Poverty In The United States

Today, there are millions of Americans in poverty. How come America is one of the wealthiest countries yet millions of people are impoverished? Poverty is considered one of the leading problems in America. In “Changing the Face of Poverty” written by Diana George, American nonprofit groups are showing poverty the wrong way in our country. Nonprofit organizations, for example, "Habitat for Humanity” shows how we perceive a weak nation, and terrible people look since they don't have a home. I believe America has a problem with helping the less fortunate, because the expenses and cost of owning a house are so high, many people’s general needs may have to be sacrificed. Imagine not having food to eat every day, fresh clothes to wear, a car, the list goes on and on. Our country is supposed to aid yet it seems like the U.S. just puts this issue to the side. The amount of poverty stricken areas in America ranks much higher than the amount of poverty in other nations. Most people living in poverty don’t live in the rough and tough living conditions that the media paints them too, but it is still hard for them to make ends meet. I think the amount of poverty in the United States need to be decreased.

As Peter Edelman writes in “The State of Poverty in America,” in the United States, 20.5 million individuals of the population are in poverty, including 6 million with no income (1). Numerous poor individuals are in desperate need of essential opportunities. In contrast, the rich in the United States are moving up and becoming successful in their livelihood. The differences in the opportunities given to the rich and taken from the poor are ongoing. Opportunities include difficulties in achieving proper education, medicine, and/or jobs.

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

Imagine yourself trapped inside a storm that never seems to end. Where do you go? Who do you turn to for help? Poverty is often described as an endless cycle, struggled with by many, and something parents strive to withhold from their children. In 2014, about 47 million people lived in poverty in the United States (Poverty 1). This means 15 percent of America lives in a constant state of need (Poverty 1). These people have become resented by society and caring for them is viewed as an annoyance. In a country recognized as one of the wealthiest in the world, no one’s needs should be ignored, and

According to a 2013 article in the Economist, the US currently boasts the highest post-tax level of income inequality of any high-income country in the world (Economist 2013). The nations Gini Coefficient – a measure of wealth inequality – currently stands at .42, well above that of other nations such as Switzerland and Sweden, which have Gini Coefficients of .31 and .33 respectively. Unfortunately this high level of income and wealth inequality is growing. Between 1979 and 2011, American earners in the top one percent saw wages increase by 113 percent, earners in the 95th percentile saw wages grow 37 percent (Fuller 2014). However, the income growth for the median worker during that same period was a mere six percent. These simple

America is one of the wealthiest countries on earth with having a high imbalance than other industrialized nation. Disparity exists in salary, riches, influence and training. Persons who are legitimately and socially poor in the United States tend to stay in a push through life, not generally by decision but rather in light of the fact that they are given less open doors, training and apparatuses to make progress. Neediness class has a much bigger salary crevice than the privileged, the American Dream is diminishes through circumstance and is demonstrated through measurements.

Henslin (2014) said “Richard Rodriguez represents millions of immigrants – not just those of Latino origin but those from other cultures, too-who want to integrate into U.S culture yet not betray their past. Fearing loss of their roots, they are caught between two cultures, each beckoning, each offering rich rewards”

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.

When questioned what poverty is V. Martin defined poverty as “The inability to financially meet the daily basic needs of oneself or ones family” (personal communication, June 17, 2015). V. Martin added to her definition of poverty stating that people who are living in poverty have a difficult time meeting their basic needs for food, shelter, and clothing due to the amount of income that person has (personal communication, June 17, 2015). “Overall poverty means the same for each community and each family that is experiencing the poverty lifestyle at the same time it can be very different for each community and each family depending on what has led the community or family into poverty” (V. Martin, personal communication, June 17, 2015).

For years now there have been two kinds of people which are the rich and the poor. The poor people and been fighting to find ways to better themselves as well as their families. Some have struggled, but the system has been changing to better aid them. The programs where meant to help, but some where not good and did not help the poor people. I feel after many years of this up and down roller costar some people gave up completely and learned how to live off the government and their free aid to those in need. This is a bad thing because it takes away from the people who really need it and it reflects to others and they try to the same things. "In the early 1960s, poverty for a family of four was officially defined as living on an income of less than $3,000.>sup>9 Populations at high risk of poverty in the 60s included rural Americans, minorities, low-paid workers, and female-headed families. (The poverty status of older Americans improved considerably during the 60s thanks to increases in Social Security

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

It certainly seems peculiar how so much disparity exists among the haves and have-nots in the country that leads the free world. The high level of poverty in the United States coupled with the disparaging rates of income are at times hard to comprehend. How can a country of such great wealth and power also be a country of vast poverty? Poverty will always be evident in the United States to some extent. However, minimizing poverty and income inequality will be conducive to the well being of the United States.

Poverty is a situation whereby people’s basic needs like food, clothes, shelter and medical care, are not met. Poverty can be relative or absolute. Relative poverty is when people are not satisfied with the minimum standard level of living which can be determined by the government. Absolute poverty is when people are completely or in destitution of things like food to keep them healthy, clothes to cover their bodies and shelter over their heads. United States (U.S) faces both types of poverty and therefore, I shall be looking at some of the causes and possible prevention. Family composition, government expenditure, decreases in taxes for low income earners, massive incarceration, and affordable medical care, are some of the main issues to be

Even though the United States is said to be one of the richest country, family’s still seem to live in poverty. There are some many issues that leads back to poverty, such as people not being able to provide food, shelter and higher education for themselves their children. It has also resulted in children having to live with their parents longer than expected just to make it by. Where I live they have been cutting back on the benefits of disability programs and government funding programs. The individuals who really needed the assistant have been cut off and may end up struggling even more than before.

Poverty is a never-ending cycle; it can consume a person’s soul and restrict them from being able to live the life they want to live, because they have to endure the heartache of surviving and taking care of a family. The rich will become richer and the poor will then become poorer. These ongoing chain of events will continue to happen until Americans decide to change social inequality. The United States Census Bureau stated that “In 2016 there were 40.6 million people in poverty…” There is an old proverb that says “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime,” and it is basically saying that if you teach a person how to do things for themselves, they will become more independent and they would no longer have to depend on other people to help them. If people attempt to learn for themselves and if they are given better resources to learn, then poverty will only then began to decrease.