The Ghosts of Our Country

Melissa Lara

Prof. Broadous                                 

March 22, 2012

PAS 113B

The Ghosts of Our Country

One in Six Americans lives in poverty. The National Poverty Center stated, “In 2010, 15.1 percent of all persons lived in poverty”. They also stated that in 2010 has been the highest poverty rate since 1993. People who live in poverty are forgotten and often called “throwaway people”. Throwaway people are defined as people who are worthless, homeless, forgotten people who walk in our country with no say to their life but nobody cares. As if nobody cared about the citizens of this country. There are homeless shelters, food pantries, and more resources but this will never get a person out of poverty, this will never help a person be seen in another way. Also, each place that does offer help has a process. Some do some extraordinary jobs at helping “throwaway people” while other organizations do what they can because they all may run on volunteers. These organizations are non-profit organization, which makes it really hard to stay up. “Throwaway people” and their families are living under the shadows, they cannot vote, are unemployed and not heard, and only some organizations try to help.

The ghosts that are in our countries have no word. The affluent and people of the government do not hear them. It is rare that someone proposes something to help the people living in poverty. Since these people are homeless it is like if they didn’t exist because they cannot vote. To be able to vote you have to have an address but that is not their case. Maybe they did vote before they became homeless but every time you move you have to reregister, which makes it so much more difficult. The United States is the only country from Western Democracies who have least voter turnout. Pew Research Center stated that, 22% of the population eligible to vote are not registered and only about 50% vote in the general elections. If these are the statistics then whose voices is being heard. It is a fact that wealthier and more knowledgeable people turnout to vote.

Many people who are living in this crisis use to be doctors, lawyers, teachers, etc. Since they economic downturn people started losing their jobs, homes, then and cars. The Bureau of Labor Statistics U.S. Department of Labor states that the unemployment rate is 8.3 percent.  This makes up about 12.8 million people who are unemployed currently since February 2012 (Labor). If the government knows this, why do they not true to fix it? They are so busy trying to, make more money they forget about their people. Also, it is obvious that they need people to stay poor so they and get richer. As time goes by there will be no middle class. On CNN a report was done stating that the middleclass has became the underclass. They said that in 1988, the income of an average American taxpayer was $33,400. More than twenty years have passed and not much has changed. According to IRS data the average income was still just $33,000 in 2008.

Organizations that help “throwaway people” really make a difference. A good example of an organization is M.E.N.D., Meet Each Need with Dignity. M.E.N.D.’s mission statement is “With dignity and respect, powered by volunteers, MEND’s mission is to break the bonds of poverty by providing basic human needs and a pathway to self-reliance.” This organization offers food, clothing, dental, medical, chiropractic, and optometry assistance. Everything is free, but you are required to give a ten-dollar donation when needing medical assistance. It is not obligatory but if the person can it is better for M.E.N.D. All the doctors that go there go on their day off from their daily work. Also, only a few people are being paid and the rest are volunteers. M.E.N.D. serves about 30, 000 people in the San Fernando area and has only 3, 000 volunteers. People who go here are no longer ghosts. They are welcome and they feel at home. They do not live under the shadows and can finally smile because they see that it gets better.

Next time you look at someone who looks homeless, living in poverty and struggling do not judge because they could have a degree in anything and just had an unfortunate turn over. This can happen to anyone, no matter if you have a secure job, home and life. By giving a hand to the needy can really make a difference. One smile leads to another and you cannot buy this. These people can no longer be considered ghosts. They are here and if they had a job and were steady they could help bring up the economy and get the country in better shape. This will never happen unless these people get there voice heard by the people who run the government.

Work Cited

"About MEND." MEND. 2011. Web. 22 Mar. 2012. <http://www.mendpoverty.org/>.

Censky, Annalyn. "How the Middle Class Became the Underclass." CNNMoney. Cable News Network, 16 Feb. 2011. Web. 22 Mar. 2012. <http://money.cnn.com/2011/02/16/news/economy/middle_class/index.htm>.

"Internal Revenue Service." Internal Revenue Service. 2008. Web. 22 Mar. 2012. <http://www.irs.gov/>.

"The New Unemployment Situation -February 2012." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (9 Mar. 2012). U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 9 Mar. 2012. Web. 22 Mar. 2012. <http://www.bls.gov/>.

United States. The National Poverty Center. U.S. Bureau of the Census. National Poverty Center. 2010. Web. 22 Mar. 2012. <http://npc.umich.edu/poverty/>.

"Who Votes, Who Doesn't, and Why Regular Voters, Intermittent Voters, and Those Who Don't." Http://www.people-press.org. 18 Oct. 2006. Web. 21 Mar. 2012.