ECONOMICS |
EDUCATION |
ENVIRONMENT |
FOREIGN POLICY |
POLITICS |
OPINION |
TRADE
U.S. CITIES:
Eliminating Poverty: Lesson From Childhood
Robert Pagliarini
Which country has 43.6 million residents in poverty, including one in five children?
Even as I got a little older and my mother re-married, we still struggled. My stepfather worked in the lumber industry in the 1980s. Due to many different factors, the lumber business shrank, and he was laid off. Deja vu all over again. Were we destined to remain in poverty?
Because of the upheaval in the lumber industry and other industries at the time,
Over the following year, my stepfather went to classes, poured over books and diligently learned a new set of skills while his former colleagues languished. He graduated and became a successful HVAC technician. His new career allowed him to save money for retirement and to help pay for my college.
There were probably dozens of reasons why we were in poverty, but I can identify two reasons why we were able to break free from its grip -- education and initiative. The opportunity for education coupled with my stepfather's initiative to do something different pulled us out of poverty.
Even though there are a lot of highly educated folks who are struggling, the benefits of education are as real today as they were 25 years ago. No doubt you've heard that the national unemployment rate, which is associated with a higher poverty rate, is nearly 10 percent, but this doesn't tell the whole story. The unemployment rate for adults with less than a high school diploma is more than 40 percent higher. Even more telling, the unemployment rate for those with a bachelor's degree is 50 percent less than the national average. Education and initiative might not be the only solutions to poverty, but they're a great place to start.
You may not be in poverty, but if you are struggling or just not where you want to be, focus on boosting your existing skills or gaining knowledge in a new area. Does this mean you have to go back to school? Maybe, but not necessarily. Entrepreneur and personal development founding father,
Whether you go back to school or study on your own, it requires some of your other eight hours and initiative. It's been said that the only difference between a rut and a grave is their dimensions. Break free from what you've been doing and do something different. Learn, grow and develop. Greater knowledge won't solve all of your problems, but it sure beats the alternative.
"
and the national best-seller
"The Six-Day Financial Makeover: Transform Your Financial Life in Less Than a Week!
."
Available at Amazon.com:
Hot Time in the Old Town: The Great Heat Wave of 1896 and the Making of Theodore Roosevelt
American Insurgents, American Patriots: The Revolution of the People
Broke, USA: From Pawnshops to Poverty, Inc.How the Working Poor Became Big Business
Were You Born on the Wrong Continent?: How the European Model Can Help You Get a Life
The Disappearing Center: Engaged Citizens, Polarization, and American Democracy
The Virtues of Mendacity: On Lying in Politics
Bush on the Home Front: Domestic Policy Triumphs and Setbacks
The Political Fix: Changing the Game of American Democracy, from the Grassroots to the White House
Read the latest political news.
- Eliminating Poverty: Lesson From Childhood
- Wall Street Had a Meltdown, and All We Got (Besides the Bill) Was an Interminable Argument
- Changing Our Tune to Natural Gas
- Supreme Court's Citizens United Decision Will Warp Policymaking
- Citizens United Decision: Money at Issue Funds Speech Not Candidates
- Education and Wealth: Strongest Predictors of a Long Life
- 'Citizen Journalism' Fad is Not Journalism
- Life's Little Lows Big Part of Going to High School
- Happiness is a Matter of Perspective
- Binge Drinking Numbers Rising
- The Republicans' Bizarre Attacks on Elites
- Joe Klein and Diane Sawyer Tour the Real Reality
- Troubled Times: When Mark Zuckerberg's Generosity Is Not Good Enough
- Why on Earth Does America Want a Stronger Chinese Currency?
- A Nation of Peasants?
- Public Sector Workers Are the New Privileged Elite Class
- Raising Retirement Age Will Help Save Social Security
- Cutting Benefits Isn't the Way to Save Social Security
- How the New Consumer Bureau Will Help You
- Setting up the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
- The Truth Behind UFO Sightings and the U.S. Air Force
- American Dream of Home Ownership Has Become a Nightmare
- 5 Traits of the New American Consumer
- Stoned on Righteousness
- Frank Assessment of Teacher Performance Not Pleasant but Useful
- Large-Spirited America
- America: A Labor of Love
- America: Love's Labor Lost
- What We Need to Do to Save America's Middle Class
- Out of the Media Muck an Idiot Emerges
- Dilemma of the Open Megaphone
- Let's Keep Our Enemies Straight
- Can the CIA Put a U.S.-Born al Qaeda Figure on its 'Kill List'?
- A Christian Voice Argues for Banning Nuclear Weapons
- Will New York's Mosque Protests Aid Terrorist Recruiters?
- Repealing 14th Amendment Would Not Fix Immigration System
- 14th Amendment Doesn't Make Illegal Aliens' Children Citizens
- Immigration Reform Requires More Than Getting Tough or Feeling Good
- Defending a New Domain: The Pentagon's Cyberstrategy
- Before Katrina, There Was New York's 1896 Heat Wave
- EPA Surrenders to NRA on Gun Control Issue
- Rare Sighting: Common Sense from the Bench
- Is the Great Mosque Debate Making Us Stupid?
- Ground Zero Mosque Madness
- Ground Zero Mosque: Islamophobia? Not Really
- Gingrich and Palin: Twin Towers of Intolerance
- Detroit's Agony, America's Choice
- Iraq: U.S. Combat Troops' Departure Leaves Uncertainty in its Wake
- Corporate Rotten Eggs
- Strengthening the Political - Military Relationship
- A New Plan For Nuclear Postures
- Why the National Security Establishment Is Outdated
- Protecting the Pentagon Budget
- Approving the New START Treaty Keeps America Safe
- The New START Treaty Weakens U.S. National Security
- 'Ground Zero Mosque' Controversy Shows America's New Nativism
- Ground Zero Mosque Presidential Paradox
- Lack of Foresight Let 'Ground Zero Mosque' Controversy Balloon
- Republicans Hit Obama for Ground Zero Mosque Comments
- Obama's Ground Zero Mosque Mess
- The Sum of Our Parts
- The End of Books
- Steven Slater Airline Meltdown Hardly a Surprise
- Conversation on Race? We're Not Ready
- Everyone a Bigot?
- Let's Preserve Freedom at Ground Zero
- 10 Things You Didn't Know About Social Security
- Illogical Immigration
- Constitutional Amendments and Citizenship Rights
- Iran - The Next War
- How to Maximize Your Social Security Benefits
- How Working Longer Helps Build Retirement Security
- Social Security Inflation Adjustment Debate
- 21 Ways to Make Extra Money in Retirement
- Will You Run Out of Money Before You Run Out of Years?
- The Economy's Lasting Impact on Your Retirement
- Unconventional Retirement Investing Strategies
- Another Retirement Challenge for Women: Income Gender Gap
- 15 Ways to Tell if You Are Ready to Retire
- Investing Your Social Security Check? Consider These Factors
- Alternatives to Traditional Retirement
- 10 Uncommon Sources of Income in Retirement
- Sizing Up Your Retirement Nest Egg Needs
- Biggest Sources of Retirement Income
- Assembling a Sturdy Retirement Portfolio
- Retirement Savings Strategies for Late Starters
- 7 Reasons to Downsize in Retirement
- How to Tell if You Are Saving Enough for Retirement
Eliminating Poverty: Lesson From Childhood
(c) 2010 Robert Pagliarini