CHAPTERS 7 &

8

• What is it?• What does poverty do?• Common characteristics

– Nearness of death– Marginalization – Living on the edge

• The Cycle of Poverty– Barriers to full development

SOURCE:  Federal Register, Vol. 70, No. 33, February 18, 2005, pp. 8373-8375.

2006 HHS Poverty Guidelines

Persons inFamily or Household

48 ContiguousStates and D.C. Alaska Hawaii

1 $ 9,800 $12,250 $11,270

2 13,200 16,500 15,180

3 16,600 20,750 19,090

4 20,000 25,000 23,000

5 23,400 29,250 26,910

6 26,800 33,500 30,820

7 30,200 37,750 34,730

8 33,600 42,000 38,640

For each additional person, add

 3,400  4,250  3,910

SOURCE:  Federal Register, Vol. 71, No. 15, January 24, 2006, pp. 3848-3849

• Chronic Hunger• Starvation• Malnutrition

• Literal meaning• Hidden homeless

• The Legacy of Colonialism

• Barriers to Development– Resource extraction– Government by the elite– Foreign aid problems– Discrimination– Arms sales

• The Debt Crisis

DefinitionTrue Development

• Consumerism– What is it?– Article Christian Asceticism: Breaking

Consumerism’s Destructive Hold

• The Wealth Gap– What is it?

• Poverty-Simplicity-Excess– Compare & Contrast

• Living in Solidarity– The Universal Destination of

Goods– A Eucharistic Response

1. Every economic decision and institution must be judged in light of whether it protects or undermines the dignity of the human person

2. Human dignity can be realized and protected only in community

3. All people have a right to participate in the economic life of society

4. All members of society have a special obligation to the poor and vulnerable

5. Human rights are the minimum conditions for life in community

6. Society as a whole, acting through public and private institutions, has the moral responsibility to enhance human dignity and protect human rights

1. What does the economy do for the people?

2. What does it do to people?

3. How do people participate in it?

SIMPLICITY*consciously chosen

*nurtures human spirit*fosters sense personal empowerment

*liberating

EXCESS*voluntary

*addictive & enslaving*fosters false sense

self-esteem*cheapens human spirit

POVERTY*involuntary

*repressive & debilitating*fosters sense of

helplessness, passivity, despair

*degrades human spirit