Youtube Must-Watch: Poverty in the USA

LEFT VIEWPOINTS

• The United States is the wealthiest country in the world. Yet we also have about 27 million people who have no health insurance, 38 million who live in poverty, and over half a million who are homeless.

• Contrast two categories of poverty: absolute poverty and relative poverty. The United States has little absolute poverty. Poverty-stricken nations, like the Democratic Republic of the Congo, have a lot of absolute poverty. The U.S. struggles with relative poverty. Relative poverty leads to issues like crime, poor neighborhoods, underfunded schools, generational welfare, and homelessness.

The policy changes that would drastically reduce relative poverty in the United States are:

1. Universal Basic Income (UBI): If everyone received a flat stipend that provided just enough money to afford basic needs (food and shelter), we would eliminate most homelessness and also end the need for most welfare.
2. Universal Healthcare: The United States is the only developed country without universal healthcare. Medicare for All is one model to provide public-funded healthcare to everyone, but it is the only universal healthcare system available. TR Reid wrote a book called, The Healing of America, which discusses healthcare systems around the world.
3. Ending Property and Local Tax Funded Schools: Because schools are primarily funded at the local level, usually via property taxes, poor neighborhoods stay poor. Home values will not appreciate if people do not move to those neighborhoods, and families with means will not move to poor neighborhoods if the schools are perceived as bad.