You have been asked to write an editorial about the most pressing issue facing humanity. Please identify the issue and justify why you have selected it?

The headlines in American newspapers last year could mostly be summed up in a relatively short list: political scandals, the war in Iraq, and celebrity gossip. There is one very important issue in this country, however, that receives little media attention: poverty. Poverty is a problem that America and the rest of world continue to face – and many are not even aware of the severity of the problem. What I believe is most tragic is that our society has made so much progress politically and technologically, yet the problem of poverty has not diminished. America’s poverty rate, for example, currently the highest rate of the twenty wealthiest nations in the world, has not changed much from what it was in the 1960s. More than 35 million Americans - more than 12% of the population - are currently living in poverty.

To me, the most upsetting part of this issue comes from wondering how many people – and especially children – could do more with their lives if not stuck in the vicious cycle of poverty. In fact, according to a recent UNICEF report, children in America are less likely to move out of the lowest income distribution than children in any other industrialized nation. Imagine a child, bright and full of potential, who is struggling in school only because she is often too hungry to concentrate and must go home to a house that is quite frankly unsafe to live in. Through my involvement with Habitat for Humanity, I’ve seen first-hand the need among many citizens for safe, affordable housing. This year we’ve been building a new home for a family that had to move out of their house, as it was deemed unsafe by city code. I was most thankful that we were giving their two children, who often helped us on the worksite, a better environment in which to mature, to study, and to just be kids.

For those who are not convinced by social responsibility alone, there are compelling economic reasons for Americans to be interested in reducing the poverty rate: crime and productivity. It is a well-known fact that crime rates in America are highest in those regions with the highest poverty rate. Of course, this is very intuitive: those who live in poverty not only have less to lose by engaging in crime, but often feel that they have no choice but to engage in crime to survive. If we could help these people to escape from poverty, our society would experience less of a burden in terms of law enforcement, and would benefit from the increase in productivity of these citizens employed in legitimate jobs.

I choose to write about poverty because it is long-term, it is tragic, and it has negative implications well-beyond the group of people facing it. It is my own personal belief that we have a responsibility of sorts to improve the society we live in, which is why it is critical that we call attention to a problem so close to home.