When a mother makes her children drink a bottle of toilet bowl cleaner and then drinks the same poison herself afterwards, is it the mother’s fault, society, or government’s?
Is she to blame for not finding another way to put food on the table when her construction-worker husband cannot send home money, or is it the fault of society that is apathetic to the plight of people who are suffering? Or can this sin be placed solely on the shoulders of the government, for the failure of its cash subsidies and other fixits to bring hope to the poor?
I remember hurting this way when Mariannet, a young girl, hanged herself last November 2, 2007 because she was desperate about life itself.
I am not a stranger to poverty. I know how it feels to see a single parent worry about where to get money for the next day. There is no security; no hope. What if your toddler’s hunger brings you to the tipping point?
I don’t have the answers. I’m also not fond of pointing fingers. I just know that something has to be done. And just as I know that we can’t all save the world from cavities, maybe one good deed for others and one intelligent personal finance deed for one’s self tomorrow (we can’t help others if we are not standing on higher plane), could make a difference, if done by 1,000 people all at the same time.
26 Responses to “Tipping point of poverty”
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Pages: « 6 5 4 3 2 [1] Show All
September 10th, 2008 at 9:27 pm
poverty is a worldwide problem, even in first world countries - they also have people who doesn’t know how to handle money and right priorities, it so happens that their government has a budget that goes to where it should go.
we can’t just blame the government regarding poverty. people should know how to budget and prioritize their money. lalo na ang mga low-income group, who spends most of their money to luxuries and things that are not needed.
maybe the government could make a step forward fighting poverty by teaching values, entrepreneurship, and basic money management even to elementary students. giving money to poor people would not help them.