Three Articles on Poverty in America-Precise

Three Articles Precise:

1) Jared Bernstein, writer for the Economic Policy Institute, wrote his article on the Census Bureau, and its faults. Since the Census Bureau’s definition for poverty and its measurement is over 40 years old, it isn’t accurate anymore. Bernstein argues that there are two main problems with the Census Bureau: for one, it fails to notice and incorporate consumption patterns that have occurred since the 60s. The Census Bureau measures poverty based on food expenditures, but the cost of food in relation to other goods and necessities has changed a lot in the past years. Secondly, the CB doesn’t incorporate low-income families and female-headed households in their survey, and this drastically increases the number of poor American citizens. Since the CB is a highly valued survey, lots of governmental decisions are based on its results, and Bernstein believes that it desperately needs to be revised in the near future. With adaptation, he argues that the Poverty Line will possibly open people’s eyes to reality, how bad the situation has become.

(Who’s Poor? Don't Ask the Census Bureau, By Jared Bernstein)

2) Paul Krugman, former Economics Professor at Princeton and now NYT journalist, focused his article on poverty, especially child poverty, in the USA. According to him, children who are born into poverty have little to no chance of escaping it. While Johnsons War on Poverty actually lowered the number of poor Americans, little was done afterwards to keep the Poverty Line low. Government does very little on the topic, and many excuses try to hide the large and growing number of the poor. One excuse that tries to reduce the problem is that the poor aren’t truly poor, and the so-called problem is therefore easily overlooked. According to Krugman, the American Dream that most Americans truly believe in hinders actions done for the poor, since the idea incorporates that anyone can become wealthy and happy in America if the will and effort is present.

(Poverty Is Poison, By Paul Krugman)

3) This article by Walter E. Williams, Economics professor at George Mason University, deals with the issue of poverty (especially in America), and blames the individual for being poor. Poverty, according to him, is a decision brought upon oneself due to wrong or foolish choices. According to the Census Bureau, the majority of the poor are female- headed households. Williams argues that pregnancy is a conscious act that could be prevented. Also, not marrying the father of one’s child is another mistake brought upon oneself, and could have easily been prevented. Another main reason for poverty is drug abuse, according to NPR/Kaiser/Kennedy School toll. Again, taking drugs is optional, and therefore the individual can only blame himself if he lives in poverty, Lastly, Williams argues that individuals, regardless of race or gender, have the option of going to college and learning a job. People who do not take this option have only themselves to blame, since they will probably be counted as one of the 11.7% (2001 Census Bureau) who live below the Poverty Line.

(Poverty in America, by Dr. Walter E. Williams)

Precise- “Let Them Eat Ketchup! The Politics of Poverty and Inequality”

Let Them Eat Ketchup is the book by Sheila Collins, written in 1996 about poverty in the United States. In her book, she deals with poverty in many different ways. For one, the book introduces a middle class, which is the generalization for all those in society that aren’t extremely rich or poor. This middle class is defined by Collins as “having the promise of continuous upward mobility”. This middle class, which was supported by Presidents such as Reagan and Nixon, is a part of the American Dream, a dream of a classless society. This middle class or “classless society” is a myth, according to Collins, told to Americans in order to stir productivity, and lead us away from the real differences in our world: income, wealth, power.

Sheila Collins suggests in her book that the USA is a “deeply divided society”, in which factors such as race, gender, education or sexual orientation determine what class we are categorized in. Class is described as “differences between people that are based on economic position-income, wealth, occupation group etc.” Much of this division within society also relates to power, and although the government could act upon these differences, they (differences) have been widely ignored. The class of an individual ultimately represents the degrade of poverty; surveys such as the Census Bureau take place on a regular basis to examine the income measure and inequality of over 60,000 households. The results from this survey show a lopsided income distribution, and according to Collins, blacks, females and indigenous people are of worst in facing inequality. Therefore, the idea of equality in America is a myth, told to society to enable harder workers and maintain social control.

