Cycle of Poverty

Last night at Bible study we got off topic (as we often do) and talked about the growing divide between the “haves” and the “have-nots.” I was surprised by the fervor that was expressed by the group (made up entirely by hard-working individuals).

“The difference between them and us,” remarked one man, “is that we get up and work all day. They sit at home and wait for their check to come.” While it is true that a segment of those in poverty choose to live off the system, such a viewpoint ignores the cycle of poverty and the sheer act of will that it requires to break out of the cycle.

I recently saw first hand what this cycle of poverty can do to a family. The family lives in an older two-story home. Mom and dad are both disabled, though dad works out of the home; he carefully scheduled his work so he wouldn’t make too much. The eldest child (one year out of school) had gotten a decent job at a local nursing home. When she came home with her paycheck, the family all went to town. She had been taught that you should spend everything you get as quickly as you can. Nothing is save, and while many basic needs are left unmet, but the wants have been more than adequately sated. I also talked to the second child (a senior in High School). He was uncertain what he wanted to do, unsure if he could hold (or even get) a job.

In each child’s life, you could see the cycle was played out afresh, teaching them through common experience and unspoken values. The message was pretty clear: you are of little worth, you don’t deserve to make it, and if you try, you’ll lose the help you need to survive.

Yet while those who are stuck in this cycle of hopelessness can’t see their way out, they are blind to the cycle itself, always hoping for better for their children. In a similar way, those on the outside are blind to it. The “haves” see only a lack of motivation and a willingness to take the easy way out. To them, it is an abuse of the system, originally intended to help folks get back on their feet. As long as these two groups remain so deeply divided (both socially and financially), and so long as they both remain blind to the cycle, there is little hope that very many will take the leap of faith necessary to break the cycle and become a productive member of the larger society.