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FSogol

(45,355 posts)
Tue Oct 13, 2015, 08:57 AM Oct 2015

"The remarkable thing that happens to poor kids when you give their parents a little money"

From a Washington Post article by Roberto A. Ferdman

Twenty years ago, a group of researchers began tracking the personalities of 1,420 low income children in North Carolina. At the time, the goal was simple: to observe the mental conditions of kids living in rural America. But then a serendipitous thing happened.

Four years into The Great Smoky Mountains Study of Youth, the families of roughly a quarter of the children saw a dramatic and unexpected increase in annual income. They were members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and a casino had just been built on the reservation. From that point on every tribal citizen earned a share of the profits, meaning about an extra $4,000 a year per capita.

For these families, the extra padding was a blessing, enough to boost household incomes by almost 20 percent on average. But for the fields of psychology, sociology and economics, it has been a gold mine, too. The sudden change in fortunes has offered a rare glimpse into the subtle but important ways in which money can alter a child’s life. The dataset is so rich that researchers continue to study it to this day.


snip

Not only did the extra income appear to lower the instance of behavioral and emotional disorders among the children, but, perhaps even more important, it also boosted two key personality traits that tend to go hand in hand with long-term positive life outcomes.


Whole article here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2015/10/08/the-remarkable-ways-a-little-money-can-change-a-childs-personality-for-life/?wpmm=1&wpisrc=nl_optimist



x-posted from Good Reads
36 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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"The remarkable thing that happens to poor kids when you give their parents a little money" (Original Post) FSogol Oct 2015 OP
what an interesting article. Filled with hope yet also despair... KittyWampus Oct 2015 #1
True, but it shows that our issues and values are correct. And we should never stop FSogol Oct 2015 #6
Don't forget who changed ''Welfare as We Know It™.'' Octafish Oct 2015 #9
Thank you. JDPriestly Oct 2015 #16
this is a great post. marym625 Oct 2015 #2
Fascinating underpants Oct 2015 #3
Not surprising at all. OneGrassRoot Oct 2015 #4
Please X post in First Americans too Omaha Steve Oct 2015 #5
But research has shown Beowulf42 Oct 2015 #7
Yep...it's all connected...nt tex-wyo-dem Oct 2015 #24
The reason the US population hasn't woke up WHEN CRABS ROAR Oct 2015 #27
PLUS that money gets immediately pumped back into a local economy. Divernan Oct 2015 #36
K&R. A must read nt riderinthestorm Oct 2015 #8
A really good read malaise Oct 2015 #10
I was just at that casino yesterday, had a good time, and left a little money to help them out. SharonAnn Oct 2015 #11
This proves that Bernie Sanders is absolutely correct! DrBulldog Oct 2015 #12
Exactly. Cassiopeia Oct 2015 #13
Bernie gets the interconnection of all this... tex-wyo-dem Oct 2015 #25
k and r niyad Oct 2015 #14
Wonderfful article! Poverty makes people very anxious and often depressed. JDPriestly Oct 2015 #15
There are no surprises here. Of course it sucks to be poor. We have always known that. totodeinhere Oct 2015 #17
A great example of why our huge income inequality is immoral. Duppers Oct 2015 #18
More evidence that minimum incomes are a good idea. Gormy Cuss Oct 2015 #19
I have watched this story unfold first hand on the reservation jwirr Oct 2015 #20
Thanks for posting. n/t FSogol Oct 2015 #21
+100 n/t lumberjack_jeff Oct 2015 #23
Thanks, a very informative post. n/t ms liberty Oct 2015 #28
It wasn't just money, it was also jobs. lumberjack_jeff Oct 2015 #22
A couple of years ago TracieLynn Oct 2015 #26
Thank you. There are still traditionalists in the tribe who jwirr Oct 2015 #29
Welcome to DU wryter2000 Oct 2015 #33
Thanks! TracieLynn Oct 2015 #34
kick Liberal_in_LA Oct 2015 #30
k and r..nt Stuart G Oct 2015 #31
Kicked and recommended! Enthusiast Oct 2015 #32
Good Read....K&R! KoKo Oct 2015 #35
 

KittyWampus

(55,894 posts)
1. what an interesting article. Filled with hope yet also despair...
Tue Oct 13, 2015, 09:07 AM
Oct 2015

because it's so hard to get financial and social aid to families as long as Republicans have any power.