Additionally, the biggest topic expressed in this book is poverty. In order to combat poverty however, the term “poor” must first be defined. This is difficult since different countries or communities have different viewpoints on poverty. The Native Americans for example had none of the “luxuries” the Western World enjoys today (such as TV, Radio, etc.) but they had more than enough to survive and didn’t consider themselves poor. Therefore there are different definitions for poverty 1) “the absolute deprivation of the resources needed to sustain life” 2) “a deprivation in relation to some culturally defined standard of need (status, self-esteem, education, jobs, political power, income, etc)”. Poverty is a national problem, but in order to combat it the question arises “who is considered poor?” The measurement for poverty is taken from the Poverty Line, and anyone falling under it is poor according to the State. This Poverty Line is not always accurate since it doesn’t consider families, farmers in rural areas, older people or single mothers. As a result, the Poverty Index was created as an adjustment to the Poverty Line. The formula for the Poverty Index was drawn up by Mollie Orshansky, who tried to adjust the poverty measurement to also fit family size and type. Now that poverty is defined and measurable, it canh theoretically be fought.

The Culture of Poverty Thesis, drawn up in the 1960s by anthropologist Oscar Lewis, sociologist Patrick Moynihan, and political scientist Edward Banfield, was an early attempt to eradicate poverty. Although all three believe that “persistently poor people are culturally different in their behavior, values and attitudes”, their origin or solution to the poverty problem differ. Lewis believes that the origin for poverty is the ‘subculture’ the really poor have created for themselves, which hinders them to change their condition. He sees the solution in class-consciousness, in which the poor become aware of their situation and struggle for their rights (through Unions for example). Moynihan relies on a totally different way of combating poverty. The reason for poverty, in his eyes, is the female-headed family in the USA. According to him, the way to solve the problem is “the promotion of stable, male dominant family structures”. The third contributor, Banfield, refused the existence of poverty in the US altogether. According to his research, the different social classes within society all profit the country, and therefore no changes will have to be made to the “issue of poverty”.

With the publication of the Culture of Poverty Thesis, liberals started to draw up the “dysfunctional welfare state” thesis, in which different people argue about ‘who to blame for poverty’. While most liberals blame the New Deal or President Johnson’s War on Poverty, certain writers found the blame somewhere else. George Gilder, for instance, sees the capitalist system as a “promise of endless opportunity for those willing to work hard”. According to him, poverty is attributed to failure to work hard, failure of appropriate family modeling, and lack of faith. Charles Murray on the other hand believed that poverty is a state that individuals get themselves into due to their lazy and amoral nature. People, as he states, do not work hard to improve their living condition unless coerced. The writer Lawrence Mead thought the “liberal welfare state is not necessarily too big, it is simply too permissive”. Another study called The Bell Curve, suggest that inheritance also influences the ‘state of poverty’ for the individual.

Still not enough has been fully done against the issue of poverty. The US has the highest poverty rate in the world, maybe since the American ideologies hinder reality. Other reasons might be the free-market or the limited government. Collins believes that the American history in slavery and class bias are aspects that have hindered the elimination of poverty in the past. Although Roosevelt’s New Deal or Johnsons War on Poverty were steps in the right direction, others have stopped or hindered further developments in the area. Collins believes that the problem of poverty isn’t unbeatable; there are lots of weak points. An immediate solution will sadly not be found, since abolishing poverty will take a long time.

Words: 985

Falling States and Weak Governments

Misuse can lead to violence, violence to disruption, disruption to corruption, corruption to forced migration, and forced migration to poverty! All over the world, developed countries see the approaching threat of poverty and problems in less-developed countries. While the UN worries about countries were terrorism thrives due to weak or non-existent governments, the EU sees that bordering countries that are engaged in violent conflict pose a threat. Regardless of individual worries, the overall opinion is the same; the need for immediate action.

While the main problems in these unstable countries are suffering, poverty and lack of security, the causes of these problems, such as unstable economies/governments or terrorism, are the ones to really deal with. Other questions to ask oneself are 'where are the problems?' and 'who is affected?' Robert Cooper explains the world in his book "The Breaking of Nations". In this he divides the world into three zones: pre-modern regions of chaos, areas successfully ruled by modern nation-states, and 'postmodern' co-operation (this is where national sovereignty is voluntarily dissolved). Other strategists see the 'falling states' as a particular threat, for the people living there, but since 9/11 also to the entire world. Examples of such collapsing states are Somalia, or Afghanistan.

Another issue is the weak governments within certain counties. Where a weak government doesn’t take action to issues such as smuggling of arms or drugs, more drastic problems and conflicts arise that the government is incapable of solving or dealing with. Weak civil-institutions in Sierra Leone or Liberia have helped fuel the outbreak of civil wars, alongside with the problems of 'blood diamonds'. But these countries aren't the only ones in trouble.

