Living In Poverty In The United States

Poverty, the state of being extremely poor, exists all over America! There are several different types of poverty, and the causes of poverty. Most people think of poverty as just somebody who is homeless and has no job, somebody who has no money to support the basic needs of life, and wears ragged clothing and lives under a bridge. What people don’t know is there are people living in poverty that have jobs and make money but live so poorly that they are categorized with people that live in absolute poverty.

However, this system of measuring poverty is flawed because if a family makes a dollar more above the set limit, they do not qualify for financial help from the government (NCCP, 2008).The poverty threshold is an inadequate measure of whether people are considered poor or not. Current poverty measures are flawed because it assumes how much a family spends and does not accurately include family resources such as Earned Income Tax Credit (NCCP, 2008). The way that the government measures poverty is based on outdated information that was set in the 60s. Because it has not been sufficient to keep up with the standard of living, those who are living in “high cost cities like New York and those who live in rural areas of the country” (NCCP, 2008) are barely getting by.

Poverty is not having enough money to have the basic necessities in life. It is an issue within the United States and the world. There are many children that grow up in poverty and the effects can last throughout the life. When growing up in poverty there can be high- risk of teen pregnancy, poor heath, crime, Drug use and a lack of education. (Boyden)

The federal government measures poverty by the numbers. In 2007, the federal “poverty line” was set at $16,530 for a family of three and $21,203 for a family of four (USCB). If a family makes less than those

Today thousands of Americans are waking up and enjoying a pot of coffee, cooking themselves breakfast, and taking their morning pills and medication. Whereas in other poverty stricken areas today, thousands of americans are waking up and not looking forward to their sickness brimmed morning, knowing that there was no hope for a medication that they could afford to buy. According to the article “31 Million People Can't Afford Healthcare” by Robert King, many believe that with the help of the government and a little ingenuity then it is possible for the 3.1 million U.S. citizens suffering from the severe lack of free health care to be able to receive medical attention in their greatest time of need. Faced with this problem, many people have wondered

Poverty in the United States is getting in inferior quality every day and nothing is being done about it. Many people who want to help the poor, but no one knows exactly how to help them. A primary reason for people not taking action is because of lack of information that is provided about issues on poverty. Poverty is defined as the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions. According to the U.S. Census Bureau data released Tuesday September 13th, 2011, the nation's poverty rate rose to 15.1% (46.2 million) in 2010, up from 14.3% (approximately 43.6 million) in 2009 and to its highest level since 1993. In 2008, 13.2% (39.8 million) Americans lived in relative poverty. In 2000, the

“In the United States, child poverty rates are higher than rates for the adult and elderly populations.” (Katherine Magnuson and Elizabeth Votruba-Drzal 1) As poverty rates increase, more children are involved. Children, uninfluenced by the evils of the world, are pushed by these harsh living conditions and treated unfairly by others. Growing up in poverty can lead to lasting effects, and those effects include education issues, physical health is proven worse, and inadequate behavior. As an adult, these issues can turn into whether or not survival is promised.

Extreme poverty is characterized as the lack of ability to access essential items to live such as food, clothing, medicine, and shelter. In the United States, and many other wealthy and developed nations, many people experience what is known as “relative poverty” which is essentially a measure of income inequality and is usually dependent on social views and opportunity rather than complete scarcity. Poverty in the United States, while not as severe, is still a major issue. I will discuss the effects that poverty has on families today in America and how it relates to single-mothers, food insecurity, and education.

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.

Explaining the causes of poverty is difficult because poverty itself is a very complex situation. The simple explanation of poverty blames the poor on their plight that they are poor because they failed to consider their future and only lived for the present. This notion also implies that poverty causes people to feel negative and hopeless about life and therefore lose the motivation to battle poverty. The more analytical explanation of poverty relates to middle class citizens who reside in urban cities. In cities like these, there is high competition for employment and as such it is very difficult to find adequate jobs. Considering that educated middle class citizens have difficulties in finding good jobs, one can only imagine what the inner-city poor go through in finding adequate jobs. Government funded welfare programs have also contributed to poverty as some poor people would rather receive payments from welfare programs rather than to take low paying jobs. This has caused debate over the effectiveness of the welfare program and whether it has encouraged poverty rather than fight it. Although Congress is

In the United States, 45.3 million people live in poverty. In a country with a population of 313.9 million people, that means that almost 15% of the nation is living in poverty. Of those who are in poverty, 12,700 of those are veterans. As small and insignificant as that may seem, it is a problem that those who fought for the country are the ones who end up fighting to stay alive in that same country they just devoted their life to. A major factor that leads to poverty is joblessness. The unemployment rate is drastically different for veterans than it is for the average citizen. Within the past ten years, veteran employment rate skyrocketed to an astounding 11.7%, whereas the general public has an employment rate of 9.1%. Now, the question of “Well, why?” occurs. Veterans cannot find jobs in their home country anymore because of mental disabilities that they evolved during their time serving.

Overtime issues with the percentage of citizens in poverty has risen. Several organizations have been set up to help those who suffer from poverty and provide their everyday needs. There are always ways where a community can help eliminate the amount of people suffering poverty. Government has an influence on how much money flow there is in the United States such as the FED, which was created to help maintain a stable monetary and financial system and control the money supply. People themselves can also help from falling into poverty, but there are many other issues that cause poverty. Poverty is often caused by discrimination, being uneducated, and how wisely money is spent.

Gandhi once said, “poverty is the worst form of violence.” Gandhi didn’t make his home in America, yet he somehow still understood the struggle the poor face everyday to survive. Poverty isn’t just an “American thing”, it isn’t the “in thing”, and it certainly isn’t a “good thing.” Statistics are constantly telling Americans that for every six strangers on the street, at least one will experience poverty in their lifetime. And who comes to their rescue? America? No, certainly not. America’s income comes from the rich and goes back to the rich. There are not enough programs around the world to help the 32.2 million people that have dropped below the poverty line. The line that is the boat that determines if you swim, or drown. Those with the

For lots of people in the United States to be in poverty means that they live from there paycheck. In most cases most people find themselves without money & unable to support themselves or their relatives. In The United States most people don't face starvation but lots of suffer from undernourishment. A major issue in the area of poverty in The united states is inequality. Poor people are often looked on for the state they are in than how'd they get there & how can they be helped to get out. The united states is suspicious of the both the poor & helping them

The government has the power to decide very much who is living in poverty and who is eligible for government assistance, “The US Census Bureau uses specific money income thresholds to determine who lives in poverty. These income thresholds are called poverty thresholds. They represent the minimum amount of money needed to support families of various sizes,” (Government Lawyers). Even though society doesn’t have the power to decide who is living in poverty, they are still generalizing people are or aren’t in society but judging them based on their looks. They have the power to judge and also look down on those who are in that state just to justify and feel good about themselves. However, the government are currently making efforts to help those