Octafish

(55,745 posts)
9. Don't forget who changed ''Welfare as We Know It™.''
Tue Oct 13, 2015, 10:06 AM
Oct 2015
The Worst Thing Bill Clinton Has Done: A Clinton appointee who resigned in protest over the new welfare law explains why it is so bad and suggests how its worst effects could be mitigated.

-- Peter Edelman

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1997/03/the-worst-thing-bill-clinton-has-done/376797/

marym625

(17,997 posts)
2. this is a great post.
Tue Oct 13, 2015, 09:12 AM
Oct 2015

If anything shows that we need to take better care of the children, this does.

OneGrassRoot

(22,917 posts)
4. Not surprising at all.
Tue Oct 13, 2015, 09:21 AM
Oct 2015

We know the impact stress (most of which is due to lack of $$) has on all aspects of our lives -- emotional, mental, and physical well-being, and certainly relationships. Chronic stress is so destructive.

Remove or alleviate financial stress, and every aspect of life improves. (Though people who win huge lotteries or become famous and ridiculously wealthy almost overnight are a different story, I realize.) It's friggin exhausting to constantly have to worry about money

I wish we would address the obscene wealth inequality, but also simultaneously reduce the focus on $$$ in our society. Money really is worshiped now. It's frustrating to have to THINK about money all the time, let alone worry about not having enough to get through life with any semblance of ease. But profit and money are at the very core of our value system now.

It rules nearly every aspect of our lives, so of course not having enough of it results in constant stress.

Thanks for the post.



Beowulf42

(202 posts)
7. But research has shown
Tue Oct 13, 2015, 09:57 AM
Oct 2015

that better educational outcomes are directly connected to the family income. Not only does behavior benefit from more money in a family, but the children have better success in school, drug use is reduced, and we all know the major cause of divorce is conflict over money. In addition, the state receives increased tax income for better roads, schools, bridges, etc. But our politicians blithely deny these outcomes because of the "needs" of the ultra-rich. The US must wake up and realize we are being played for suckers.

WHEN CRABS ROAR

(3,813 posts)
27. The reason the US population hasn't woke up
Tue Oct 13, 2015, 04:44 PM
Oct 2015

to the fact that we are being played for suckers, is that we are being conditioned from cradle to grave with a massive propaganda, fear and lie campaign.
We need to teach critical thinking and it has to start in early childhood.

Divernan

(15,480 posts)
36. PLUS that money gets immediately pumped back into a local economy.
Thu Oct 15, 2015, 11:40 PM
Oct 2015

As opposed to money trickling up to the bloated, greed-engorged One Percent, who just build up their stock portfolio/hedge funds, lease a more expensive summer place in the Hamptons, etc.

When poor people get more income, it immediately gets spent right in the communities where they live. Clothing, dental care, grocery stores, auto repair, renting a larger apartment, furniture, etc.

SharonAnn

(13,766 posts)
11. I was just at that casino yesterday, had a good time, and left a little money to help them out.
Tue Oct 13, 2015, 10:22 AM
Oct 2015

We go over twice a year on a day trip and have a great social outing and leave a little money for them.

 

DrBulldog

(841 posts)
12. This proves that Bernie Sanders is absolutely correct!
Tue Oct 13, 2015, 11:07 AM
Oct 2015

Many of the issues he discusses - racism, youth crime, lack of education opportunity, and income inequality are ALL parallel issues and closely tied together. A little more financial security goes a long way towards also securing the FAMILY and the COMMUNITY.

Cassiopeia

(2,603 posts)
13. Exactly.
Tue Oct 13, 2015, 11:15 AM
Oct 2015

The issues you mentioned can only be tackled in a serious way when income inequality is in the mix.

Without financial stability, there can be no stability.

JDPriestly

(57,936 posts)
15. Wonderfful article! Poverty makes people very anxious and often depressed.
Tue Oct 13, 2015, 11:38 AM
Oct 2015

That affects children's development.

We need to invest a lot more in our families and children and much less in war.

totodeinhere

(13,034 posts)
17. There are no surprises here. Of course it sucks to be poor. We have always known that.
Tue Oct 13, 2015, 01:13 PM
Oct 2015

When families for whatever reason have extra income everything gets better. That was one of the main premises behind LBJ's war on poverty.

Duppers

(28,094 posts)
18. A great example of why our huge income inequality is immoral.
Tue Oct 13, 2015, 02:52 PM
Oct 2015

I don't gamble but I do shop at the craft and gift shops in Cherokee.

It's a crime what was done to our Native Americans.

Thanks for posting the enlightening article, FSogol.


