The time is here. Camp is over. Preseason is over. Cuts have been made. And we're ready for some football!!! Tomorrow marks one of my favorite days of the year - opening day for NFL football.
September 6, 2008
September 3, 2008
"$5.15 an Hour Don't Buy Diapers"
Yes, at $5.15 an hour it must be difficult to pay for diapers, formula, child care, and rent. The title of this blog is inspired by a young lady I saw profiled on an HBO documentary yesterday. Although grammatically incorrect, her quote and the desperation behind it, embody a huge problem plaguing this country today: The Plight of the Working Poor.
Every day I take the metrorail to my waitress job in downtown Miami. I walk past many homeless people on my way to the train. Many are there on a daily basis and I've come to recognize them. I then board the train with the working citizens who make the city run. These are construction workers, toll booth operators, waiters, janitors, and many other low-wage employees who just do the grind to pay their bills. I have become enthralled with this class of American citizen and their inability to break the cycle of poverty.
Growing up in a WASP household I truly believed that I could be anything I wanted to be if I just put my mind to it. Gender, money, and socio-economic status where far from my mind. But as I've allowed myself to explore the world a bit, I've discovered that this fantasy I grew up in is just that - a fantasy. Well, maybe not for me. It was possible for me to be whatever I wanted to be, because I was born into the right SES. As cynical and politically incorrect as it sounds, I've found it to be true. There is a large cross-section of our society that is born into poverty and will die in poverty. The in-between part is a hard existence of law-wage jobs, run-down housing, and public transportation.
20/20 ran a show last week called Babyland. It documented the high infant death rate in Memphis, TN. I sat in horror as I watched and learned that black babies die at 3 times the rate of white babies, with Memphis having the highest infant mortality rate in the United States. Babyland is the label that the community has given to the corner of the public cemetery where the county buries infants whose parents can't afford a funeral. Overall, the show concluded that most of these deaths are preventable by quality medical care during pregnancy. In fact, most of the pregnancies are preventable, if the teenagers just had used birth control. This all ends, and begins, with education. Educate these young ladies about birth control, about maternity medical care, and about options for their life other than being teen mothers. This is all they know. They grew up in a neighborhood and a culture in which being pregnant at 16 or 17 is not uncommon.
This a cycle. It is difficult to break the cycle. Last night the Miami city council voted 6 to 5 to raise the Metrorail and Metrobus fare by 50 cents per ride. That may not sound like a lot at first glance, but let's do the math. For a single rider to get to and from work, that adds an extra dollar every day. And that's if they only go to and from work. If you add a trip to the grocery store, day care, baby-daddy's house, or pediatrician, you can be increasing transportation costs by many dollars every week. Those dollars add up and can really cut into the budget of a single mother who is working two jobs to buy diapers and formula. I understand that costs must increase as fuel costs increase and inflation grasps our country. I understand that. My point is just that the cycle was hard to break before. Now it's 50 cents harder - one way.
The quote from this blog title by the girl I mentioned earlier was made by her at boot camp as she joined the Army. Yes. boot camp. She had decided that the only way she could provide for her baby and put food on the table, with quality health care was to join the United States Army. Now, I'm not knocking the Army. I'm glad that our government provides our soldiers with good pay and benefits. But I think it's sad that this single mother saw it as her only option. There's something wrong with that. She was being shipped to Iraq not long after boot camp. So her baby will have money and medical care but maybe not a Mom, at least not for the next year.
Many of the Metrorail riders downtown are community college students. These mostly minority students are trying to get an education, probably while holding down a job. This fare hike is going to affect them, too. These young citizens trying to break the cycle. Trying to better their lives.
As I rode the train on Saturday to the mall, I watched a young black mother brushing the hair of her baby daughter. I sat and wondered if this baby would be sucked into the cycle that, most likely, her mother is a victim of. I hope for the best for her, but I also know that unless something systemically changes, there is not much chance of breaking the cycle.
Every day I take the metrorail to my waitress job in downtown Miami. I walk past many homeless people on my way to the train. Many are there on a daily basis and I've come to recognize them. I then board the train with the working citizens who make the city run. These are construction workers, toll booth operators, waiters, janitors, and many other low-wage employees who just do the grind to pay their bills. I have become enthralled with this class of American citizen and their inability to break the cycle of poverty.
Growing up in a WASP household I truly believed that I could be anything I wanted to be if I just put my mind to it. Gender, money, and socio-economic status where far from my mind. But as I've allowed myself to explore the world a bit, I've discovered that this fantasy I grew up in is just that - a fantasy. Well, maybe not for me. It was possible for me to be whatever I wanted to be, because I was born into the right SES. As cynical and politically incorrect as it sounds, I've found it to be true. There is a large cross-section of our society that is born into poverty and will die in poverty. The in-between part is a hard existence of law-wage jobs, run-down housing, and public transportation.
20/20 ran a show last week called Babyland. It documented the high infant death rate in Memphis, TN. I sat in horror as I watched and learned that black babies die at 3 times the rate of white babies, with Memphis having the highest infant mortality rate in the United States. Babyland is the label that the community has given to the corner of the public cemetery where the county buries infants whose parents can't afford a funeral. Overall, the show concluded that most of these deaths are preventable by quality medical care during pregnancy. In fact, most of the pregnancies are preventable, if the teenagers just had used birth control. This all ends, and begins, with education. Educate these young ladies about birth control, about maternity medical care, and about options for their life other than being teen mothers. This is all they know. They grew up in a neighborhood and a culture in which being pregnant at 16 or 17 is not uncommon.
This a cycle. It is difficult to break the cycle. Last night the Miami city council voted 6 to 5 to raise the Metrorail and Metrobus fare by 50 cents per ride. That may not sound like a lot at first glance, but let's do the math. For a single rider to get to and from work, that adds an extra dollar every day. And that's if they only go to and from work. If you add a trip to the grocery store, day care, baby-daddy's house, or pediatrician, you can be increasing transportation costs by many dollars every week. Those dollars add up and can really cut into the budget of a single mother who is working two jobs to buy diapers and formula. I understand that costs must increase as fuel costs increase and inflation grasps our country. I understand that. My point is just that the cycle was hard to break before. Now it's 50 cents harder - one way.
The quote from this blog title by the girl I mentioned earlier was made by her at boot camp as she joined the Army. Yes. boot camp. She had decided that the only way she could provide for her baby and put food on the table, with quality health care was to join the United States Army. Now, I'm not knocking the Army. I'm glad that our government provides our soldiers with good pay and benefits. But I think it's sad that this single mother saw it as her only option. There's something wrong with that. She was being shipped to Iraq not long after boot camp. So her baby will have money and medical care but maybe not a Mom, at least not for the next year.
Many of the Metrorail riders downtown are community college students. These mostly minority students are trying to get an education, probably while holding down a job. This fare hike is going to affect them, too. These young citizens trying to break the cycle. Trying to better their lives.
As I rode the train on Saturday to the mall, I watched a young black mother brushing the hair of her baby daughter. I sat and wondered if this baby would be sucked into the cycle that, most likely, her mother is a victim of. I hope for the best for her, but I also know that unless something systemically changes, there is not much chance of breaking the cycle.
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