Poverty By Mos Def

In the United States, black Americans are disproportionately affected by the perils of poverty, such as frequent acts of violence, drugs, failing school districts, and numerous other crimes against person and property. Consequently, in order to address poverty, and the dangers associated, one has to understand the root of poverty. Mos Def examines the way American business intentionally denigrates the working class to demonstrate the exploitation and social control that continuously decimates the working poor’s hope. America’s working-class poor, especially those of color often feel neglected, inadequate, and deprived of hope. Mos Def demonstrates the distress of those living in poverty when he expresses, “ Working class poor: better keep

Mos Def enlightens his audience when he says, “Killing fields need blood to graze the cash cow/ It’s a numbers game, but shit don’t add up somehow” (22-23). The “killing fields” refer to the sites in Cambodia in which hundreds of thousands of people were brutally murdered and buried in the late ‘70s. The “killing fields” also allude to the various industries in which exploit countless workers through tremendously poor labor conditions and starvation wages. The term “cash cow” describes the immensely profitable cattle industry. Here, “cash cow” describes the major industries’ exceptional ability to profit off the exploitation of poor wages and unsafe working conditions. “Grazing” is defined as cows feeding on the land. The major American industries are “grazing” or feeding off of those in which they exploit. The American economy and its major industries are responsible for profiting off of an overwhelming number of people and have subsequently created a pyramid system in which the executives at the top make most of the money, while those doing the leg of the work are

In “business,” decisions may be made in the best interest of the company, and not in the best interest of the worker, exemplifying that the ramifications of some business decisions aren’t personal; they are just business. A “system” is a mechanism that operates to output maximum efficiency. The American economic system may act in accordance with what is best for the industry, but by doing so, it fails to recognize the human cost and consequentially dehumanizes the American working-class, and further controls the outcome of their lives. The term “figures” refers the numbers or statistics in a pool of data. Collecting people for data and transforming them into numbers truly dehumanizes the person, and allows the economic system to make major decisions that may potentially affect millions without factoring in the ramifications that may affect the people. The American economic system breaks down people, and transforms them into numbers, diminishing the human connection that should exist when creating changes that may affect the lives of