Poverty In Poverty

Poverty for centuries has been a very severe issue that has troubled many nations while impeding economic developments and progress. Poverty stricken countries are majorly concentrated in the continents of Africa and Asia. Continents like the Americas and Europe have globally been recognized as been wealthier yet still many parts of these ostensible countries face massive cases of poverty. Most at times, countries with high populations owing to high birth rates face the most cases of poverty. The definition of poverty can be boundless in the sense that poverty entails so many subsections as it sometimes gets complicated to group everything under one umbrella. Society tends to focus more on the tangible aspects of poverty because many people associate poverty with lacking money and it makes sense because poverty in terms of lacking money is a major problem affecting almost every country in the world. Even though it is debatable that poverty can be physical, intellectual, spiritual and even emotional, it is best to talk about the lack of money and economic developments in this essay. With reference to the oxford English Dictionary, poverty is state of being extremely poor and the state of being inferior in quality or insufficient in amount. Reflecting on this definition given, I deduced that malnutrition and hunger can define poverty. In the light of this, I think poverty is lacking a comfortable place of shelter, being ill and not having access to a better

There is a question of whether human progress tends to reduce world poverty, tends to increase world poverty, or tends to leave world poverty unchanged; different economists have reached different conclusions. And their different conclusions have impacted strongly on how governments and others approach poverty, and on how poverty is dealt with or not dealt with. Even after Hurricane Katrina and the devastation left in its wake exposed to public eye the shocking levels of poverty in the mostly African-American neighborhoods of New Orleans, there was a lot of talk about America's hidden shame and about the need to pay more attention to the plight of the poor when there isn't a natural disaster to put them in the headlines.

Poverty evokes various definitions depending on the audience and perhaps the purpose or context that it is used. Limiting the definition of poverty to a ‘value judgment’ is of little use in terms of agreeing on a definition for the purpose of comparison and measurement between groups (Sen 1979, p.285). A clear definition of poverty supports and indicates the process for measurement, and as such would also assist in determining the focus and approach for development (Clark 2012; Ruggeri, Saith & Stewart 2006, p.19). In reviewing Oxfam Australia’s (Oxfam) Close the Gap campaign, it is necessary to identify the approach that is taken in defining poverty in order to gauge the scope of the project, the development of the approach used, and to quantify the change that occurs.

One of the greatest health concerns is not a specific disease or malady, but poverty. The world’s impoverished population has much less access to healthcare and clean resources and environments and therefore has a much greater chance of disease, infection, parasites, and mortality related to these events. Extreme poverty is defined as living on less than $1 (USD) per day (World Bank, 2016). According to the World Bank (2016), as of 2013, 767 million people were living in poverty, which is lower by one billion than the poverty rate in 1990.

The poverty rate in the United States of America is 13.5 percent (University of California, 2017). While on a steady decline, the poverty in America affects people of every race, age, and/or gender. Elementary students and their families are faced with constant hardships from the school, peers and community members. School readiness reflects a child’s ability to succeed both academically and socially in a school environment. It is well documented that poverty decreases a child’s readiness for school through aspects of health, home life, schooling and neighbourhoods. Six poverty-related factors are known to impact child development in general and school readiness in particular. They are the incidence of poverty, the depth of poverty, the duration of poverty, age of poverty, community characteristics and the impact poverty has on the child’s social network.

What is poverty, and how does it affect child development? This is a question that has been raised in the United States more than in any other first-world country. According to the article, Poorer by Comparison, in Chapter 17 of The Inequality Reader, “official” measures of poverty exist in the United States and United Kingdom only (p.153). Poverty is a state of being extremely poor. Poverty rates indicate how many children at a point in time are living in families with annual incomes or economic resources that are below a consistent threshold considered insufficient to meet basic needs. The child poverty rate is thus a key indicator of a society’s health and well-being. Neighborhoods are also a big component of how children grow up and develop.

