[Gretta]

Try this Link on article How Poverty taxes the brain

file:///Users/grettafernandes/Desktop/How%20Poverty%20Taxes%20the%20Brain%20-%20CityLab.html

• This topic was modified 6 years, 2 months ago by Gretta.

[Gregona]

The article on how poverty taxes the brain to me was a bit off. I admit that some people become a bit absent-minded when they are stressed but I would not say that all poor people are “unintelligent” (have a lower IQ). I do not believe a large enough sample was used to come to that conclusion. Even with the addition of the indian farmers, I still think it was not enough to support the article’s findings. I was surprised that it mentioned that part of the study was done at a New Jersey mall. Obviously, if one is stressed or burden with money worries they will be distracted or may not be interested in doing any research.
It is good though that mention is made that new advances in antipoverty would use these findings to help poor people become more financially stable and hence increase their cognitive ability.

[Julia]

This article is very interesting; it shows us until what extent poverty can affect our cognitive capacity related to how to react to poverty. Poverty in many cases can block our cognitive ability to find solutions to problems; it is as if the ideas or reactions were locked in a box. At some point I agree with the research because during the reception there were many people who took their lives when they lost their jobs or when they knew they were going to lose their houses because they could not pay the mortgage on their houses or apartments, others even not only they took their lives but the lives of their loves one. I recognize that poverty can put out the courage to think that we can move forward but at the same time I think the cognitive bandwidth related to poverty depends on the mental maturity of a person to react positively to poverty. Learning to live with what is necessary is one way to overcome poverty and at the same time try to strive to study and get better job opportunities.

[Egzona Dedushi]

I don’t really understand the point of this article. It’s basically pointing out that when people are under financial stress it causes them to lose IQ points. They might be missing things, such as financial opportunities, that they would have not if they weren’t under the stress. I do agree that worrying about money, about paying bills, supporting your family might distract you from paying attention to other things that might help your financial status. However, I do not agree that because they are under that stress their IQ’s are lowered. People in poverty do not have the same benefits as people who are well off, that is clear. Having a lower IQ might be because of the different education provided for both sides. I also believe that people’s understanding of what’s important and what should be the focus of their life also has a lot to do with their financial status. Someone who is living in poverty and has to take care of their family might believe that the only thing they can focus on is that their family is taken care of. For example basic needs of their family might be on the top of the list. Whereas someone who is well off, financially, might have the luxury of being sure that their family is secure, which leaves space for them to focus on other things and take financial opportunities that might be better for them. I completely disagree with the article when they speak about poverty and parenting. “This explains, for example, why poor people who aren’t good with money might also struggle to be good parents. The two problems aren’t unconnected.” i actually got frustrated reading this. The type of parent someone is has nothing to do with money. I truly believe that being a parent is not dependent on how poor or rich you are. I do believe that taking care of children would definitely be easier if you have a decent income, only because they are able to easily provide the needs and wants of the children. However we should respect that people that are under the poverty line and still are able to be good loving parents.

[Zerica]

Poverty or being poor is a crime. The article is basically telling us that being poor or living in poverty we think more than a wealthy person. Because we have to figure out how the bills is going to be paid, what the children will eat for dinner or even to buy a book for them taxes the brain. As the article states that poverty imposed a mental burden. People lost rest, depressed, stressed, and even loosing their self esteem because they do not have the strength to lift themselves up out of the situation and try to get a head start on a better life. Poverty interferes with one’s well being. it modify your life circumstances, however, I think that there is a thin line between poverty and living above poverty if some people just have the will to remove that line. Even though some people do not have the energy or the mental capacity to deal with a situation I do not think that poverty is that bad in the sense that it imposed a mental burden similar to loosing 13 IQ points. It would be nice if the system could generate some programs that deals with people who are living in poverty so that they can be more financially stable and so that they can have the mental capacity to deal with what life has to offer.

[nyay nyay]

After reading “How Poverty Taxes the Brain,” it shocked me how human beings view one another by saying how poverty has the major role and has impacted human life. This is not always the case because many poor people are smart, geniuses and intelligent. It doesn’t make sense that being in poverty means a person can’t function well in his or her daily living or has a lower IQ in test scores than a normal or a rich person. Although I understand that being poor or living in poverty makes people’s life harder to do certain things and may struggle in their life, it doesn’t mean they are dumb or can’t do things as well as a normal or rich people can do. We have to believe on our own self not what people think of us because this is not always true. Everyone has the capability and skills of doing things. It doesn’t matter what status we are (rich or poor), we are all human and for sure we are unique in one way or another.

[Kharyn Benjamin]

After reading the article “How Poverty Taxes the Brain”, I feel the article has generalized impoverished people by stating they have a low IQ because they are poor. Just because someone lack the resources does not mean they have a lower IQ than anyone with a higher social class. living in poverty takes a toll on someone mental health which can affect their performance but that does not mean their IQ is lower than someone that has a higher economic status. The only way someone’s IQ can be considerably lower would be because the difference in education that is received. Also I believe that if someone is living in poverty their main goal is to provide for their family and if that means working more and seeing the family less that is their way of providing. I would not consider this neglect. Everyone is unique in their own way and everyone has the skills to do things, therefore, for this article to make a general statement based on a few people they surveyed and interviewed and experimented on is unfair. Poverty is wrong but to go as far as saying people who are impoverished lose IQ points and are prone to neglect their family is not something I agree with.

