Dear Mr. or Mrs. Future President,

Forty six million, that’s how many people are living in poverty according to the article, “Understanding Controversy and Society.” The question is, are you going to do something when you become president? This is a serious issue going on in a country that you want to lead, yet I haven’t seen that number drop. Millions of your people are living in conditions where they don’t even have a place to live. I understand that it doesn’t affect you, but it affects millions of people daily, and as president you should want to help your people.

Many people cling to the words you say in hope of hearing something that could really help their situation. Yet, all they hear are the same topics over and over again: Terrorism, national debt, racism, and police brutality. These, of course, are major problems that do need to be fixed, but you shouldn’t neglect the fact that people are living in poverty every day which affects how they get to live their lives. Imagine having to dig into a dumpster in the hopes of finding clothing to help with the cold or having to live out of your car because you don’t have a place to call home. This affects the children as well, putting them at an elevated risk for problems emotionally and with their learning. Would you really want to focus on what 7x7 is while you’re slowly starving?

Of course poverty won’t have a quick and easy solution, but as the next president you should at least try to improve the solution. You could start off by making it mandatory for students to finish high school. This may sound like a weird request, but among the people who live in poverty, 28.9% never completed high school and got a diploma. If people start to complete high school, they’ll have a better chance of finding a job allowing them to make money and stay out of poverty.

I understand that as the next president there are many issues you need to deal with, but just imagine what this country could be if we had more people working. They could be making new discoveries and improving the economy that is currently in shambles, instead of living on the streets. A person living in poverty could be the next Einstein or the one to discover the cure to cancer, if only they had a chance to do so. Instead they are struggling to find something to eat.

Forty-six million. Are you going to help make that number drop or are you going to choose to ignore them? As the next leader, it is your responsibility to help in any way you can when there is a problem in your country. How about starting off with poverty?

Sincerely,

Karla M