Causes And Consequences Of Poverty

Poverty has now become “As American As Apple Pie”, a situation we choose to ignore, and along with it the millions of families who suffer from it. Many have this tendency to believe that they are safe from falling into poverty; unaware of the multiple situations that can cause one to fall into poverty. It makes one wonder what’s keeping them from tipping over, eventually leading to the question, what makes poverty so common, and why is it still around?

Most people are living in poverty due to the inability to find a job. Why are jobs so hard to come by? One reason may be that large corporations are outsourcing jobs to developing countries since workers there are willing to be paid less than the average American worker. Many chain stores have gone bankrupt and closed stores in underperforming cities. The jobs that are left are ones that pay minimum wage and for a family of five, that wage is simply not enough. Individuals may then make too much to be on public assistance, yet their fast food job pays enough to just cover their rent.

Poverty is a common social issue that has troubled nations for thousands of years. While nations like the United States of America have worked diligently to eradicate it domestically, it still widely exists.“According to the U.S. Citizen burow 47.6 million citizens living in poverty.With 20% of those households living in extreme poverty.”(PBS.org)

Poverty, a common problem in the US and yet, something that people consistently overlook. We are often unaware of the magnitude of poverty in the U.S and sometimes even disregard it. People living in destitution are at greater risk for behavioral and mental problems. Children or Teens who live in poverty are prone to poor academic achievements, become school dropouts , or grow subject to abuse or neglect. People in poverty also occasionally show signs of anxiety and depression.

Poverty is one of the most devastating realities of life. Those who live in poverty experience poor living conditions, worse health care, worse education, homelessness, low wages, lack of opportunity, and lower self-esteem. Poverty generally occurs mostly in children or young adults, minorities, and women more than any other age group, race/ ethnicity, and gender. Ultimately, poverty is more common in certain social categories such as race, gender, age, and ethnicity and will factor into whether an individual is more likely to be

There are many myths behind the word and status called “Poverty”, this is a highly controversial issue that has affected millions of people worldwide. In society, there is a hierarchy in society and people’s perception of poverty ranges in thought processes such as in our social imagination. There are various reasons people are living in poverty and how it should be addressed. There is a large divide in between socioeconomic classes and this class system has changed people in many different aspects of their life. Some American people living in poverty lack of opportunities and resources to excel in society. People living in poverty can cause no sense of aspiration and not feeling included in society so usually do not become greater than their present circumstances. In this western society we live in, there is a consistent divide in a western society, the upper class will always regulate

There are many factors which contribute to poverty in the United States. The first of the governing factors of poverty is economic downturn. According to Kneebone (2010) and Desilver (2014), both the Great Depression and Recession led to increasing levels of poverty due to the lack of employment. Essentially, if companies are not making revenue, eventually they must begin laying off workers to compensate for losses. In addition, collapse of family structures of contributed to poverty. Rushefsky (2014) reports single-parent families, specifically those with female head of households tend to be in poverty due to low wages and or lack of job opportunities, requiring the dependence of welfare programs. Fundamentally, it becomes more difficult for families

Today, too many people of all ages are living in poverty and many others are only one paycheck away from being there. More than one in eight Americans are considered poor. Poverty has had a huge effect on the outcome of the loss of homes and the lack of resources needed to be able to survive in today’s society. Many people who are in poverty are not able to make enough to support their families.

Millions of people in the United States live in poverty today. Living in poverty indicates an individual has insufficient resources to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Not only are they poor and malnourished, but they are also discriminated against in the work place because of their economic status. Poverty affects racial minorities more than it affects white people. For example, employers are more likely to hire a white person than a black person with the same

Poverty rates in the U.S. have increased by 4percent since the 1960s reaching 15.1percent. As a result of such poverty, many families are having difficulty living and continuing their education. The U.S. has tried to get the poverty rates to drop by creating social security, financial aid, and welfare. Poverty causes a major problem not only in the U.S., but all over the world. Poverty causes many families to struggle to survive; 88 million people live in absolute poverty, while nearly 3 billion people live on less than $2.50 and some even less at $1.25 a day, which is not nearly enough for your average family. There are many causes for poverty, including but not limited to, education, environmental issues, sexually transmitted diseases, lack of money, and overpopulation.

When we think of the word "poverty", the mind fills us with Third World countries. We think of countries within the African continent, Haiti, Central and South America, among others. The United States is a country with a heterogeneous society, full of many races and nationalities. However, we forget that poverty can be in front of us. How many times have we wondered if our neighbor, coworker, or our students are going through some need?

Poverty is “the state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support; condition of being poor” (Dictionary.com, 2017). Based off this definition poverty is a condition that can cause a cascade of cause and effect actions that is detrimental to families and individuals both physically and mentally. Haan, Kaplan, & Camacho (2017) completed a study on the correlation between social and economic status and health in adults in Oakland, CA. They found that the lower the socioeconomic class the higher incidents of diseases and deaths related to chronic diseases (p.1161-1162). Just being without money or little money was not the only indication of health indication, a person living in an area with higher poverty issues

Are all Americans grateful for the things they have? What if Americans do not to have the proper basic needs? Many Americans do face this situation and it is called poverty. The top three causes of poverty in United States are lack of education, unemployment and the high cost of health insurance. Americans can overcome the high rate of poverty and alleviate their struggles by maintaining and furthering their education which will lead to higher paying jobs and with good medical benefits.

This review is formulated with scholarly sources and references based off of poverty in America. This disclosure is approached with a value free sociological approach, and it will give insight on the social causes of poverty and the effects it has on America. Poverty is a very controversial topic. Many will assume that people living in poverty are lazy, made bad life decisions, or that they are solely the reason for their predicament however, people living in poverty would argue that their are deeper issues for it. Poverty will be deeply explained and researched from both perspectives

Poverty can lead to serious effects. Children who grow up in poverty are likely to have frequent health problems than the children who grow in better financial circumstances. For example, infants who are born into poverty have a low birth weight, and they grow up with mental or physical disabilities. Not only are they sick, but they are most likely to die before their first birthday. Children who are raised in poverty might miss school often because of their illnesses, and they have a much higher accident rate than the other children. Nearly a billion of the world’s population can’t read nor write. Poor families experience stress much more than a normal family does. They are more likely to be exposed to negative events such as illness, job loss, death of a family member, and depression. Homelessness is another effect of poverty. Homeless children are less likely to receive proper nutrition, protection and they experience more health problems. Around 1.4 million children die each year from lack of access to safe and clean water and proper nutrition. Homeless women experience a high rate of low birth weight infants as well as miscarriages. Families who do not have homes receive much more stress than other families. They also have disruption in school, work, friendships, and family relationships. There are other effects of poverty such as drug abuse and addiction, child and woman abuse, debts pressure, and increase in crimes.