Essay On Reducing Poverty In America

Everyone knows what the word poverty means. It means poor, unable to buy the necessities to survive in today's world. We do not realize how easy it is for a person to fall into poverty: A lost job, a sudden illness, a death in the family or the endless cycle of being born into poverty and not knowing how to overcome it. There are so many children in poverty and a family's structure can effect the outcome. Most of the people who are at the poverty level need some type of help to overcome the obstacles. There are mane issues that deal with poverty and many things that can be done to stop it.

According to “Poverty in the U.S. and the Supplemental Poverty Measure” in 2011, the 46.2 million persons in the United States had income below the poverty line. The statistics in the poverty rate did not differ from the prior year. This is evidence that relieving poverty in the United States should be the priority. In addition, differences between government operations in various countries can affect the efforts to reduce poverty on a global level, as Thomas states, “The

The issue of poverty in the United States seems to lie on the grounds of race education and family structure. As expected I found that educational levels paralleled poverty levels. Unexpected , research was found to prove that race did in fact play a substantial role in poverty. Family structure along with other influential factors either locked an individual into poverty or provided a means for escape from the continuing cycle. Other factors contributing to poverty was the location of homes or neighborhoods and the accessibility to better paying jobs.

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 United States defines poverty for a family of four as being less than $16,036 per year, or $4,009 per person (Leone 12). People find themselves under this line for an innumerable amount of reasons. Some of these causes are under one's control and others are greater factors beyond an individual's power. Each family or individual person has unique and separate reasons for living in a state poverty. There is no way to try and define them all. Focusing in, three main topics arise that encompass the most predominant reasons for a person to fall into poverty. Education, family life and influence, along with the business cycle may work individually or together to cause poverty. These three leading

This study considers the conditions of income, wealth and poverty in the United States of America. Income got a better distribution during the 70s but the level of economic growth decreased aggravating the unequal distribution of income (Stone, et al). However, wealth enclosed an inequality of distribution in the United States. It is referred to the unequal distribution of assets among residents of the United States. Also wealth is associated to the values of homes, automobiles, personal valuables, businesses, savings, and investments. In this context, statistics of poverty indicate people living at the economic adversity without satisfying their basic necessities. In mention by the article named “Measuring Poverty (A New Approach),” the statistical data of poverty is published by the U.S. government being a topic of importance and political sensitivity.

Poverty is the United States is a major issue and continues to worsen as housing is becoming less affordable for many people across the nation. People that do find housing are often restricted to low-income areas that have few opportunities. In the low income areas there are few jobs and the quality of schools are poor and keep the people in the cycle. To offset this cycle money needs to be put into the education system in these lower income areas to offset this cycle. Education allows for people to have more opportunities and would increase the incentive to live in low-income areas. With a quality education that is equal to the suburbs it would give the children much more opportunities to improve themselves and exit the cycle. This cycle is living in low-income areas gives children a poor education due to the schools lacking money and resources; without the needed education the student is not able to get a good job. Without the well paying job that person is not able to afford housing and has to living in affordable housing that is located in the low-income areas. By breaking this cycle with increased education it is possible for people to get out the cycle that ties them to that area. Education is the foundation to success and it very important that is equal and everyone receives similar opportunities through that education.

In today’s world, poverty is happening throughout many societies. Poverty is defined as a person who is living of off of paychecks to pay checks; or not having enough money to meet basic needs such as, food, shelter, and clothing. Poverty has been a social issue that has been around for many years in the United States, and as the years continue to pass by poverty tends to get worse. Despite being one of the most popular countries in the world, the United States has families and communities who are struggling to survive with low income that puts them in the either below poverty who are known as low class, or right on top of poverty which are known as the middles class. This social problems has caused impact on the United States, However

