by Megan O'Brian

Created on: December 21, 2008   Last Updated: March 25, 2009

It's a known fact that illiteracy exists in cities and towns throughout America and the need to get more literacy programs into cities nationwide is extremely important.

Being able to read, write and comprehend the written word is the cornerstone of every person's success. Attending school where reading, writing and studying helped graduates achieve success, the inability to attend schools and illiteracy makes success impossible.

Illiteracy and poverty go hand in hand as the inability to read and comprehend the written word makes it impossible for those affected to obtain gainful employment..

Menial jobs can usually be had but some jobs could be dangerous to the health of anyone working with chemicals or solvents. There are warning labels on all chemical and solventss but if a worker can't read the label, the consequences could be severe.

Injuries can range from severe burns to the skin if an acid solution splashes back on a worker, severe lung damage from inhaling toxic fumes, fumes released when two incompatible chemicals are mixed together acxcidently and react adversely, to the most serious consequence, death.

While there are other causes of poverty that may be more difficult to resolve, illiteracy is one thing that can be resolved by having programs available to help those who are affected by illiteracy .

The government is called upon to get programs in place that help people in need. Health care, clinics, State funded health insurance, Medicaid and financial aid - these are the things that government has fairly effectively dealt with at great cost to the taxpayers.

However, we as a society appear to have become dependent on government intervention to meet many of our needs and this mindset has brought about a great deal of chaos, red tape and frustration , something that occurs frequently whenever the government is involved..

We as a nation seem to have lost the ability to think and act on many important issues independently, a weakness that has led to too much government involvement in our lives. The time has come for us to stop this dependency problem and begin to solve problems where we can, on our own.

Programs can be set up nationwide and be run by volunteers, people who care enough to help others by providing services for free. Free, as in "no cost" - and no cost to the taxpayer either.

If people are genuinely concerned about increasing literacy, this idea can become a plan that can be implemented nationwide without getting the government involved.

Screening

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