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Urban Plunge

Urban Plunge. Poverty in the United States 2011. Outline of Course. Orientation & Poverty in the U.S. Catholic Social Teaching & Poverty Building Justice in the Cities Immersion: Urban Plunge Reflection & Analysis: Faculty http://www.nd.edu/~uplunge. Poverty in the USA.

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Urban Plunge

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  1. Urban Plunge Poverty in the United States 2011

  2. Outline of Course • Orientation & Poverty in the U.S. • Catholic Social Teaching & Poverty • Building Justice in the Cities • Immersion: Urban Plunge • Reflection & Analysis: Faculty • http://www.nd.edu/~uplunge

  3. Poverty in the USA • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UsZOHb1pJY&feature=related

  4. Panel: Poverty in South Bend • Aimee Shelide: Institute for Church Life & St. Peter Catholic Worker • Charles Perkins: St. Peter Catholic Worker • Peter Lombardo: Center for the Homeless • Laura Covington: Center for the Homeless

  5. Poverty in the U.S. • Current federal poverty line: $10,890 for a single person; for a family of four it is $22,350 • In 2010, 46.2 million people (15.1%) • Largest state in the Union • 1 in 5 children (22 %): $500 billion annual cost to the U.S. economy from childhood poverty • South is the poorest region (16.9%) • Employment among young adults ages 16-29 stood at 55.3%, lowest since the end of WWII • # of households receiving food stamps swelled to 13.6 million, meaning that nearly 1 in 8 receives gov’t aid

  6. Share with a Neighbor • What are some of the causes of poverty that you heard? Of the people you will meet?

  7. Causes of Poverty • Behaviors of the individual • Addiction, mental illness • Lack of human & social resources • Few jobs, lack of childcare • Exploitation • Pay Day loans, predatory mortgages, sweatshops • Political/Economic Structures • Deindustrialization, taxation patterns

  8. Poverty Line • Method established in 60’s to address the “War on Poverty” based on food: historical artifact • Official measure no longer corresponds to reality • Does not get either side of the equation right: how much the poor have or how much they need • A limited view of income by counting cash alone • Ignores expenses like taxes & medical costs • Outmoded way by relying on emergency food costs • Only been adjusted for inflation since ‘63

  9. New Measure • Started this year by the federal government • Counts more in income (food stamps, WIC, tax credits, housing aid) & more expenses (medical) • Shows poverty rising more slowly in the recession than official data suggests • Gov’t help is keeping people out of poverty: EITC, food stamps • Sharp rise in “deep poverty”: living on less than half the $ needed to no longer be poor • New measures show many more people in “near poverty”: incomes btwn 100-150% of poverty line • Working poor

  10. Extreme Poverty • Extreme poverty = areas where at least 40% of the population lives below the poverty line = Urban Plunge • # of people living in neighborhoods of extreme poverty grew by 1/3 over the past decade • More than 10% of America’s poor • Residents more likely to experience joblessness, poor schools, broken families & high crime • Highest in the metropolitan Midwest • Neighborhoods of extreme poverty grew in ¾ of the nation’s largest metropolitan regions

  11. Rethinking Poverty • How Catholic social tradition can be integrated on a practical level • Poverty: more than just insufficient income • Benefits of asset-based approach to poverty reduction

  12. Solutions to Poverty • How are sites you visit addressing the issue? • 2 Feet: Charity & Justice • Direct Service • Education • Advocacy • Empowerment

  13. Solutions • Community Organizing • Education Reform & Opportunities • Expanding employment opportunities & fair wages • Improving support services for women & children • Redefining the “poverty line” • Creation of affordable housing • Worker cooperatives • Individual Development Accounts

  14. Resources • www.opportunitynation.org • www.catholiccharitiesusa.org • www.povertyusa.org

  15. Sites Meet & Next Class • Sun., Nov. 20th @ 6:30 pm • Catholic Social Teaching & Poverty • Read Justice in the World link on webpage • Remember to register for the course when you are darting in • Right now go meet in your city groups with your site leaders: rooms posted outside.

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