If the minimum wage is increased for workers then there would be a decrease in the number of people who are in poverty and allow them to afford their basic essentials for their everyday life. According to the article Should the Minimum Wage be Increased? it says “...increasing the minimum wage to $9 would lift 300,000 people out of poorness, and an increase to $10.10 would lift 900,000 people out of poorness.” To begin, by increasing workers pay it would lift a great number of people out of poverty, allowing them to provide for their families and buy food that would be needed to live an everyday normal life. Better food that will be affordable for the workers will increase their health allowing them to work longer hours than needed.

when looking at the minimum wage many should be aware of how it’s affecting people in poverty. Many people in poverty work for low paying jobs as a career because of the lack of skills they have which doesn’t allow them to live a standard life, meaning they may not have the best wealth, but it provides them with enough support to pay finances and essentials to live. Minimum wage contributes to poverty by the poor not being able to afford to live a standard of living due to the lack of skills they have, for that reason, the minimum wage should increase where the poor are able to sustain a living and be able to get out of poverty without any crime involved.

Through every country around the globe and even on a national level, through states, cities, and even towns, poverty is lurking. In the United States, “The official poverty rate is 13.5 percent, based on the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2015 estimates,” which means that an “estimated 43.1 million Americans,” (UC Davis) are living in poverty. To an extent, as American citizens, we have a duty to help those trapped in this devastating hardship, not just in our country, but around the world. On the contrary, there are also many reasons to why we shouldn’t give a hand to those stuck in poverty.

Lowering poverty rates is one undoubted benefit of raising the minimum wage. There is plenty of evidence that shows raising the minimum wage will bring the working poor out of poverty. In “The Case for a Higher Minimum Wage,” the Editorial Board states that “an hourly minimum of $10.10, for example, ... would reduce the number of people living in poverty by 4.6 million.” When people earn more money, the foregone conclusion is that they will be given the power to move above the poverty line. The Editorial Board further notes “minimum wage increases resulted in ‘strong earnings effects’

A family usually consists of parents and children although, when forming a family the world economic stability is usually left out. In the state of California we have a large diversity in families some families are only made up of grandparents and grandchildren, mother and children, dad and children, and other families have the normal two parents and children. Many families are sadly in the disadvantaged position of being under or right at the poverty line. Although, these families are classified as poor many do not give up and instead work hard to provide. Poor families are able to adapt to their style of living and still blossom in the conditions that they are in. In other cases, many families are affected by poverty because of the harsh conditions they are put in, but it depends on what they do to adapt. Poverty can impact a family through many situations although, many families use different strategies that involve their employment sacrifices, public resources, and their government resources in order to adapt to their style of living.

While on the other hand people believe that it is vital as an economic resource that is able to help those that cannot help themselves. Returning to the fact that former policies have failed to improve poverty levels and the well being of others i want to touch on the subject of welfare reform. “ In 1996, President Bill Clinton signed a landmark welfare reform bill to fulfill his campaign promise to end welfare as we know it”(Beckmann 8). Bill clinton's ending of welfare in 1996 was a major setback in terms of fighting poverty. The point of the Reform was to promote job growth in the United States at the time. Touching back on the side of the argument that views welfare as a means to receive handouts the Bill Clinton welfare reform was a one sided policy politically. After the reform had put into effect people no longer received the benefits and “Instead recipients had to fulfill work requirements and were restricted to a five year limit”(Beckmann 8). This is another flaw in Clinton's system that was unfair. Often people in poverty cannot work consistently due to things like illness, injury, or even the fact that they just have a large family to take care of. Touching on the large family subject this serves as a point to prove that poverty is a cycle that passes itself on. The Clinton teams removal of welfare is just one example of the many times that reforming has done nothing to actually prevent or help poverty.

When people start to think about poverty their thoughts instantly go towards a basic understanding of its definition. Most think of it as households with less than half of adjusted median disposable income throughout the nation. People don’t understand or think about the other factors that play a role in poverty such as: living conditions, gas & rent money, safety, disconnection from society, and many others. Poverty has changed drastically over the years not only from the monetary value of it, but also the social aspect it holds.