Bumper Sticker's Are No Way to Fight Poverty

I must admit, the title of the editorial I selected is really what drew me in: "Bumper-sticker policy no way to fight poverty." I believe the author intended this article to be read by those living in lower to middle income households. After reading through the information provided by the editorial board of the Statesman I was somewhat shocked. I, myself come from a middle-lower income household based on the standards listed in this article. As I related this article to my current situation and those of many friends and family things become a little clearer. I had always gone under the assumption that the reason for my financial stress was simply that I needed to be more financial savvy, more frugal. I think those things are key factors in making a financial situation better, however, after reading this article I have to agree that some of the solution should be coming from our government. If we are going to continue increasing the prices of our base necessities, wages should also be increased. Unfortunately, I do not know of many business owners that will happily pay their minimum wage employees an extra dollar an hour because they see gas prices rise. It has been my experience that rising costs of goods adversely affect the average American worker. Business owners are also feeling the tightening of the purse strings when prices increase. Their minds become more consumed with how they can reduce expenses, not increasing employee wages.

In the article it talks of the government poverty line being $22,000 for a family of four. Travis County has 19.2% of its population not hitting that mark. Knowing these figures motivated me to do a little research. There was an article in the NY Times that stated "though [minimum wage] rose to $7.25 an hour in 2009... the minimum wage is still lower than it was 30 years ago, after accounting for inflation. Today's minimum wage amounts to about $1.50 an hour less than it did in 1968. I was shocked to read that. Many of the minimum wage jobs are so necessary to our everyday lives. The fact that we are paying our employees less than 30 years ago is absolutely disheartening. It is no wonder that our country is in such a recession. If people can barely afford to eat, they surely won't be spending money they don't have to. Money not spent in our consumer market just makes our economic plight worse. I think this article put it very clear, a bumper sticker saying "I fight poverty, I work" is no way to really fight poverty.

WATER...Texas is Lacking

Water, or lack thereof, has been a hot topic of conversation for many months now. Restrictions have become stricter as this problem increases. Several months ago I read a few articles that discussed the severe drought that Texas is facing. Unfortunately, the outlook is increasingly grim. The LCRA controls much of our water supply. Earlier agreements made by the LCRA with the rice farmers in Matagorda, Wharton and Colorado counties entitles certain portions of water from the Colorado River to the farmers. As the drought continues, the LCRA is looking to make even higher restrictions, including cutting back on the amount of water that is supplied to the rice farmers. Some claim our low water levels are due to the agreement with the rice farmers. The LCRA has developed a plan that may cut off the water to the farmers in January if the lake levels drop below certain levels.

I read this article and could not help but think, why haven’t we addressed this problem sooner? This drought has become so severe that a simple windstorm causes thousands of acres to go up in flames. This hardly seems like a fair price to pay to keep the rice farms watered. This drought is the worst we have seen since the 1950’s - I think this is a case in which Texas could have been “better.”
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