According to the Brooklyn Institution, which drew up a plan of weak countries, there are three 'failed states' in our world so far. These states, Somalia, DR Congo and Afghanistan, are accompanied by 20 other critically weak states that desperately need foreign help. The origins of these falling states can be drawn back to colonizers, who simply divided the country, split tribes or ethnic groups, drew up problematic borders-and then left. With no one to govern or solve the conflicts, civil wars break out. A second big origin is the end of the Cold War, which turned out quite negative for certain countries.

In our lives today, the arising issue is that the problems in these 'falling states' do not stay within the country’s borders, but also affect developed countries. Groups such as Al Qaeda might train within its countries borders, but its actions dominantly affect the USA or Europe. Certainly help from developed countries would better the situation. Not enough action has been taken, but maybe the effects of these falling states on the West will open some eyes, and lead to more action.

Failed states

Fixing a broken world

Jan 29th 2009
From The Economist print edition

How to Read

In order to read effectively and understand the text, I annotate the book while I read. I underline key sentences, look up vocabulary I don’t understand or write definitions of what seems important. I also write key information about characters that I might need later, and make exclamation marks next to what is really essential. This helps me to quickly go back into the story and look up information and understand the text.

The Horn of Africa- Starvation and Poverty

The Horn of Africa
The tragedy of the decade?

In 1984, 1 million people died. When a big famine struck Somalia in Africa (1984), people starved in masses. Help from richer countries only arrived after greatly publicizing the (then) current situation through NGOs and television. The UN, who has set the goal to eradicate poverty worldwide, provided aid in form of nutrition and procurement methods through the UN World Food Program (WFP). Sadly, the Horn of Africa still remains today under extreme poverty as a hunger zone. The WFP mentioned that the current drought is the worst so far, and 17.5 million people are likely to face starvation. High food prices, several attacks on workers by jihadists and assassinations combine with the drought and tense up the situation. Helpers and aid workers have improved the situation and starving, but the doctors operating in the national clinics even report children dying of side effect of malnutrition such as diarrhea. Lastly, even the worlds financial crisis is creating turmoil in Africa due to missing funds, and if nothing is done soon the situation will collapse entirely.
Oct 30th 2008 NAIROBI
From The Economist print edition
Millions of people in dire need of help

http://www.economist.com/world/mideast-africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12517047>

Yoghurt and Cucumbers?

Poverty all around the world is and will always be a problem. Certain authors have now written books about special initiatives, either personal or external, that were introduced to defeat poverty.
One of these is Mr. Yunus, the founder of Grameen Bank and Nobel Prize winner of 2006, who suggest the concept of "social business". The Danone chief executive (multinational) and he have created a business in Bangladesh which creates yoghurt with nutrients and other food for the poor. This social business is, according to Yunus, a new concept to help eradicate poverty and redeem capitalism. The two distinguishing features are that the poor are willing to pay for the products and the profits are directly reinvested in the enterprise. Mr. Yunus also sees great potential in this system, but the article's author argues that this form of enterprise is hardly new. He implies that the poor may be fed with this system, but won’t get out of poverty.
A way that is more efficient is Paul Polak's, the author of "out of Poverty" and founder of International Development Enterprise. He suggests that the way for the poor to get out of their farming equilibrium, in which they remain poor, is to teach them to set aside part of their crops for the dry season, when they'll achieve higher prices for it. Polak's system also allows the poor access to irrigation, markets and fertilizers. With this system, he supposedly ensures the poor a brighter future, since if you teach a man to fish, he'll be fed for life.
Melissa John

Feb 21st 2008
From The Economist print edition
http://www.economist.com/books/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10717813

Coca Cola Presentation - Cited Articles

Articles
Blanding, Michael. "The Case Against Coca Cola." Nation 5/1/2006 p13-17. 3 Nov 2008


The Coca Cola Company in a very different light: at least compared to other written works, this article is a sheer protest movement against Coke and its actions. All the secrets and negative aspects of the Coca Cola Corporation are combined in this article. The corporation is accused of sponsoring death squads to assassinate union activists, charges of pollution and poor workplace standards are also held against them. The author shows obvious bias, since he doesn’t even see a need to mention the positive side of Coke, but instead confronts the reader with every failure and mistake Coke ever made. Therefore the article, also due to its bias, presents great examples of Cokes disadvantages and is a very useful source.

