Breaking The Cycle

Through this recent recession the gap for financial aid has become increasingly large due to the fact that colleges are basing some of their applications by their financial situation. This in turn creates widening on lower to middle class families who cannot send their children to school because the cost are too great to bear with large amounts of financial aid. The wealthy students are not only being accepted to these pricy private universities but are being given grant and aid so that they can make it through. The poorer students are not even given the chance to attend those school not because of their brain but because of their lack of funding. In today’s society were the upper class has become very distant to the middle and

Optimism in some cases is a desirable trait due to its fundamental nature. Being optimistic allows people to keep their head high and keep moving, even through the most dire situations that they may face. Optimism is a priority because it helps people in various ways and, also a very prominent trait in some people. In life, optimism is often viewed as a desirable trait, and something that can benefit somebody’s life.

Many reforms in the UnitedStates have been passed to help fight against the “War on Poverty”; but it has not been effective in eradicating poverty in the U.S. There are about 46 million people who are living in impoverished conditions and poverty continues to be a social issue in this country (Heritage Foundation, 2011) In the beginning, our country was formed under the belief that “this land is the land of opportunity and if we worked hard enough the American Dream can be gained” (Schwarz, 1997). People immigrate to this country today in hopes of becoming rich so they could gain a better life. In spite of coming to this country for a better life, many are faced with the lack of skills and money to succeed. In the end, most will end

The current Webster’s Dictionary definition of “poverty” is “the state of being inferior in quality or insufficient in amount.” I argue that poverty has no definition, but is rather an intangible to abstract social construct similar to the word “success.” It is directly dependent on perception, so unfortunately, the majority of Americans fall subservient to the “American Dream.” The American dream is an ideology that if you follow the template of certain procedures put forth by a governmental society, success if inevitable. This manifests itself to the redundant advice I have received during my entire public education. “Go to college, get good grades, and you will have a successful career and be happy!”

The question “Why is there so much poverty in the United States?” has such a broad spectrum of issues. There is no simple cure or single cause of poverty. According to statistics from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, “the 2011 Poverty Guidelines are $10,890 for a single member household and $22,350 for a family of four” (par 13). In addition, “families’ incomes that fall below the threshold given, means that every individual in the household are considered to be in poverty” (par 13). Poverty is too complex an issue to be the result of just one problem, but we can narrow down the subject, to show the effects of how the lack of education can diminish our countries resources and how that has a ripple effect on future

Poverty in America is greatly known all around the world. For many years the nation's education levels of children during school and insurance is a huge pillar that holds up poverty in the U.S.A. As a country we have not done enough to overcome poverty. Even with new organizations being formed to help with enhancements of education, like the America Gives More Act, the nation hasn’t made the Early Warning Systems or have improved influences for college saving plans.

A major factor determining whether someone will end up living in poverty, education or skill level can make or break an income. Education plays a vital role in acquiring jobs, learning new skills, and bringing home necessities and comforts of life; also include overpopulation, and high stands or living. As it states in our reading, “most poor people in our nation---about two-thirds of them---are white, but blacks are about two and a half times more likely to be poor. Whereas one out of every ten white Americans is poor, one of every four African Americans and one out of every five Hispanics live below the poverty line” (Shaw, pg.133). As we can see with these statistics, race plays a major role in poverty. I think the causes of poverty fall both into structural and individual. Poverty is structural because its deprivation that is reinforced by economic and social barriers preventing access to skills, employment opportunities as well as better housing. Without economy today, a lot of people are living in poverty and unless our economy changes, I think the poor don’t have a choice but to live in poverty. On the other hand, it can also be individual as well because if you’re not willing to fight and try for your own well-being, then it’s not the economies fault you’re living in poverty. Even though this economy isn’t helping, that should be enough motivation for anyone to try anything possible to live a healthy poverty free life.

