Author Archives: aj122467

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/2011/09/record-462-million-americans-in-poverty-census-bureau-says.html

Poverty has increased in the United States dramatically and it is affecting more and more people. According to Los Angeles Times “46.2 million people are currently living below the poverty line and are considered poor, the 2010 Census Bureau”.  With the economy still at its worse, things don’t look like they are going to change for the better.

In order for someone or a family to not be considered poor, the government sets  a minimum limit, which they have to make  a minimum amount of money annually in order for them not be considered poor, which the census bureau refers to that as the poverty line. According to the Los Angeles Times “the Census Bureau’s latest measure, the poverty threshold last year was an income of $11,139 for one person and $22,314 for a family of four.”

This amount does not seem fair. Although someone or a family of four can live off that money in some other part of the United States, it can’t be possible in any of the boroughs of New York City. Prices of rent are sky rocketing through the roof, and rent alone would take away a good chunk of that amount of money away. Bills also need to be paid, which are not affordable. The unlucky ones that don’t work near their home have to spend more money to go to work. All little that’s left goes to food. In my opinion the census bureau has to reconsider measuring the poverty line because lifestyles and prices differ in different parts of the United States.

Most of us think that a family is made up of the mother, the father and the siblings and in some cases the grandparents as well. And we live in a society that is commonly practiced. Most of us live in a society where monogamy is practiced, were “one person is married to only one person at a time” page 90. That is how we are raised to believe that it should be and that is how we see it as being normal and accepted in our society. But there is another type of marriage that is completely opposite to monogamy which is practiced in many countries including the United States. It is called polygamy, where “one individual is married to several husbands or wives at the same time” page 90. Families are made up of one father and many mothers or the other way around and the families are very big. Polygamy in the United States is illegal if they announce it publically, for example on national TV or radio and they can be imprisoned.

To me polygamy is unacceptable. Even thought I watched the whole episode on TV explaining the practices of polygamy and how people should accept it as being normal, and I did learn a lot, to me it is still unacceptable. On the other hand, I don’t believe that people should be imprisoned for practicing polygamy because people can make their own decisions on how to live their life. As you can see on the video, If the father gets imprisoned the little children are going be affected in two ways, economically and psychologically. Imagine growing up without your father, it would be very hard. The mothers would have a tough time raising the children as well. The little children shouldn’t be punished because of what their father has done or what the state thinks is wrong to do. The thing that bothered me is when one of the wives said that she is doing this, practicing polygamy because it brings her closer to God. They are not doing it because that is what that makes them happy but to please someone else. And I think they should change their point of view.