Coca-Cola Company, The." Encyclopedia Britannica. 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online School Edition. 3 Nov. 2008

The article on the Coca Cola Corporation is a great summary of facts. By combining history with present, it shows a brief review on Coke’s business, its origin, and the brand name. The article seems purely factual and informative, but by taking a closer look, it only praises Coke in advertising and branding, but doesn’t mention the negative side of Coke. For instance, it talks about the cocaine that used to be in Coca Cola, but doesn’t mention the problems that came along with it. All the negative aspects are quickly called to attention, but the subject immediately changes back to the advantages and successes of Coke. Nevertheless, the site proves to be a thorough article for general background knowledge on the Coca Cola Corporation.

Madden, Normandy. "CROSSING BORDERS BY BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS." Advertising Age 79.38 (13 Oct. 2008): 32-32. Advanced Placement Source. EBSCO. [Library name], [City], [State abbreviation]. 5 Nov. 2008


The interview in this article is not only interesting, but also amusing. It reveals the opening of new markets in Asia for Coca Cola and their expansion and new innovations on the Asian market. Coca-Cola's group marketing director-Pacific Group Darren Marshall interviews Ad Age Asia Editor Normandy Madden about Coke’s influence in the Olympics in Beijing, its branding strategy and how Asian markets improves Cokes business due to better and faster work, and less development cost. Madden also praises Coke’s success with newly developed products in Asia and admits failures that were brought along by certain Coke products. The article is hugely biased, since Marshall works for Coca Cola and therefore formulated the questions in his favor. The negative aspects or failures of Coke are mentioned; however there are no more than 2-3 sentences on a 3 paged article. Regardless of this, the article is up to date and very interesting, especially when the new Coke products are introduced.

Munson, Anita. "Coca-Cola Executive Defends Globalization Based on His Experience." 16 November 2000 3 Nov 2008

We want to become THE non-alcoholic beverage supplier for consumers worldwide! Sentences like this one are part of an article that is centered on Carl Ware, the executive vice president of public affairs and administration of the Coca Cola Corporation. He discusses goals and globalization in relation to Coca Cola and the world. In Ware’s speech, he proclaims that Coke is an “engine of growth and development”, that Coke has opened job opportunities worldwide, and that it gives the people what they want. This source, although informative, discusses Coca Cola from the company’s point of view, how Coke views themselves and their “problems and goals”. The bias in the source, however, does not limit the articles value, since the information given addresses many aspects of the Coke corp.

"Q & A: Coke's green future." Drug Store News 30.13 (20 Oct. 2008): 37-37. Advanced Placement Source. EBSCO. [Library name], [City], [State abbreviation]. 4 Nov. 2008


At first, the site seems unrelated to coca cola, but after taking a careful look, there is a question- answer bank at one side of the article. In this interview, the questions are asked by Drug Store News, and are answered by the director of the Coca Cola packaging platform Scott Vitter. He informs the public about the future of Coca Cola and their actions to be more environmental, to create a “green element” in their production. Unlike in the past, the environmental factor of a corporation plays an important role in the present and future, so Vitter. He emphasizes the success of the major reduction in plastic usage of Coke bottles, and introduces Cokes five- year plan, which aims at recycling PET bottles. The entire interview is one sided, firstly since Scott Vitter is a “Coke man”, and secondly since not one question is directed at the negative aspects of Coca Colas environmental situation. Still, the enthusiasm about the “green Coke movement” firmly leaps off the page, and the interview gives solid information about Coke and its environmental success, as well as its environmental goals for the future.

"THE BEVERAGE WORLD 100." Beverage World 127.10 (15 Oct. 2008): 40-64. Advanced Placement Source. EBSCO. [Library name], [City], [State abbreviation]. 5 Nov. 2008

This source, although it has only little written information about Coke, says a lot. In the article, the ratings of the 100 most successful beverage companies worldwide based on sales in 2007 are displayed. Coca Cola Company (the marketer) is on place 2, and Coca Cola Enterprise (the bottler) is 3rd out of 100 companies. Not only does this show how wealthy Coke is, but also how successful on a global scale. Their total sales equal about 50 million dollars just in the year of 2007, Coke Company selling 28-, and Coke Enterprise 20-million dollars. The article manipulates the reader slightly, due to the division of Corporations in multiple categories. Coke, for instance, is split up into 2 subcategories, to create less competition under the 100 beverage companies. The source seems quite reliable though, and definitely helps in research about Cokes worldwide success.

