Respond to two colleagues in one or more of the following ways: Critique you

 
Respond to two colleagues in one or more of the following ways:
Critique your colleague’s explanation of how poverty impacts individuals in young and middle adulthood.
State whether you agree or disagree with your colleague’s position on poverty being the result of cultural or social factors. Provide support for your position.
Critique a colleague’s evaluation of a different theory of poverty than you selected.
Use the Learning Resources to support your posts. Make sure to provide APA citations and a reference list
1 IR- 
Poverty impacts the experience of individuals in young and middle adulthood in every aspect of their lives. Poverty affects the way poor people interact with the different systems every day. According to Zastrow et al., (2019). About 15% of the population in the United States is living below the poverty line. This population has limited access to the most basic needs, including food, clothing, housing, and medical services. Poor people have higher rates of malnutrition and illnesses. Poverty also leads to despair and low self-esteem.
The social theories of poverty examine the external factors that cause poverty and how these directly affect the individual’s ability to interact with the various systems. According to Auerbach, M. P. (2021). Poverty is a state in which an individual lacks the resources or capabilities to participate in and contribute to society.
The social theories of poverty state aspects such as the unequal distribution of resources by the governments, racism, and geography as causes of poverty. According to Auerbach, M. P. (2021). The overwhelming majority of impoverished social groups in such systems around the world seem heavily populated by so-called minorities. The location where a person lives can determine the quality of life of the individual, the kind of job and remuneration they can obtain, housing, education, and access to essential resources. For example, schools in poor areas provide a lower quality of education.
As a social worker, I will have to educate myself on the policies to provide appropriate interventions to this population. Advocacy will play an important role when working with these clients to assist in creating new programs that can help with this universal problem.
References:
Auerbach, M. P. (2021). Cultural theories of poverty.  In Salem Press encyclopedia. Salem Press.Links to an external site.
Auerbach, M. P. (2021). Social theories of poverty.  In Salem Press encyclopedia. Salem Press.Links to an external site.
Zastrow, C. H., Kirst-Ashman, K. K., & Hessenauer, S. L. (2019). Understanding human behavior and the social environment (11th ed.). Cengage Learning.
2DA- 
Post a Discussion that includes the following: An explanation of how poverty impacts the experience of individuals in young and middle adulthood; A statement as to whether poverty is the result of cultural or social factors; provide support for your position and an example to illustrate it.  An answer to the following questions about the theory of poverty you selected: What aspects of this theory would be most suitable for your practice? Why?  What aspects of this theory do you find problematic in terms of your knowledge of social work practice?  Explain.
In attempting to the read the required documents I found the Auerbach links were dead, so I researched and found Brady’s 2019 article.  Brady stated that poverty causation can be broken down into three distinct causes; behavioral, social structure, and political.  In reviewing this article and looking at the news, it makes more sense to me that the cause of poverty is an amalgamation of these three.  Considering the social structure, the generous welfare state, and the common person who may have been born into a household dependent on welfare and growing up to be dependent on welfare, structurally and socially this person was forced into poverty.  Further, the average politician, who has some influence over the purse strings, has no incentive to help people leave the welfare rolls.  The mindset develops and the person has little to no chance of escaping poverty (Zastrow et al, 2019).  The self-perpetuating problem of generational dysfunction is best illustrated in the Hernandez case study (Walden, 2021).  In this we see that the parents, who hated the means of punishment inflicted by their parents, inadvertently became their parents, and inflicted the same punishment on their children.
  The third leg, behavioral issues, can best be seen in sudden wealth stories.  In watching news stories about people who beat the odds and win their local lottery I would often see people who won, and then blow through the money and be returned to poverty.  This is not necessarily the norm for lottery winners, but Carbone’s (2012) story shows people who could not handle money, or the risks associated with it.  People in poverty tend to make bad decisions with money, such as buying trivial items like expensive purses, high dollar sound systems for beat up cars, and the like.  It is apparent that thrift and delayed gratification are not common.
In considering the young and middle adulthood people, poverty impacts them in ways such as the above-mentioned mindset.  One good way to express the feelings of hopelessness by people in poverty is in Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise” when he rapped “They say I gotta learn, but nobody’s here to teach me/If they can’t understand it, how can they reach me?/I guess they can’t, I guess they won’t, I guess they front/That’s why I know my life is out of luck, fool” (1995).  Kids and young adults cannot learn if they cannot go to school.  They cannot learn if the people teaching in the school do not make a connection with their students.  In Texas, schools are funded by property taxes collected by Special Districts, the School Districts.  In poorer towns, such as agricultural towns, big industrial farms have bought out the ‘Mom & Pop’ farms and local businesses have closed.  There is little to nothing that can be collected to support the schools.  Eventually schools are closed, and children mandated to go to school have to ride buses to nearby schools that are sometimes located in other towns.
The part of the theory that best suits my practice is the behavioral part.  A person cannot change the social or political structure, at least not overnight and alone, but the person can change behavior.  In helping people to change their lives it is most important to help them help themselves.  People tend to not value what is given so much as what is earned.  One of the reasons that Habitat for Humanity is so successful is that the clientele invests sweat equity into their future homes.  This instills them with the pride derived from accomplishment and a healthy boost of self-respect.  What I find problematic is that while addressing the behavioral aspects the client is still in a bad way.  The old saying “it takes money to make money” applies in helping to elevate people from poverty.  Teaching a person to not buy Jimmy Choos or a Gucci purse while living on Vienna sausages and crackers is a huge part of the solution but the person learning these lessons also needs a decent diet.  This person needs decent clothing to go to job interviews.  There are material needs that must be met and such limited resources.  In addressing this problem, I would consider a blunt “in your face” tactic such as going to gated communities and saying “you don’t like seeing poor people sleeping on the streets, cluttering up your neighborhoods, inconveniencing you on your way to the country club?  Then help me out, give me the resources I need to get them off the streets and into rehab, school, jobs, a home.  Help me make it go away.”  Blunt seldom works but the message itself is worth a try.
References
Brady, D. (2019). Theories of the causes of poverty. Annual Review of Sociology. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-073018-022550Links to an external site.
Carbone, N. (2012). The Unlucky Winners. Time. https://newsfeed.time.com/2012/11/28/500-million-powerball-jackpot-the-tragic-stories-of-the-lotterys-unluckiest-winners/Links to an external site.
Coolio. (1995). Gangsta’s Paradise [Song]. On Gangsta’s Paradise [Album]. Tommy Boy Records.
Walden University, LLC. (2021). Social work case studies. [Interactive media]. Walden University Blackboard. https://waldenu.instructure.com
Zastrow, C. H., Kirst-Ashman, K. K., & Hessenauer, S. L. (2019). Understanding human behavior and the social environment (11th ed.). Cengage Learning.