The city of Fresno is the largest city that occupies the San Joaquin Valley and is in the center of one of the largest agricultural markets in the United States of America. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city of Fresno recorded a 979,915 inhabitants as of July 1, 2016 (United States Census Bureau, 2016). Two of Fresno’s problems is its areas of concentrated poverty, especially in the inner city of West Fresno and an education problem, in which educators have reported to not receive significant funds to provide quality education. The purpose of this essay is to highlight the impact that Fresno education has on poverty within the area. Some important key terms to note: Poverty, the state of being inferior in quality or insufficient in amount. Education inequality, the unequal distribution of academic resources, including but not limited to school funding, qualified teachers, books, and technologies.

Poverty is something the world has been affected by for decades. It is a “disease” that our society has not been able to control. Even though multiple programs have been created to provide for those who are in need, the world can not seem to dig our way out of the poverty hole. According to Cliff Note’s, more than 35 million people are living in poverty; that is 14% of the whole population on earth (“Causes and Effects of Poverty”). However, what does this mean for the availability of health care to these people who are living in poverty? Americans who live in poverty have a lower chance of getting the healthcare they need versus those with higher incomes.

The statistics of children in poverty struggling with their academic studies are sadly apart of an ongoing list. “More than 15 million children were living below the Federal poverty line in 2009. These children are at increased risk for poor health and developmental outcomes concurrently, including lower vaccination rates, higher rates of severe chronic disease, and conditions that require medical attention, and more cognitive and behavioral difficulties” (Kaminski, Jennifer W). More often than not these children are ignored, overlooked, and given the cold shoulder. “A high school student can’t read because her family can’t afford the glasses she needs. Another can’t drink his tap water because it’s contaminated. An eighth-grader can’t call his friends because his family has no phone. A tenth-grader can’t get online because she doesn’t have electricity, let alone a computer” (Ford). Citizens of Ponca City overlook these underprivileged children because they think they do not have the power, or money to help them. Little do they know, Ponca City High School has the power to create an after school club to encourage and assist in students academics. This is the best idea because teachers and volunteers care for these kids, and will go out of their way to encourage and help them reach their highest potential. Not only can these volunteers help with homework, they can inspire a student to go to college, start a career path, and overall change their mindset that they will never be

Many Americans have debated the connection shared between poverty and welfare for years; for the most part, there are two opposing sides to this debate. On one side of the argument, people who lean more to the right in terms of political thinking seem to believe that government assistance will provide a certain comfort for impoverished families, a safety net which can potentially promote laziness and a lack of motivation to rise above the poverty line. On the other hand, people who lean more to the political left have claimed that providing comfort and sustainability to families in need is the whole purpose behind having welfare programs in the first place, and lifting some of the burden from the shoulders of impoverished individuals will not necessarily promote laziness. While the effects of welfare on poverty remain a contentious topic, evidence from both sides of the debate can be scrutinized to better gain an understanding of what the truth may really look like.

The huge rise in resource consumption has led to an ever widening gap between the rich and poor. As the old saying goes, “the rich gets richer and the poor gets poorer.” Using the latest figures available, 59 percent of the world resources were consumed by the wealthiest 10 percent of the population. Meanwhile, the poorest 10 percent accounted for just 0.5 percent of all the consumption (#2). Today’s consumption is exacerbating societal inequalities and the stark difference between the rich and poor is growing. If the trends continue without change, the problem will worsen. ***bad things from the wealth gap Building on this, we can look at the trends in spending, and where it can be better used. It is estimated that just US $6 billion would provide basic education worldwide. Another $22 billion would give every person on the planet access to clean water, basic health services, and sufficient nutrition. If we analyze some areas of spending, we can see that our society has serious problems. Every year, Europeans spend approximately $11 billion on ice cream – yes ice cream! This is nearly enough to bring an education to every child on the planet, twice (#2). $50 billion is spent on cigarettes in Europe alone, and around $400 billion is spent on narcotic drugs around the world (#2). That is more than enough to provide basic necessities for everyone around the world. If we could reduce our consumption levels by just a fraction of what they are now, then we could dramatically