Thomas, Mark. "I am shocked when, at a conference on corporate responsibility, the man from McDonald's standing next to me starts criticising Coca-Cola on ethical grounds." New Statesman” Volume 133, issue 46895/2/2004 3 Nov 2008

Fanta is a drink that Coca Cola GmbH originally created for the Nazis. Facts like this one are only the beginning to this article. Starting with a conference of major world corporations on the subject of globalization, author Mark Thomas gives the reader a deep insight into the world problems of Coca Cola, such as charges due to child obesity, water depletion at a plant in Kerala, south India, and the sponsoring of certain sports events. Accusations, like Coca Cola bottlers in Columbia hiring paramilitaries to kill, torture and kidnap trade unionists of the Coke bottling plant, are openly laid out by Thomas. All this information is told to Thomas through an ex-McDonalds man, making the scene very ironic: McDonalds is criticizes Coke on ethical grounds! Mark Thomas is not against globalization, but the article reveals that he has a strong opinion against certain actions of world corporations, especially considering Human Rights. Nonetheless, the article is a fine source that reveals all the problems and negative aspects and actions of the Coca Cola Corp.

Books

Barber, Benjamin B.. CONSUMED: How Markets Corrupt Children, Infantilize Adults, and Swallow Citizens Whole.. 2006.

This book talks about consumerism and brands, and coca cola is mentioned on pages 185-187. It describes the value of the brand name Coke and how popular it is. Coke markets their products and sell a lifestyle instead of just a bottle with liquid very well, in certain ways, and the book emphasizes on that. Barber also explains how the taste of the Coke isn’t the most important for the consumer, but that the most significant part of Coca Cola is the company’s image. This book is actually quite factual, but Barber expresses in his information a slight bias against the masses who fall for the “branding” and consume everything without even realizing it. This book however gives a small insight into Cokes “image”.

Blanding, Michael. Nation. New York: Nation Company, L. P.,

(see first article on first page of bibliography)

Mazlish, Chandler. Leviathans. Cambridge New York: 2005.

Having a worldwide business is very important. Mazlish shortly discusses Cokes branding in the world, and how the corporation is establishing markets abroad as well as at home. The sentences about Coca Cola a very few, so there doesn’t seem to be any direct bias, but he seems to have an ironic tone when talking about Coke getting famous due to it mixing well with alcoholic beverages such as Bacardi. The book doesn’t give deep insights into the world of Coke, but it explains Cokes worldwide “net” of businesses well.

Websites
"Coca Cola Company." The Coca Cola System. December 31 2006. Coca Cola. 3 Nov 2008 <>.

Rewards and praises are shown on this site. It offers a list of all the awards and prizes won by Coke worldwide, due to outstanding work and achievements. Polarization is the key to this site since it is the Coke homepage, nothing wrong, negative or problematic is documented here, but only the positive and advantageous side of Coke is pictured. The Coca Cola world is presented on numerous pages, sparkly and splendid, without any of the charges or accusations held against the company. But regardless of this bias, the site shows that Coke has won prizes due to their great work in philanthropy, social responsibility and leadership.


Fernando, Udara. "Coca-Cola." A Stanford Project- Students For Informed Career Decisions 21 May 2000 5 Nov 2008 .

With a structured layout, this website explores many different aspects of the Coca-Cola Corporation. Additional to facts and figures about the company’s earnings, sales and leaders, it also highlights the positive and negative aspects of the corporation prior to the year of 2000. The site focuses mainly on Cokes bad relations with the environment and labor, which the author, a Stanford student, obviously found most important and relevant. Despite this bias, the information on Cokes numerous achievements in the area of education and philanthropy are equally interesting. Although the contrasting actions of Coke’s achievements and failures are presented with a bias from the author, the site presents relevant information in an understandable manner.

"The Coca Cola Company." Wikipedia. 31 October 2008. Wikipedia. 3 Nov 2008 .

Although the site is Wikipedia, it is very useful. The site shows not only a brief history of Coke, it also lists its products and mentions criticism and charges held against the corporation. The meaning and focus of “bottlers” is explained in the site, which are various companies that hold Coke franchise, and produce the drink from the syrup the Coke Corp distributes to them. The criticism against Coke revolves around discrimination, unionists’ repression and relations to the Middle East and US foreign policy. The site is biased to a point since it talks about criticism against Coke, but not about any of its advantages or success. On the other hand, the various links in the bibliography were very useful.