As news comes out regarding poverty in America I just wanted to share with you an excerpt from my upcoming book:
NO WAYZ TIRED2: NAKE-ed and NOT A$HAMED
A PROSPEROUS NATION*
Do you know what poverty looks like? Have you ever seen someone who was poor, really poor? In 2009 the average income in Haiti was $1,300 with over two-thirds of the population either unemployed or underemployed. Despite India’s reputation for being a poor nation it is doing
better with an average income of $3,100 (2009)and a 10.7 % unemployment rate. According to data found on infoplease.com in 2003 almost half of Haiti’s population (47 percent) was classified as illiterate compared to India’s 39% (based on 2005 data).
In 2009 the average income in the United States was $39,000; the current (2011) unemployment rate is around nine (9) percent. Many of Americas poor have income tax refunds three times greater than many in India make in a year. If you are one of the fourteen percent of Americans who live in poverty your life is still better than what our neighbors in Haiti endure.
Most Americans receive more money in food stamps than those in India receive as an annual income. It is easier to access and receive free food from various organizations within the borders of the U. S. than it is in Haiti. Michelle Obama is correct in pointing out the problems with obesity in this nation. The problem, however, is not the number of calories in a Big Mac or in the availability of salads in schools; it is the apathy that surrounds multiple generations who choose to wait for government handouts and not assume personal responsibility for their life.
According to Census (2005-2009) records 67 percent of Americans live in homes they own
while 33 percent rent. Within those numbers is a segment of the population who live in low income or subsidized housing. Low income housing, a.k.a. projects, once filled various communities now are slowly being replaced with vouchers that allow a person to rent in the community of choice throughout the country. All of this in order to boost the quality of life for citizens who lack the
ability to obtain housing independently. Have you ever watched a television program that reveals the living quarters of some in third world countries? What a contrast. Many focus on what they do not have or what was lost not what they have. Four percent of American households do not have telephone service which means that ninety-six percent do. Only 9 percent of the households do not have access to a car, truck, or van for private use, though public transportation is available
to all. (Remember: fourteen percent of Americans are considered to live in poverty.) Multi Vehicle households are not rare in the United States; thirty-eight percent have two vehicles and another 20 percent have three or more. There are children in Haiti who do not have shoes. Turn on your
television and eventually you will see some ministry begging for money to build a well so that a group of people will have access to disease free water; while we pay for bottled water because we do not like the disease free tap water so readily available. Visit the poorest of neighborhoods in the United States and you will find homes with: DVD players, microwave ovens, even residents with
cable or satellite service. More than just the middle class and the wealthy own: cell phones, computers and video games; such luxury items in a land of people who complain about what they do not have.
* Excerpt from the book: “No Wayz Tired 2: NAKE–ed and not A$hamed” written by Marsha L. Randolph available via Smashwords. September 2011. All rights reserved.
