War on Poverty - 50 Years - How are we doing? Measurement Matters
From a NPR story this week, "Fifty years after Lyndon Johnson famously declared his War on Poverty
more than 46 million Americans are still poor. The official poverty rate
has dropped only a few points in the last half century. Critics say
that's partly because the government is still using an outdated measure of poverty. It's based on what it cost to feed a family back in the 1950s." As you read the story, consider measurement of poverty, the political implications of changing the measurement, what researchers we should be following, AND most importantly how does our 2014 Plan of Work reflect a continued effort to work on this complex problem? Write your ideas on the comment section below.
2014 Plan of Work - Impact to Minnesota Residents - Impact on You as Employee
"If one wanted to crush and destroy a man entirely, to mete out to him the most terrible punishment, all one would have to do would be to make him do work that was completely and utterly devoid of usefulness and meaning.”
Indeed, the quest to .. make a living of doing what you love is a constant conundrum of modern life. In How to Find Fulfilling Work by Dostovsky, he quotes philosopher Roman Krznaric who explores the roots of this contemporary quandary and guides us to its fruitful resolution:
The desire for fulfilling work — a job that provides a deep sense of purpose, and reflects
our values, passions and personality — is a modern invention. … For centuries, most inhabitants of the Western world were too busy struggling to meet their subsistence needs to worry about whether they had an exciting career that used their talents and nurtured their wellbeing. But today, the spread of material prosperity has freed our minds to expect much more from the adventure of life. We have entered a new age of fulfillment, in which the great dream is to trade up from money to meaning.
On a lighter note..... two very different videos reflecting mothers -may make you cry or smile or both.
"If you cried during Procter & Gamble's tribute to moms during the 2012 London Olympics, you may want to get out the tissues again. The consumer packaged goods giant is introducing a sequel to that
One web site explained this ad in this way. "In an Old Spice ad aptly titled Mom Song, several mothers
sing/mourn the loss of their boy to manhood, as the scented spray has turned
them into men with other ladies in their lives. In the commercial, these
matriarchs eerily spy on their sons while hidden under couches, behind door
Note from Trish Olson, author of this blog. I write this blog mostly for my colleagues in the Center for Family Development. My writings reflect my thoughts and musings.... not those of my employer. This blog will have its highest value if those who read it comment and engage in dialogue about the topics raised. Best in 2014. Trish
In an Old Spice ad aptly titled Mom Song,
several mothers sing/mourn the loss of their boy to manhood, as the
scented spray has turned them into men with other ladies in their lives.
In the commercial, these matriarchs eerily spy on their sons while hidden under couches, behind door frames, and even incognito as a janitor.
- See more at: http://perezhilton.com/2014-01-07-old-spice-mom-song-son-scared-terrify-worst-nightmare#sthash.CRRYrgh0.dpuf
In the commercial, these matriarchs eerily spy on their sons while hidden under couches, behind door frames, and even incognito as a janitor.
- See more at: http://perezhilton.com/2014-01-07-old-spice-mom-song-son-scared-terrify-worst-nightmare#sthash.CRRYrgh0.dpuf
In an Old Spice ad aptly titled Mom Song,
several mothers sing/mourn the loss of their boy to manhood, as the
scented spray has turned them into men with other ladies in their lives.
In the commercial, these matriarchs eerily spy on their sons while hidden under couches, behind door frames, and even incognito as a janitor.
- See more at: http://perezhilton.com/2014-01-07-old-spice-mom-song-son-scared-terrify-worst-nightmare#sthash.CRRYrgh0.dpuf
In the commercial, these matriarchs eerily spy on their sons while hidden under couches, behind door frames, and even incognito as a janitor.
- See more at: http://perezhilton.com/2014-01-07-old-spice-mom-song-son-scared-terrify-worst-nightmare#sthash.CRRYrgh0.dpuf
In an Old Spice ad aptly titled Mom Song,
several mothers sing/mourn the loss of their boy to manhood, as the
scented spray has turned them into men with other ladies in their lives.
In the commercial, these matriarchs eerily spy on their sons while hidden under couches, behind door frames, and even incognito as a janitor.
- See more at: http://perezhilton.com/2014-01-07-old-spice-mom-song-son-scared-terrify-worst-nightmare#sthash.CRRYrgh0.dpuf
In the commercial, these matriarchs eerily spy on their sons while hidden under couches, behind door frames, and even incognito as a janitor.
- See more at: http://perezhilton.com/2014-01-07-old-spice-mom-song-son-scared-terrify-worst-nightmare#sthash.CRRYrgh0.dpuf
I think the ecological model really helps us think about how we all address the war on poverty in some way - whether you work at the individual level, practitioner level, community level or policy/system level; whether you address personal finances, educational achievement, health, mental health, parenting, etc. It's all so connected, and poverty is one of those things that helps us see that we are all working for a common purpose.
ReplyDeleteI love this quote from Rebecca Blank (from the NPR story): "So when someone like Ronald Reagan in the 1980s says we fought a war on poverty and poverty won, what actually he should have said was we fought a war on poverty and we have no idea what we did, because our measure doesn't measure any of the things we used in that war."
ReplyDelete