of graphic design. Someday I too would like to be part of an organization to help people in poverty.

Kristy

Don't get me started. Nobody is forced to quit school. Nobody is forced to be homeless. Nobody is forced to do drugs, have alcohol addictions, or commit crimes to support the listed habits. Nobody is depriving people of the education that they want to have. Nobody is forcing anyone to become a member of a gang. Nobody is forcing anyone to be a part of "a money related thing" (whatever you mean by that). Nobody is entitled to anything, and nobody deserves to have anything they want. Some day I would like to be part of an organization that pulls peoples heads out of their asses. While I do believe that Bob Geldof is a noble person supporting a noble cause, I honestly believe that we have enough billion-dollar problems here at home. While I don't think that the inner-city poor cannot be helped by other means than helping themselves, I don't think that simply throwing money at the problems will make them magically disappear. Too many of the people do not WANT to work, do not WANT an education, and do not WANT to get off drugs. These people will live and die in the slums, and no amount of money or compassion is going to save them. It is a harsh reality, but eventually you need to step out of the rose-colored bubble and see it for the world it is.

What planet do you live on man.. Would you be saying the same thing if you were living in 19th and Yesler where the schools are underfunded, the teachers aren't paid as much as they deserve because they are supported by property taxes. Maybe if you crossed the rocky mountains and saw what the other side of the country looks like maybe you could understand what being poor and living in the projects means to these people when there are no jobs for them and they are purposely put on the outskirts of the cities. You could actually read the book "There Are No Children Here" by Alex Kottlowski, but I know you wouldn't. I am not a tree hugging hippy and I did vote for George.
Kristy

First... welcome to the forum Kristy! It's great to see a fresh face around here!

Second... Mattboy is the chairman of our conservative contingent here, don't let him scare you off.

and Third... you got him wrong--he may very well read a well written book of opposing view, if it's not inane drivel. But be prepared for a tough debate about the points of the book after. Oh, wait--I forgot. It's golf season in Iowa right now, so the only time Matt has to read is between the green and the next tee box. He probably won't read it.

;)

I think the point he's trying to make (correct me if I'm wrong, MB) is that if an individual doesn't have any personal drive to make a better life for themself, than no amount of fund raising is going to help them. And the point I think Mattboy missed was that Kristy said she wants to be part of an organization that helps people wrapped in poverty. The question then is which types of organizations can effectively HELP people in that situation?

I believe that poverty starts when people are young and they are part of a family in poverty. The cycle of poverty keeps on going on throughout their life and thier childrens's life. A great organization would help people out of poverty and would provide better education for the children living in areas of poverty. The children want to get out of poverty, but since they are surrounded by things like shootings every day along with gang related activities, they have to keep on reminding themselves to keep on looking at the positive and keep a good attitude. If you are surrounded by such filth everyday, how are you suppose to keep up high and get yourself out. Sorry to get mad at mattboy slim, but I don't believe that you know the facts behind poverty. I don't believe these people have a choice sometimes when there is nothing they can do except try to live and keep their children safe and fed.
Kristy

Do you think about current welfare systems? Do they contribute to poverty? What do you think about reforms to Wisconsin's welfare system?

The current welfare system is very intricate thing. It can help people, but they have to jump through a million hoops to get there. But there are those bad apples who claim they need disability money and they really don't, and that's what it suppose to do, force people who have no excuse but their own laziness to get a job and be accountable. It all comes down to people being deviant. Everybody is deviant, but we may not commit crimes. The different kinds of deviances are the learning theory(criminal behavior is learned by a social enviroment, learning techniques in violiating laws). The strain theory (we all want the same goal, to have wealth and success, obviously we can't all acheive this goal and thats where the theory comes in some of us choose to be deviant and some of us try to gain this by any means possible. The other important theory is the labeling theory, if you are labeled as a white man who owns a gun, but you don't actually own a gun, you may want to own one because you are being labeled as a white man owning a gun. I think we label the people in poverty as being gross and stupid, but who put them in that place, we may by looking at them and labeling them. So who's to say they aren't smart and attractive people just because they live on the streets.
To answer your second question about the reforms to the Wisconsin welfare system I don't know about yet, but I will most certainly look into it today.

Kristy

Now that I have looked at the information I must say that it is really great. I think that these people needed something to live for. It also gives them self confidence and if they have children, the children can look up to them as role models because they as well lack good role models (especially young boys). I had to make sure that they were providing daycare and health insurance to families because who can really work when you have children to look after all day. That was really powerful movement and I think that all states should do it! And if the kids are of a working age they can choose to work instead of being part of a gang and that could set a road to walk down for the rest of their lives. So all in all it's a good reform.

Kristy

every 3 seconds someone dies from poverty, thats the statistic....

im going down to london for the live8 gig, luckily got tickets.

i agree with mattboy on a local level, locally, (for me, ie london, manchester, birmingham etc) many homeless people rely on drugs and alcohol, and also rely on money we give them to fund their habits, to these people i really don't see a way forward apart from through their own hard work.
universally, the make poverty history cause isnt by throwing money at it, they tried that in 1985 just raising cash, this time the demonstration is technically free, its meant as a protest towards the leaders at the g8 summit in gleneagles, encouraging to free poverty stricken nations of their debt to western society, not to pump money into the poor, but to wipe the slate clean and let them start on their own economy, without having to put millions of pounds aside to pay back the west before investing in their own development.