Cultural And Cultural Sides Of Poverty: The Great Debate

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Poverty: The Great Debate This article presents a debate between the cultural and structural issues of society. The cultural side being how a person is raised and the values that come from that. Whereas the structural side is based mostly in the government. However, as the article progresses, it becomes clear that Haskins and Sawhill lean more toward the cultural aspect rather than the structural side. The authors inform the reader of the structural issues that worsen poverty. Nevertheless, a great deal of the ideas Haskins and Sawhill introduce in the article are culturally based. Motivation and tradition seem to be the article’s main focus when it comes to culture. The motivation that comes from within, to the traditional family home, which instills the correct values. A family’s structure is an intricate part of the cultural side of poverty. Whether a child has one parent, especially a mother, or two …show more content…

Even though people are created equally, there is a very difficult to change the class you were born into. Not only because of a lack of easy upward mobility, but also because people can become content almost anywhere. If someone is born into poverty there is very little likelihood of them wanting to leave their safety-net, or even seeing an opportunity for a way out of their impoverished life. Complacency and a lack of motivation are things that are more prominent in recent generations, and so these issues also affect the poor. Although many in poverty are hard working people, they can barely get by because of the lack of good full-time work. People have to work two to three jobs just to make enough to live on. The fact of the matter is that whose who need to work can find a job, but will it be a job that can sustain them? In all likelihood, no. Businesses cannot afford to pay their employees enough to live

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