Examining government regulations and their impact

Government Regulations

Perhaps one of the greatest injustices of the modern world is the suffering of children. This is not a new phenomenon. Children have always suffered for a number of reasons; war, politics, natural disasters, or indeed sheer adult stupidity. But surely society has evolved enough to keep the truly ugly phenomena of past injustice at bay. This is however not the case, as the poverty level among children in Louisiana shows. Louisiana has had one of the highest poverty levels of all the American states even before Hurricane Katrina exacerbated the situation. This high level of poverty affects every other area of the these children's lives as well. Education is for example at a very low level, with schooling taking place in an unpleasant environment, and regulated by professionals who are not in very close touch with the learners' needs.

Bob Smith (2007) blames this situation and many like it on the government and its policies regarding not only poverty, but also regulations in other areas. The claim is that the government is not truly concerned with alleviating poverty, but rather with lining its own pockets and those of rich voters by means of regulations, policies and taxes. Safety, sanitation, food inspections, labeling, building codes, and a myriad other measures, under the guise of being for the benefit of all, for example, are also designed as a trap for the poor. The poor do not have the funds available to build schools, cafeterias, homes and cars that meet all the regulations imposed by government, and therefore have not means to escape from their poverty. At the same time the gap between the rich and the poor keep widening.

Furthermore, regulations like these destroy the opportunity for which the United States has become well-known to immigrants and minority groups in the past. Now, children in Louisiana have been forcibly thrust into a situation of perpetual poverty not only by heritage, but by the added burden of natural disaster. And there is absolutely no means of escape for them. The situation is exacerbated by an adult and educational culture of misunderstanding and force. Children are punished excessively for crimes that in other circumstances might not be regarded as very severe. Schools are arranged in a prison-like fashion, making it difficult for children to be motivated or to learn. They are then robbed of opportunities to make something of their later lives. In this way, it becomes a cycle of poverty for parents, their children, and also for future generations.

Government regulations that drive the cost of living beyond the grasp of those with lower income levels complicates the issue further. This is therefore a significant obstacle in meeting the needs of the target population, the children of Louisiana. Government regulations in combination with a lack of adequate funding for programs to help these children, make it very difficult for the social professional to uplift such children from their circumstances. Indeed, the situation in Louisiana, not only for children, but also for families, have been very difficult both before and since the hurricane. This is not least so because the government increases the cost of everything the public does or buys (Smith, 2007).