Who is rich? Who is poor?
When you think about everything you need to survive in life, it usually revolves around money. We need to be able to get food, clothes, have a place to live, transportation, and to be able to buy other things might want to have. Are there systems that help keep rich people rich, or poor people poor? Do we have certain ideas about who gets to be rich or who has to be poor? How did this come to be, and is there anything we can do to change it?
Let’s start with learning some words!
- Rich means that someone has much more of something (money, land, time, objects, resources) than other people. Words that also mean the same thing are wealthy, affluent, and prosperous. Look up these synonyms on Thesaurus.com! The word poor is an antonym for the word rich.
- Poor means that someone has very little of something, it is the opposite of rich. Words that mean the same thing as poor are underprivileged, impoverished, and indigent. Look up these synonyms on Thesaurus.com! The word rich is an antonym for the word poor.
- System means many parts that assemble a whole. You use a lot of systems in your every day life! There are systems like schools (you go to elementary school, then middle school, then high school before you graduate; these individual pieces are part of the education system), transportation (made up of roads, biking lanes, cars, busses, mopeds, motorcycles, speed limits, and more), and even video games (you need a console, games, controllers, and sometimes other people to play with).
1. Can you name some rich people?
2. How do you think they became rich?
3. What do you think is the largest source of wealth in the U.S.?
We can think of there being three levels of wealth (in terms of money) in the U.S11.:
1. Lower income
2. Middle income
3. High income
Low income usually means that a person or families struggle to get by with their income and sometimes need supplemental support from government programs. This might include help with rent, paying for food, or reduced costs for utilities and other services. It might also mean that some education opportunities are free, or reduced in cost. Important thought: low income individuals often do not have time or money to participate in leisure activities like vacations, traveling, concerts or live entertainment. They also often are not able to put money into a savings account to save up for big purchases (like a home, a car, or paying for college tuition) because they need to spend everything they earn to eat, sleep, and go to work.
Middle income usually means that a person or families make just enough or more than enough money to cover their costs without government assistance. Although our middle income area has changed a lot over the years, people in this category can usually afford to participate in fun activities, save money, and eventually buy large items like a house or a car.
High income usually means that a person or families have enough money to own the home they live in, own one or more cars, do not worry about being able to purchase food or pay bills, and can participate in many leisure activities. High income does not necessarily mean that they are billionaires; some people are so extremely wealthy that they rank above the high income category. Conversely, some people are so poor that they rank below the low income category.
One of the largest sources of personal wealth in the U.S. is land ownership2. Land, much like water, is a natural resource that we cannot make more of. We can change it (by building on it, or mining materials from it, for example), and nature can change it (think about erosion, flooding, lava flowing, or sinkholes), but we do not have the ability to just make more land to add to our continents.
Think about what you already know about Hawai‘i’s history. How was land viewed prior to Western contact? What happened to the land when colonial influences continued to arrive? What do you know about land ownership in Hawai‘i now?
Some systems in Hawai‘i you can think about are the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, land development companies, the Department of Land and Natural Resources, and the National Parks Service. What are some pros and cons of these agencies and systems?
Can you afford to purchase land in Hawai‘i? Do you or your family rent the home or apartment you’re living in? Where does that money go? What do you think about the concept of renting (you pay someone to live in a place that you don’t own, but someone else does), being a landlord (you own a place and rent it out to someone but you don’t live there), or being an owner (you own a place and live in it, but if you purchased it using a mortgage you owe the bank money for anywhere from 15 to 30 years)?
1. Do you think we treat people differently if we have more or less money than they do?
2. Do you think someone else treats us differently if they have more or less money than we do?
Video Break!
So now you know a little more about how financial security is obtained (land ownership), and the ways in which some people are unable to get ahead (low income individuals). You’ve also learned more about how we treat each other based on how we view our own wealth, and how we view someone else’s wealth.
If you want to change some of the systems we’ve talked about, or if you want to explore the career opportunities that exist that are related to this discussion, use the tabs below to find career pathways, worksheets, and other information.
If you want to change the systems we’ve talked about, you should consider:
- Politics (city council, state, or federal government legislature jobs)
- Working for places like the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Department of Human Services, or for city planning departments
- Engineering
- Architecture
- Social services
- Teaching
- Hospitality and tourism