Denying a loan to a person in poverty, possibly forcing him or her to choose between buying food to eat and paying rent is not an easy thing to do. But I have done it.  Well, sort of.
Making (or refusing to make) title and/or payday loans was just one of the duties assigned to me as a worker at the agency called Quik Cash in a poverty simulation held on Thursday in Mississippi State University’s Bost Hall auditorium.
The honors students of Rebecca Smith’s Economics of Social Issues course hosted the poverty simulation as a way to gain honors credit for the course.
The poverty simulation was designed to help participants become more sensitized to the realities faced by low-income families in America.  It was designed to represent one month with four 15-minute weeks.
During those weeks, the participants, grouped into families, had to attempt to provide the basic necessities for their households.
The simulation was geared toward being as close to reality as possible. For example, the instructions at the Quik Cash station in which I was placed included phrases such as “If you think someone may not count his/her money, you may try to cheat him or her” and “Remember to guard your money and passes. You may be robbed.”
Haley Abessinio, freshman psychology major, participated in the simulation and said she thought it was hard to live below the poverty line and survive from month to month.
“If that’s really how it is, it’s basically impossible,” she said. “It was really hard. It was an eye-opening experience.”
The poverty rate in America is rising. According to the Current Population Survey, the source of official poverty estimates, 2010 Annual Social and Economic Supplement, 43.6 million Americans were in poverty in 2009. That is an increase in nearly 4 million people since 2008.
The student director of the poverty simulation, Meghan Davis, freshman physics major, said she thought the poverty rate is higher than it should be.
The CPS ASEC shows the number of people in poverty in 2009 is the largest number in the 51 years for which poverty estimates have been published. In fact, about 33 percent of the people living in Oktibbeha County are in poverty.
“Those are surprising figures,” said Smith. “[The poverty rate] is 33 percent, but it doesn’t have to be that high. There is definitely a need for this type of education.”
Kendra Lee, senior kinesiology major, took part in the simulation. Her role in the simulation was that of a 34-year-old single mother with two children. At the simulation’s commencement, she had $10 to her name.
“It was stressful, but something to consider is this is real life for other people. It really puts you in people’s shoes,” she said.
At the end of the simulation, a personal friend of Smith’s who has experience in poverty talked to the volunteers and the participants.
“Some people think that those in poverty are always sitting back waiting on aid, but that is not always the case,” she said.
Davis said she thinks the approach of Thanksgiving is an opportune time to help others.
“There’s a lot you know and a lot you don’t know. If you see someone who’s broken and needs help, don’t ask questions. Be willing to help. The slightest bit of kindness can be the world to people,” she said.
In the instructional packet I was given during the volunteer orientation before the simulation, a message said, “It is a simulation, not a game.” If there was a clear message that night, it was just that.  Just as the simulation was not a game, poverty is not a game.