I’m always driving; to class, to the gym, anything over a mile away. I pass dozens of lights and as I look over I see a different person waiting at the side each time, but the thing is, they all wear the same thing; ragged, patched up, dirty, holey clothing. Always carrying a sign, begging for anything they can get their hands on. Sadness is the simplest way of expressing how I feel when I see them. One of the many components to this poverty, reducing people to beg on the streets, is the lack of jobs in New Mexico. After the Great Recession from 2007 to 2009, New Mexico’s economy has been steadily growing again, but the working population is leaving the state, along with their children. Between 2010 and 2016, around 53,000 more people moved out of New Mexico …show more content…
It covers children, the aged, blind, and/or disabled and other people who are eligible to receive federally assisted income maintenance payments; covering doctor visits, hospital expenses, nursing home care, home health care, and more. Medicaid essentially covers the basic needs; but it doesn’t. All of these “anti-poverty” programs are a stretch. They are “keeping-you-alive-but-still-in-poverty” programs. They give food and shelter but don’t give something as small as diapers. An industry survey found that one in three low-income American families struggles to afford diapers. Without a job, people can’t afford any of the small, but important things. Feminine hygiene products for example, they are essential, as are toothpaste, shampoo, and laundry detergent. Now imagine preparing for a job interview without any of these. Even then, low-wage jobs leave Americans unable to meet their basic needs. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, which would yield $250.40 after taxes for a 40-hour work week. The median rental in the U.S. is $934. There is barely enough for food. Certainly, nothing left for warmer clothes, or a stick of