Poverty * Blog 12

According to http://www.globalissues.org/issue/2/causes-of-poverty, “almost half the world — over 3 billion people — live on less than $2.50 a day.”

That is an unbelievable statistic, and yet, it seems to be a truthful one that is not known around our classroom, much less the world. From one look around the classroom at the phones being texted on, the designer clothes being worn, and the headphones in everybody’s ears playing music, I would venture to guess that not too many people are living at the poverty level right now.

And yet, if any one of us was to drive to Immokalee, where the tomato workers live, the content in peoples’ home would not amount to the dollars spent on any of the items in one room.

During the tomato strikes that were popularized last semester on campus through several of my classes, TV news and the Eagle News, I, and many students, learned that they were not being provided with fair amounts of wages. The concept did not sit well with not only the workers, but students and citizens in the area.

The short walk from Ft. Myers City Hall to Publix signaled the need for change in the amount paid to each worker for each bucket of tomatoes each worker picks. Teachers and students from FGCU walked side by side with hundreds of workers supporting them in their efforts.

The point of bringing this up is to show that with poverty comes the realization that something must be done in order to better circumstances. This example goes to show that it is important that people pull together to break out of a situation. It is necessary to help these people to an extent, but if someone truly wants to get out of poverty, then they need to help themselves.

The neighborhoods these people live in are not by any means wealthy—obviously. The homes are dilapidated with broken down cars on the lawns. There are children playing outside because they don’t have televisions to keep them occupied inside. That could definitely been seen as a good thing though.

Poverty, to me, is something that is a part of every economy. There never has been and never will be a class that isn’t poor. It’s not pessimistic to say this, but real. If there wasn’t a poor or lower class, then the economy would get screwed up. With only a middle and high class, then market prices for everyday things would rise, such as a gallon of milk or gas. There will never be enough money in the world to make sure everyone has the necessities. If that were

true, then we would be living in a utopia.