Economic Inequality

Some days, it really does feel like money makes the world go 'round. Need something to fill up the fridge? Go to the grocery store, spend some cash. A visit to the doctor's office? Get ready to pay what is due. Some of the most basic necessities in life cannot be had without envied paper notes and rounded metallic chunks. However, not everyone can afford the basics, which unfortunately has been a reality throughout most of human history. Distribution of wealth is unequal, and bam, economic inequality (to simplify this concept to an extreme).

Economic inequality affects many aspects of life. Provisions of clothing, for example, can be hard to come by. Access to heat is difficult as well. Lack of clothes or a place to stay can place a person in a spot of danger. What's worse, when you can't stay warm, you lose something most dear: hope. Hope for a better future, hope for employment to provide for oneself or a family. My thinking is that by keeping people warm, you kindle the fire of hope that, in essence, keeps them alive. In order to tackle this issue, a group of friends and I are running a winter clothing drive at my school.
Educational opportunities become scant if you live in a neighborhood with low funding. In these parts of town, you've got the hardly maintained public schools, or an unaffordable private school in another city. Unequal distribution of wealth equates unequal access to education. What's more, libraries with plenty of resources are hard to come by, and thus literacy levels go down. And without education, you set up yet another generation to end up stuck in the same kind of neighborhood they began in.
Food--the most basic necessity to live. Humans require nutrients in order to survive. And we all know what happens when we go too many days without food, or unhealthy food. Without basic amounts of nutritional food, people can't work or go to school, let alone fight off sickness. The fact that anyone lacks access to food simply because they don't have money to pay for it is ridiculous. It happens, everyday.
Fortunately, the human race is filled with all sorts of amazing people. One example? The Harry Potter Alliance. Their next campaign is oriented around The Hunger Games, and attacks many of the side effects of economic inequality. There are twelve categories, delineated by the twelve districts present in The Hunger Games series. There are districts specific to the homeless and housing, literacy and education, and food security (clothing, food, and book drives fall into these categories). While not everyone has sufficient wealth right now, there are ways we can help decrease the plight of the poor, without money, locally and globally.

PS I will posting more often (or so I hope). As it happens, college applications and running a magazine at school is crazier than I had previously anticipated.