[ShereeMiller]

I think the article is basically informing us about poor and wealthy people. The poor people tend to think about the necessity like how bills will be paid, giving their kids money to go to school and all of that other important things. whereas, the wealthy people don’t really care about anything. they have money and just blow it on whatever they want, without having to think about when and where they will get another lonesome. Yes. poverty imposed a burden as stated in the article. reason being is that not everyone is the same. some people can’t really take the pressure and stress it brings their self-esteem down. And that will have them do things their not suppose to do and then that’s when the 13 IQ comes in place because like i said before some people IQ may not decrease whereas some might still be the same. it all depends on the type of person and how strong one person is so i somewhat agree with this article.

[Aszina]

I can say I toatlly diagree with this article just because your facing poverty dosent mean you cant be a good parent. Being a good parent is more than just about having money. Yes you need money to take care of your family but children also need love. Being poverty stricin also dont mean your IQ is less neither. You might not have the resources that rich and wealthy people have or the schooling they have gotten but that dont take away from your IQ. Yes being poor sometimes plays on your mental state, you may go through depression because you dont know how your bills will be paid at times. Only thing I agree with is that poverty does impose a burden. All people arent the same and some people take stress differently as where some people cant handle it and those few might react and do something stupid, but not one individual in this world is the same. This article was kind of ignorant to me in all honesty.

[Tameeka]

The article “Poverty taxes the brain” was very different than articles I have read. It’s so sad how poor people are misjudge, and looked down on based on their low finances. I agree that people that are poor will have difficulty sustaining overall a good quality of life. Rich people have an upper hand over a poor person. They don’t worry as much as a person who is less unfortunate. In my opinion everyone in their their life time, have experience stress in some form, weather it’s a financial situation, or life circumstance. You would think that more people who are well off and non-profit organizations would get involve to help people who suffer from poverty. Being poor can cause health issues. I don’t agree that it can lower your IQ totally. The assumption that intelligence can be measured by poverty is very hard to determine. We the people develop from different race and cultures and we all have different skills and capabilities among others. I agree that poverty can raise levels of stress and can be an tremendous burden. So many households tend to be effected by low income. Some people have a stronger coping mechanism to deal with poverty and stay strong mentally until they get out.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 1 month ago by Tameeka.

[Nicole]

The article How poverty taxes the brain seemed pessimistic to me. I have seen and read of many people coming from low income countries or living and getting a education and having successful careers. I believe it’s a possible outcome but it is not a one size fits all possibility. In other words just because it’s possible does not mean all “poor people” have an impaired cognitive .

[Ivory Chavis]

The article and the study that was conducted was a bit flawed in my opinion. There were many statements that I felt were not true. Your income level or socioeconomic status does not impact your ability to be a good parent. However, it does impact the resources and opportunities that you are able to give to your child. This article could have used more clarification and regarding what their definitions of certain terms meant. What constitutes a “good” parent? Why did researchers look for “poor” participants in a New Jersey Mall? Some statements that I do agree with was the levels of stress. A person who lives in poverty would have different stressors versus someone who is wealthy. Their stressors would include money, bills, childcare, etc. These stressors can then cause mental health issues that would impact their brain and cognitive abilities such anxiety and depression. However, I don’t agree that a series of cognitive tests that were performed on poor individuals who had many stressors determines a person’s ability to break generational poverty.

[Odalys Cortes]

The article How poverty taxes the brain can be the struggle some people in low-income families may go through. I do agree that being in poverty comes with stressor and can cause health and physical issues. I believe the matter of the timing, depth and duration. How long a person been in poverty and how poor are they. If a person is really poor I do believe that it can cause lack of cognitive development and may need more support in a academic achievement perspective, because when a person is poor and haven’t ate for days or wonder when is their next meal going to be it can be time consumed in thinking how they would survive for the day rather then paying attention of their surroundings. So much time would be concentrated trying to survive or find a way to get money for the rent they can forget about other tasks. I believe your social statues doesn’t define you it can be a limitation but there’s people in poverty and over came it. Just becomes the person is poor doesn’t mean that they are not good parents.

[Sasure]

The article seemed very unprofessional to me. The way it was written and the “evidence” that was given didn’t really resonate. I didn’t agree with a lot of what was being said. I think the article was trying to connect how poverty can produce more than just stress on a individual which can lead to a lot of difficulty dealing with everyday life. While this can be true, I don’t think they did a good job putting that into the article. Like when they said that people who have trouble with money can struggle to be good parents. There are many people who have trouble with money, you can be rich person and still have trouble with money. Does that make you a bad parent? No, it does not. There are many parents who are in poverty who still make one of the best parents there can be. I think the article needed a better study to back up their theory.

[Kaitsee]

Reading this article made me disagree on certain things. I do not think it is true that just because someone is low class or poor they aren’t a good parent. Of course that times can get hard and you may not have all the money in the world to buy your kids everything but that doesn’t make you a bad parent. Being poor can affect a family because there can be a lack of being able to provide for the children but Money doesn’t buy happiness although we need money to provide for our kids but we also need to give them love. Love is important for our kids to have. People who are low class or known as poor get judged so much. I’m 100% sure there are rich parents who may treat their children worse than a poor person does. Just because they have money they do not get judged. It is really unfair. There are people of lower level income who will find any type of jobs to be able to provide for their family or find help.
I think no matter your class level or how poor or rich you are doesn’t and shouldn’t define you as a parent.