Poverty is at a high of 49.1 million or 16% in the U.S.A

On September 17, 2013 the news announced poverty as being 46.5 Million People

As described in Wikipedia, Poverty is the state of one who lacks a certain amount of material possessions or money.^[1] Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live in absolute poverty today. Relative poverty refers to lacking a usual or socially acceptable level of resources or income as compared with others within a society or country.

About 25,000 people die every day in the world of hunger or hunger-related causes, according to the United Nations.

This is one person every three and a half seconds, Yet there is plenty of food in the world for everyone. The problem is that hungry people are trapped in severe poverty. They lack the money to buy enough food to nourish themselves. Being constantly malnourished, they become weaker and often sick. This makes them increasingly less able to work, which then makes them even poorer and hungrier. This downward spiral often continues until death for them and their families. - Hunger and World Poverty Sources: United Nations World Food Program (WFP), Oxfam, UNICEF.

….In America, let’s start by:

Improving the quality of education for poor children and education opportunities and incentives, and by Improving opportunities and incentives for poor young females to have children only when they can assure their wellbeing, and by Improving work opportunities and incentives for the poor so they can provide well for themselves and their families..

We need responsible policies and responsible behaviors, starting with each individual behaving more consciously. Every child needs to be educated.

The remedy at this moment is to increase minimum wage to $10.00 across the board and pay for this difference with tax incentives to the employer. Meaning, the employer will not pay for this tab.The remedy is also: America needs to put to rest all time consuming litigations that cost millions of dollars to tax-payers. Put them on the back burner, and let’s deal with things that are far more important, such as poverty and lack of education. Too much money has been spent with paper work and documentation for cases that have once been resolved. We are spending too much time litigating about abortion when we can not even keep up with all children we have alive today. It is such a waste of money, and time.

American Government needs to take a break of outside activities and concentrate in its people at home.

We the People are suffering today more than ever. The absurd increase of the crude oil price in 2008, which can’t ever be explained in detail by anyone, went from $75 per barrel to $145 in a period of six months, oscillating up and down, making the biggest future trading in history, where speculators wanted to buy calls on crude oil and gasoline, and trade every other commodity contract to be a part of the oil trading. It was blamed in the number of refineries that America possess, and the age and condition of each refinery, which was not able to keep up with the demand for gasoline, thus making the oil prices go up, for America buys refined combustive from other countries, such as Venezuela, etc.

A reason given by the news about oil prices increase was all the disruption that was taking place in certain OPEP countries at that time. For whatever reason, the tab was handed to us. Very soon after the record oil price of 2008, food also doubled in price at food stores. Everyone blamed the transportation of goods and materials.  People could not keep up with the increase in prices and with their high mortgage prices. A trip to the supermarket became something painful.

When oil prices wend town, as it did it slowly, gave speculators the chance to take another ride into the volatile roller-coast of oil pricing. The damage to the people was already created, and prices for food went down a small fraction of its increase. People were able to retain less money.  (By the way, we are still talking about poverty here).

The biggest factor of all involves the banking industry and financial institutions. House lenders, in 2004-2005-2006 offered mortgages with monthly payments of 1% to 2% of the price of the immobile. People jumped into buying big houses in large communities  priced at $500.000 dollars and signed their contract for a mortgage– Many chose to pay around $1500 per month to be near the 2% range, and signed a contract for 30 years with mortgage ranging from $1,500.00 to $3,500.00 per month.

These types of mortgages sounded very attractive and a boom in house industry echoed around the country. However, Banks were not able to keep up with their lending because they were not receiving enough deposits to justify it, and little by little it showed its face, bringing house prices down to justify the amount of money that have been invested and the amount of money it will collect. Once revealed, house prices started to decline, to a point where everyone is up-side-down on their mortgages. Those who bought big homes can not keep up with maintenance and utilities bill, defaulting on their mortgage and making even worse for the banking industry to recover its loss. The government pitched in and helped Bank of America and other entities with our tax dollars.

Once housing industry is in decline, businesses in all areas will go to where labor is cheaper. So, a boom in taking your company overseas where labor is cheaper contributed to the job loss we see today.

People are not spending as much money as before; therefore many places go out of business for not being able to stay afloat. Hence, it brings poverty.

Today we have a country with all amenities, but we are not able to afford them. People are losing their jobs, their houses, their income, and their families. Everyone takes xanax or paxil to relieve their anxiety of facing a reality that once was different. Pharmaceutical industry blooms making all sorts of drugs to make one sleep, or stay awake. What to do when you are hungry and there is nothing to eat?

Like I said, we need new policies that encourage teens not to get pregnant – We need to let aside the abortion discussion for one entire year and concentrate in those that are here, and educate them, feed them. Why create so many policies when we are not able to keep our children alive to follow theses policies.

I am sorry to say that the reality is far worse than what we perceive now.