Throughout American history, there has been waves of different economic standpoints. From the thriving economy in the early 1900s, to the infamous downfall of the stock market that lead to the Great Depression in the 1930s. America has always faced different obstacles that has shaped the modern day American society. Poverty levels have increased rapidly which sparked interest in some organizations to create a campaign called “Do Something”, which advocates improving American lives through better education and higher quality of living. One statistic given was that, “In 2011, nearly 46.2 million Americans were living in poverty” (11 Facts). With many occupations requiring some type of post-secondary education. How can the quality of life be improved if a myriad of people are facing such high levels of poverty and cannot afford the cost of that higher education? Obstacles in obtaining an education beyond high school come from the prejudice in education by making it affordable to those with the ability to pay the out of pocket costs. Social inequality has kept people who reside in the lower income classes from progressing through a higher education . It is prevalent that in American history, that those who are privileged white men can obtain a higher education than one who is a minority. Post-secondary education must be made accessible to all in order to ensure that everyone has equal access to a higher quality of life.

In my experiences in high school, I work much harder when I’m around my friends that are smarter than me then when I’m with my friends that are equally as smart or not as smart as me. There is a sense of competition and urgency to prove to my really smart friends that I am smart enough and almost worthy to hang out with them. For low- income students they don’t get as much of the same sense of urgency or competition as the high-income students receive. Working hard individually gets tiring and after a while hard to maintain the momentum by oneself, that is why having an advocate could help in this situation. Advocates can help figure out if there is a study group with other high- achievers in it, or create one, they can also help figure out if the school is the right fit, maybe going to a different school where there are more high achievers would help keep the student motivated to keep working hard. Additionally, notice the differences in miles of the radius to gather 20 high achievers. For low-income students the distance is much more than for the high-income students. People have to work harder and go farther to

Study hard, work hard, and graduate from high school. Don’t do drugs or drink alcohol. Don’t break the law. Get married, then have children. Don’t bring children into the world unless you can financially support them. If possible, go to college or a trade school. These suggestions for breaking the cycle of poverty sounds simple, but for millions of Americans, generational poverty is hard to overcome. Many people in poverty have done one or more of these things, yet they still find themselves struggling financially.

Inequality of access to education is a serious matter everywhere caused by inequality of income. At least half of the inequality increase has taken place within groups of comparably educated people, and since 2010 that proportion has been increasing (Bernstein). To help the poor receive more education, a set of protections, regulations and social norms must be enforced to keep the greedy from stealing the opportunities of the poor. Education is crucial in life to earn more. Therefore; encouraging education among the poor can help them escape

You’re either optimistic or you’re pessimistic, meaning you either view the world positively or negatively. Everyone views the world in a different perspective. Everyone is bound to go through challenges in their life. It’s what you make of those challenges that really matters.

Poverty, a state of economic scarcity in which one lacks material possessions or money, has endured in even the most vibrant and influential of cultures throughout the world. The United States, as a country of diverse societies and cultures, demonstrates the reality of this phenomenon. To be specific, forty-five million, three hundred thousand Americans, or the equivalent of 14.5 percent of the population, live below the poverty line. And as of 2013, the U.S. Census Bureau concluded that 19.9% of children under the age of 18 are living in poverty. Sixty to seventy percent of these impoverished students do not graduate, and their test scores are 10% lower than those of their wealthier peers (Hochschild).

In the U.S News and World Report, there was an article named “Where Do You Fall in the American Economic Class System”, the author David Francis pointed out that 15 percent of U.S population are below the poverty line and they only have income of 23,050 for a family of four people. After that, the white-collar workers who have college educations, their salary is falling in between 32,500 to 60,000 a year and they are in lower-middle class people (David Francis.). From this information, we can understand it is very challenging to have a better life, especially for our children. One of the important factor to enhance socioeconomic class is education, however, to get good education is very

Poverty is a huge concern in America today. One topic that causes poverty is people that lack in education The percentage of children who come from low-income homes increases every year. Lacking an education also affects the variety of well paying jobs in America. A major cause of all of this is the amount of people who can’t afford to go to college because of being in poverty.