“Still Hungry, Still Homeless”
America Magazine gave the conclusion of the United States of Mayors’ annual survey from 2000, showing that even though the economy had been improving, the poverty had been at a decline. As America as a whole started to climb back to its feet, so did the competitive prices of day to day niceties. When middle class Americans received higher wages, most lower class citizens did not. These poor families were still receiving the same minimum wage at, $5.50 per hour. Which they could barely support their families with before they decided to increase prices no items such as housing. This increase was due to many middle class Americans having an increase to their yearly income. As they were enjoying the result of the new economy, the lower class just tried to make it day by day. The author elucidates that the lower class did not have enough resources to guide them to organizations for help. The government and the other agencies should have done more to show that there are places that can help these struggling families. The author describes this situation in a reasonable tone, which can be understood by many ages. The point comes across very clearly, and easy to understand that we do need to help the needy.
“The Singer Solution to World Poverty”
Peter Singer explains the significance of donating to overseas agency for a sick child. He demonstrates how any number of people, from middle class, to very well off can make a little difference of their everyday routine to help the many sick and starving kids in the world. We can all just donate a small amount of money each year and change the lives of many. Singer gives us two different stories surrounding a child and a commercialized object. The two stories make us understand truly how much Americans and other civilizations depend on their materialized objects. He makes you really think about your everyday life, and how by just eliminating one item a day, you could be saving one poor child’s life. Singer gives a tone of urgency, and tries to reach out to everyone that would run across this essay to help an innocent child. He gives you numerous examples stating the right and wrong. He then concludes that if everyone was to donate the third of the income that we would use on useless items. I do believe that he does get a little aggressive, but overall his morale is for the good. Singer overall makes everyone aware of the needy and sick children that need our help, and that we can help them if we just weren’t so selfish.
My answers were different, but also the articles were different as well, but they did stay on the same point as to poverty. One was based on the decline in poverty in 2000 due to the economic growth. And the other was to make us aware of the children that we could be helping overseas. I do believe that the second one impacted me more as a reader than the first one did.