The Recession and The Poor

Generational poverty victims are those who have been locked in the stranglehold of poverty for two or more generations. I've seen tons of reporting in the news lately about consumers cutting back on spending and how this is hurting businesses, small and large, across the country.

But, we rarely hear any news about how this economy is affecting those who live at the very bottom of society. Since my blog is focused on children of the generationally poor, I thought it would be appropriate to offer my own observations on how this economy is affecting families that I know personally—families who have lived in poverty all their lives.

For privacy reasons I'll call this family the "Smiths." The Smiths have never owned a home—moving from one run-down rental apartment to another since they were eighteen years old. Both the husband and wife dropped out before completing high school. He is in his forties—she is in her thirties. Mr. Smith has a felony record—multiple DUI's. He gave up looking for a regular job years ago-his felony record and work history makes getting a decent job impractical.

Mr. Smith works odd jobs as a handyman, which keeps him busy two or three days during a good week. He gets the jobs by handing out flyers, occasionally placing an ad in the local paper, and using the Craigslist website. He charges $100 a day for his labor, but he'll take less if it's a bad week. His wife lives at home with their two-year old child. They live in a rental mobile home. They survive primarily from government assistance—food stamps, welfare, supplemented with occasional assistance from relatives.

So, how is the recession affecting this family? Not much at all. They pretty much live the same lifestyle they have always lived. To be sure, it affects their cash flow somewhat, and as a result their electricity or water has been cut-off on a few more occasions than usual, but when that happens they get help from relatives. The truth is that there is no dramatic change in the lifestyle of the Smiths. They still live in the same rental—they still get welfare and food stamps, plus an annual "Earned Income Tax Credit" from the US Treasury, and free health care. A stimulus check now and then is a nice surprise. When you live at the bottom of society—when you depend upon entitlements for survival, then your lifestyle will remain the same as long as those entitlement checks keep flowing.

That's the thing about generational poverty that hurts me the most. Its victims tend to give up a stake in the future early on and turn to entitlements for survival. Their strengths atrophy and their ambition dies, and they pass this legacy on to their children. Let me be clear, I'm very happy that there is a safety net in America that keeps families like the Smiths from falling through the floor. But, in about fifteen years their child will more than likely repeat the cycle, and that is a problem, both for the child and for our society. Our children are our future and we can't just give up on them generation after generation

Doug Wallace is an attorney, a successful entrepreneur and a published author. His book, Everything Will Be All Right is a memoir, scheduled for nationwide launch on October 1, 2009. Doug chose to write his story of growing up in poverty as a way to call attention to the unimaginable hardships for the generationally impoverished. Launched October 2009, available now at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders Kindle, Sony Reader, and retail book stores everywhere