The Effects of Poverty on the Brain
Cade Gerlach
Poverty in the United States stood at 13.5% with 43.1 million living below the poverty line in 2015; however, homeless people are not included. In addition, 19.4 million or 44% of those in poverty reported living in deep poverty; this is defined as making less than 50% of the poverty threshold. Poverty is defined as one person making $12,082 a year to a family of 9 or more making $49,177 a year. The method to determine the official poverty rate was created in the 1960s by Lyndon Johnson in order to assist with his war on poverty. This information is released each September by the US Census Bureau. Prior to the passing of the War on Poverty by LBJ, poverty was in the mid 20s; however, since passing, poverty has fluctuated between 10% and 15%.
Poverty is a self-perpetuating cycle and this is partly due to its effects on the brain. The prefrontal cortex is an area in the front of your brain. It controls problem solving, goal setting, task execution, personality, and moderating social behavior. The limbic system works with it and is located near the center of the brain. The limbic system deals with emotions and is causes emotional responses like crying and laughing. It also helps store long term memory. However, due to the various stresses of poverty such as not making ends meet, putting food on the table, etc. the limbic system is constantly sending stress and fear messages to the prefrontal cortex. This constant barrage hinders its ability to operate efficiently. Poverty is in effect hindering people's abilities to make good decisions, solve problems, and focus on improving their lives. Children are even more affected by poverty as the lack of resources places constant stress on their brains.
Fighting poverty is expensive and costs quite a bit or about $212 billion. Critics of anti-poverty programs may complain about how much they cost, but in reality, we’re paying more in the short run and spend less in the long run. Each child lifted out of poverty has a much greater potential of achieving his or her dreams and becoming a productive member of society. Those who remain are more likely to commit crimes, skip school, not go to college, or be incarcerated. Therefore, it is imperative we create a new war on poverty. This would include family counseling, universal day care, expansion of medicaid and SNAP, and other programs. It will be expensive, but to not pay these short term costs is to pay more in the long run. Poverty does not need to be this high. In numerous other Industrialized nations it is lower. We just need to redefine what our priorities are in favor of the poorest among us.
"Institute for Research on Poverty." What are Poverty Thresholds and Poverty Guidelines? | Institute for Research on Poverty | University of Wisconsin–Madison. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2017.
Mathewson, Tara García. "How Poverty Changes the Brain." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 19 Apr. 2017. Web. 26 Apr. 2017.
"UC Davis Center for Poverty Research." What is the current poverty rate in the United States? N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2017.
Poverty is obviously an issue that many US citizens have to take care of each day. I agree that yes, there is possibly some things that we could do to take care of this issue. But it would be detrimental for our economy in the here and now to make this issue the most important issue to tackle. Yes, it may need to be addressed, but it should not take priority over many other issues that need addressed. Your argument with the frontal cortex confused me however. Yes, there are many daily topics that homeless/people in poverty go through that we may not understand. But I don't know if you can say that poverty continues because their brain is affected. Everyone has to go through something with stress or fear every day, maybe not to the extent that homeless people do, but this is not the sole reason that people in poverty stay in poverty.
ReplyDeletePoverty is a difficult issue to touch on, as there is no easy solution. The government can give financial help to those in poverty but these programs will always be taken advantage of by some and therefore, ruin them for those who are really in need. One major example of this is if you do a simple search on the internet, people will sell their food stamps 50 cents on the dollar in order to buy things they cannot with the food stamp money itself. There are a number of systems which are in place to ensure children are taken care of such as free/reduced lunch at school and the voucher system, working to ensure every child has the same opportunity. As for your point on many of those who grew up in poverty never attending college, there is no issue. For those with the knowlege there will be scholorships available which make school affordable for them, but not everyone in society needs a four year degree/graduate school. Some amount of the population must rather than furthering education, are better off working in an apprenticeship and learning a trade which can earn them a decent living. I believe the best way to end poverty in the USA is to give every child the same opportunity through high school, and encourage them to take measures into their own hands so they have the drive within themselves to better the remainder of their own lives. If we simply give everything to those in poverty they will expect it in the future, but if we give them the opportunity to succeed, those in poverty will rise above the line and live happy healthy lives.
ReplyDeleteIt is really interesting how much being in poverty can alter not only your life, but your entire body. Not only is your brain overloaded with signals of stress, but it is also being overloaded with messages of hunger to the hypothalamus. It is no wonder that people struggle so much to escape poverty because not only is it difficult, but all these people can think about is the overload of neurons firing with signals of stress and hunger.
ReplyDeleteOne could argue that raising people out of poverty would cost more but it would also save some money as the children who would have grown up in poverty, didn't. Since you said that those children are more likely to commit crime, or be incarcerated, if we raise as many out of poverty as possible, this will save money of having to track down and arrest the burglars and it will also save the government money with fewer men incarcerated who depend on the government to feed and clothe them. However this could aso be a bad thing, because that could mean you risk prison guards and police officers their jobs if they are no longer needed. Not only that, but these expensive programs would cost more to the general public as taxes would be higher to afford the program. This could then sink their status's closer to the poverty line. It is very important to look at the tradeoffs of implementing these programs on the rest of the society as well.
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting that poverty had so much to do with the brain. I guess if one is working so hard to provide basic needs for themselves and a family, it can cause serious damage, and it will be harder to break the cycle. Some psychologists believe that you can't meet emotional or mental needs unless you can meet physical needs, so if physical needs aren't being met, it can only create a harmful effect. I also agree with Thomas and think every child should be given an equal opportunity, and that we can't simply give everything to those living below the poverty line, because then they could expect to be given things, and not actually try to succeed. However, if you have motivation and a better outlook, you could ultimately contribute more to society, and live a happier life.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is crucial that we take care of the poverty rate sooner rather then later. Poverty is tough to find a solution to, but it would have a big effect on the economy once solved. More people would have money that they would be able to put back into the economy, which could mean a number of things. Also, it would just be a good thing to do to the people in poverty to help them get out of it. I didn't know that people were affected so much and it is saddening to see it. Hopefully, the government can step in and help these citizens out, because it would help them now and help America later.
ReplyDeleteIt is frustrating to see people exclaiming that the only reason others are in poverty is because they are lazy and don't work hard enough to try and get out of it, so it's good to see that there is scientific evidence explaining why it is not so easy. People will but the blame on refugees and immigrants for the evil that is occurring in this country instead of looking at our own problems and trying to fix our own ourselves. It’s upsetting how people won’t give those in poverty a second glance or try to help in any way they can, and it’s only going to get worse as the number of the wealthy is decreasing and the amount of people being susceptible to poverty will increase without any help form the more fortunate.
ReplyDeleteAlthough poverty is a horrible thing, increasing taxes so high to deal with poverty isn't the way to go. The demand going down far will destroy the economy. It's going to take a long process over time to fix the poverty rate. It's only made worse in that over time more people making bad decisions will drive them back into poverty, making them dependent on the government. The poverty rate will never truly be zero.
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