In the United States and in countries all over the world, poverty can have an extreme impact on a country's population. Throughout my life, I have noticed these impacts take a toll on my local community, Payette, Idaho. I chose this topic because growing up in a small community you observe the best and worst of everyone, including those who may not have as much income as you. When you are younger it is not something which you are aware of, but as you grow up, you see the effects impact those in your community. As I grew up, I noticed the effects of poverty become more prevalent and those around me begin to face many individual challenges. My senior project is based on those in this community are suffering from poverty. Recent studies show Payette has poverty rate of 15.7% (Quickfacts 1), which is higher than the national poverty rate of 12.7% in 2016 (Semegae et al. 1). The project focused on assisting Payette School District students and expanded to the foster children in the surrounding area. Over this past summer, I collected approximately 90 backpacks, duffel bags, and suitcases to give to students and foster kids. The motivation behind project was because so many the school aged students start the year off without backpacks or with inadequate school supplies, while their other classmates may have a brand-new items. I never thought this was fair, primarily as it not the child's fault and these kids should have the opportunity to start off with new

The first major factor is socioeconomic status, as “household income is the greatest determinant of living standards” (Keshavjee & Farmer, 2014, p. 64). Poverty might be considered the most prominent, where lower socioeconomic status is a debilitating factor in food accessibility and basic services (Navaneetham, Dharmalingam, & Caselli, 2008, p. 2). Despite the overall income transition in recent years and improved and upward trends in economic growth, undernutrition persists due to the larger societal policy changes that occurred in 1991. As previously mentioned, one possible explanation for this is that the inequalities or gaps in both access to food and socioeconomic classes are increasing despite the overall upward trend in growth, and that it is the precise discrepancies in the distribution of wealth that leads to malnourishment. It seems to most commonly be the case that either families are too poor to provide sufficient food for their family, or due to the rapid globalization, the food that they can afford consists of cheap, energy-dense yet nutrient-deficient food as they are constrained in food options (Caballero, 2005). This, in part, lends itself to causing obesity in mothers who gain weight from the calories, yet underweight children, as the proper essentials with which to grow are not being provided (Averett & Wang, 2016). Finally, economic status has many downstream effects besides just the affordability of healthy food; mothers or families residing in

Poverty is a widespread social issue known throughout the world. It is defined by its three different types: biological, relative, and official. The first of the three, also known as absolute poverty, refers to a person’s inability to have his or her biological needs such as food and shelter. The second type compares living standards to conclude “that some are better or worse off than others.” The third refers to the income level at which a person can receive welfare. Unfortunately, the United States is known to have one the highest rates in the world due to social inequalities. Poverty rates are known to be related to a person’s social location. A person living in a more southern state in more likely to experience it than someone in the north. Moreover, minorities are two to three times more likely to suffer from its affects. Likewise, children and the elderly, along with a rising number of women, are more affected than others. Furthermore, these groups are more likely to live in lower standard houses, have poorer educations, have less job opportunities, and are less likely to receive justice for crimes. They are forced to stay in these situations in which they have to pay for housing they can barely afford, while they send their kids to schools that are unable to provide adequate education due to the communities’ low property rates. This can especially be seen in the PBS documentary Poverty, Politics, and Profit: The Housing Project.

As a first world country with an ongoing AIDS epidemic, the healthcare and welfare programs are vital contributions that provide necessary healthcare and lessen the experience of poverty for many African Americans who are living with a HIV positive diagnosis. Compared to many other Americans, those who are HIV positive require a greater amount of healthcare and public assistance. African Americans are hit especially hard by the ongoing epidemic. African Americans make up 12% of the U.S. population, yet account for almost half of new HIV diagnoses (CDC 2015). The current U.S. healthcare system focuses on reducing medical costs for the large and diverse population of the poor community, Medicaid, which makes up half of the federal spending on HIV. In line with national efforts, the government has undertaken a series of studies on the relationship of being African American living in poverty and his or her risk of HIV. Data has shown that the lower the income of an individual or household, the greater the HIV prevalence rate. For example, HIV prevalence rate for African Americans (1.7%) is more than 8 times the rate for their White counterparts (0.2%). There may be a possibility poverty may account for the ethnic disparities found in HIV prevalence rates amongst the overall U.S. population, 46% of African Americans live in poverty in comparison to the stark contrast of just 10% of whites. I begin by reviewing the link between being African American poor and the role HIV/AIDS