Gormy Cuss

(30,884 posts)
19. More evidence that minimum incomes are a good idea.
Tue Oct 13, 2015, 02:56 PM
Oct 2015

Having a guaranteed base greatly reduces stress in very low income households. It's also cheaper to administer than current welfare cash assistance programs because there's little need to screen or look for fraud.

There's also the question of stress, which the extra money helps relieve—even if only a little. While the added income wasn't enough to allow parents to quit their jobs, it's a base level that helped with rent and food and other basic expenses. That, Akee said, is powerful enough itself.

jwirr

(39,215 posts)
20. I have watched this story unfold first hand on the reservation
Tue Oct 13, 2015, 03:06 PM
Oct 2015

I live on. And the extra money does make a difference. But the point in this study is that the casino made the difference. Jobs. Tribal ownership. Community involvement. This had a huge impact on the lives our the families on our reservation. Welfare is good because it helps those who have no other way to care for themselves.

Jobs give more. Prior to the casino on our reservation very few adults had jobs. They survived in two ways - survivalist living (living off the land) and benefits from the tribe (housing) and welfare if they could get it. Kids did not see their parents go off to work every morning and come home with a paycheck. What jobs there were came from the government (CETA) and were temporary at the most. There was little to encourage the children to go to school because there were no jobs.

The community saw the tribal members as a burden or worse and discrimination was the law of the day. Teachers saw no reason to worry about the Native child who was failing because they saw their future as hopeless. Not to mention that the Native parents agree with the teacher - education did not make sense to them when there were no jobs. Hadn't been for generations.

Police saw their job as "keeping the Natives on the reservation and out of town". That left the reservation without police protection as well as a wall between them and the community. The community did not hire Natives for the same reason. Natives were seen as ignorant because they did not graduate from school and very few went to college. They were not businessmen.

Then the tribe won permission from the BIA to open and run their own casinos. Of course on the local level no one believed they would ever be able to make these businesses work. But they were wrong. Yes, it took them a while to learn how to run a casino - but they started to send their employees out to Las Vegas to learn the ropes. They moved from bingo in a small tribal building to a casino. They added businesses: golf course, hotel, gas station with a grocery store connected, nursing homes, pre-schools, tribal schools for those who were not doing well in regular schools. They used their profits to build an economy. They became the biggest employer in the area and they hired all races.

They developed their own Native police force. They improved the Indian Health Services on the reservation. Everything sprang from those jobs. The entire situation turned around.

Today, they have jobs, they see a reason to send the kids to school and even college. They are a part of the community. In fact many of the members of the tribe have bought homes in the community. The casino started out paying good wages and everyone got health care services (not just Native workers). There is no one in this community that can say that they are not businessmen and women.

So yes, the $400 a month each member gets from the profits in the casino and other businesses makes a big difference. But there are so many more benefits that spring from the economic change on the reservation.

I will say that one thing has not changed all that much - the drug scene. We still have families who have not seen any of this change due to alcohol and drugs.

And I do not exactly know how to apply this lesson to other racial communities. The casino worked for us because we are sovereign and can make many of our own decisions.

That is not true of places like Ferguson MO. But one thing many of the lessons we learned should be applied to places like that. This OP study tells us that helping people economically is worth while. Our lesson on the reservation is that so does self rule. Being able to make your own decisions about how to fix your own community is vital.

 

lumberjack_jeff

(33,224 posts)
22. It wasn't just money, it was also jobs.
Tue Oct 13, 2015, 03:12 PM
Oct 2015

It was infrastructure, it was new schools and community centers, it was a broadened social network.

TracieLynn

(8 posts)
26. A couple of years ago
Tue Oct 13, 2015, 04:10 PM
Oct 2015

my boyfriend and I went over to that casino in Cherokee, NC. As I was standing by the bar watching some of a basketball game, a Native American woman beside me asked me if I was there for the concert that was getting ready to start. I told her that, "No, I just came over to give the casino some of my money." She said, "Thank you so much! I never would have thought we would have had something like this. It has made such a difference to our lives." I told her that I didn't feel so bad about losing the money now. I'll never forget the emotion in her voice as she told me that.

jwirr

(39,215 posts)
29. Thank you. There are still traditionalists in the tribe who
Tue Oct 13, 2015, 07:24 PM
Oct 2015

do not like that this is creating a new way of life but the truth is they still take the monthly allotment from the profits. Most recognize what it means to their lives.

TracieLynn

(8 posts)
34. Thanks!
Wed Oct 14, 2015, 06:49 PM
Oct 2015

I've been around for a while but don't comment much because I find that others have usually said what I would say, and often much better!

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