问答题 Povertyisastoryaboutus,notthemA)Toooftenstill,wethinkweknowwhatpovertylookslike.It’sthewaywe’vebeentaught,theimageswe’vebeenforce-fedfordecades.Thechronicallyhomeless.Theundocumentedimmigrant.Theurbanpoor,usuallypersonifiedasawomanofcolor,the"welfarequeen"politiciansstilltoooftenreference.B)ButasincomeinequalityrisestorecordlevelsintheUnitedStates,eveninthemidstofarecordeconomicexpansion,thosefamiliarimagesareoutdated,hurtful,andcounterproductivetofocusingattentiononsolutionsandbuildingladdersofopportunity.C)Today’sfacesofincomeinequalityandlackofopportunitylooklikeallofus.It’sAnnaLandre,adisabledGeorgetownUniversitystudentfightingtokeephealthbenefitsthatallowherthefreedomtoliveherlife.It’sTiffanieStandard,acounselorforyoungwomenofcolorinPhiladelphiawhowanttobetechentrepreneurs—butwhomustworkmultiplejobstostayafloat.It’sKenOutlaw,awelderinruralNorthCarolinawhosedreamofgoingbacktoschoolatalocalcommunitycollegewasdashedbyHurricaneFlorence—justoneoftheextremeweathereventsthathavetippedthebalanceforstrugglingAmericansacrossthenation.D)Ifthesearethecentralcharactersofourstoryaboutpoverty,whatlayersofperceptions,myths,andrealitiesmustweunearthtofindmeaningfulsolutionsandsupport?Inpursuitofrevealingthiscomplicatedreality,MotheringJustice,ledbywomenofcolor,wentlastyeartothestatecapitalinLansing,Michigan,tolobbyonissuesthataffectworkingmothers.OneoftheMotheringJusticeorganizerswenttotheofficeofastaterepresentativetotalkaboutthelackofaffordablechildcare—thevestiges(痕迹)ofasystemthatexpectedmotherstostayhomewiththeirchildrenwhiletheirhusbandsworked.Alegislativestafferdismissedtheactivist’sconcerns,tellingher"myhusbandtookcareofthat—Istayedhome."E)Thatcomment,saysMotheringJusticedirectorDanielleAtkinson,"wasmeanttoshame"andreliedonthefamiliarnotionthatawomanofcolorconcernedaboutincomeinequalityandprogramsthatpromotemobilitymustbydefinitionbeasinglemom,probablywithmultiplekids.Inthiscase,theMotheringJusticeactivisthappenedtobemarried.AndinmostcasesintheAmericaof2019,theimagesthatcometomindwhenwehearthewordspovertyorincomeinequalityfailmiserablyinreflectingacomplicatedreality:povertytouchesvirtuallyallofus.Thefaceofincomeinequality,forallbutaveryfewofus,istheoneweeachseeinthemirror.F)HowmanyofusarepoorintheU.S.?Itdependsonwhoyouask.AccordingtotheCensusBureau,38millionpeopleintheU.S.arelivingbelowtheofficialpovertythresholds.Takingintoaccounteconomicneedbeyondthatabsolutemeasure,theInstituteforPolicyStudiesfoundthat140millionpeoplearepoororlow-income.That’salmosthalftheU.S.population.G)Whateverthemeasure,withinthatmassivegroup,povertyisextremelydiverse.Weknowthatsomepeoplearemoreaffectedthanothers,likechildren,theelderly,peoplewithdisabilities,andpeopleofcolor.H)Butthefactthat4in10Americanscan’tcomeupwith$400inanemergencyisacommonlycitedstatisticforgoodreason:economicinstabilitystretchesacrossrace,gender,andgeography.Itevenreachesintothemiddleclasses,asrealwageshavestagnated(不增长)forallbuttheverywealthyandtemporaryspellsoffinancialinstabilityarenotuncommon.I)Negativeimagesremainofwhoislivinginpovertyaswellaswhatisneededtomoveoutofit.ThebigAmericanmythisthatyoucanpullyourselfupbyyourowneffortsandchangeabadsituationintoagoodone.Therealityisthatfindingopportunitywithouthelpfromfamilies,friends,schools,andcommunityisvirtuallyimpossible.Andtheplayingfieldisnothingclosetolevel.J)TheFrameWorksInstitute,aresearchgroupthatfocusesonpublicframingofissues,hasstudiedwhatsustainsstereotypesandnarrativesofpovertyintheUnitedKingdom."Peoplevieweconomicsuccessandwellbeinginlifeasaproductofchoice,willpower,anddrive,"saysNatKendall-Taylor,CEOofFrameWorks."Whenweseepeoplewhoarestruggling,"hesays,thoseassumptions"leadustotheperceptionthatpeopleinpovertyarelazy,theydon’tcare,andtheyhaven’tmadetherightdecisions."K)Doesthissoundfamiliar?SimilarideassurroundpovertyintheU.S.Andtheseassumptionsgiveafalsepictureofreality."Whenpeopleenterintothatpatternofthinking,"saysKendall-Taylor,"it’scognitivelycomfortabletomakesenseofissuesofpovertyinthatway.Itcreatesakindofcognitiveblindness—allofthefactorsexternaltoaperson’sdriveandchoicesthatthey’vemadebecomeinvisibleandfadefromview."L)Thoseexternalfactorsincludethedifficultiesaccompanyinglow-wageworkorstructuraldiscriminationbasedonrace,gender,orability.Assumptionsgetworsewhenpeoplewhoarepoorusegovernmentbenefitstohelpthemsurvive.Thereisagreattensionbetween"thepoor"andthosewhoarereceivingwhathasbecomeadirtyword:"welfare."M)AccordingtotheGeneralSocialSurvey,71percentofrespondentsbelievethecountryisspendingtoolittleon"assistancetothepoor."Ontheotherhand,22percentthinkwearespendingtoolittleon"welfare":37percentbelievewearespendingtoomuch.N)"Povertyhasbeeninterchangeablewithpeopleofcolor—specificallyblackwomenandblackmothers,"saysAtkinsonofMotheringJustice.It’struethatblackmothersaremoreaffectedbypovertythanmanyothergroups,yettheyaredisproportionatelythefaceofpoverty.Forexample,Americansroutinelyoverestimatetheshareofblackrecipientsofpublicassistanceprograms.O)Inreality,mostpeoplewillexperiencesomeformoffinancialhardshipatsomepointintheirlives.Indeed,peopletendtodipinandoutofpoverty,perhapsduetounexpectedobstacleslikelosingajob,orwhenhoursofalow-wagejobfluctuate.P)Somethingeachofuscandoistotreateachotherwiththedignityandsympathythatisdeservedandtounderstanddeeplythattheissueofpovertytouchesallofus.问：Accordingtoasurvey,whilethemajoritybelievetoolittleassistanceisgiventothepoor,morethanathirdbelievetoomuchisspentonwelfare.