Michael B. Katz’s “ From Underclass to Entrepreneur: New Technologies of Poverty Work in Urban America,” begins by talking about how in the late 1970s to early 1990s, “underclass” meant poor, black people, who were in the midst of the crumbling core of the nation’s inner cities. However, by the early 21st century, no one really talked or wrote about the “underclass” anymore, but they instead “celebrated the entrepreneurial energy and talent latent within poor people who were waiting for the spark of opportunity to transform their lives.” I thought this was interesting because I never really heard or read people say this, and I don’t think this really applies to everyone who is poor. There are of course differences, as is discussed in the chapter amongst those in poverty, and while there are those who are trying to get work, but there just no opportunities, I think most people tend to focus on the “undeserving” poor, which is quite sad since this would tend to lead to a negative about those who receive government assistance.
In the chapter, Katz talks about the categorization of the poor into the deserving poor, those who are clearly helpless, and those who suffered circumstances beyond their control and proved to be willing to work for anything, even small things, and the undeserving poor, which includes those who committed crimes and did drugs or were dependent on the government, without really trying to get out and live on their own. While is can be useful to separate the poor in such a way when talking about who should get benefits and such, a kind of separation like this can also be incorrect because it just looks at the surface.
For example, many people who commit crimes and do drug, may simply be a product of the environment they were in. If a person is around such activity from a young age, and they don’t really see much else, there is a big chance that is what they will do as well because that’s all they really know. In a situation like this, they were really deserving poor when young, and in addition to that, there could be so many other factors that lead to their lifestyle when older, and simply categorizing them as underserving poor isn’t really right or helpful. There should be an emphasis on helping people get out of poverty to prevent this type of thing, which I believe education is a large part of, as was also mentioned.
The War on Poverty emphasized opportunity, not by focusing on the labor market, but by improving individual skills through education and job training. I think this is a really important thing to focus on when helping the poor. Of course money is important, but by improving their skills would have a more profound and lasting impact and would allow them to stand on their own two feet and not depend on the government. It’s also important for the education system to help the young people in poverty so they have a way out and can do more for themselves.
Something that caught my eye was about Muhammad Yunus and how he began to lend poor women small amount of money to start their own businesses. I’ve read about various types of programs like this, some that allow people to loan to the poor all over the world to start business, and also others that are more community based and have women who form a group and decide who to lend money to. I think this is a really good way to help the poor who have skills and want to work and get out of poverty, but just don’t have the means to. This not only helps the poor, but also society as a whole, with more entrepreneurs and less people dependent on the government.
