Poverty Is A Social Good

In the United States, Americans are painfully aware that poverty is a massive upsurge. Americans are getting poor and poor by the minute and that’s a problem. In the book “Men We Reaped” Jesmyn Ward explains that society sees our life being worth nothing. If I had the choice to change poverty I would raise the minimum wage so more people would want to work and the money can at least accommodate for a 3 house family with one person working.

The book “The Other America”, written by Michael Harrington, describes poverty in America in the 1950s and 1960s, when America became one of the most affluent and advanced nations in the world. The book was written in 1962, and Harrington states that there were about 50,000,000 (about 25% of the total population) poor in America at that time. The author did extensive research with respect to the family income levels to derive the poverty numbers, and used his own observations and experiences to write this book. This book addresses the reasons for poverty, the nature of poverty, the culture of poverty, the blindness of Middle Class America with respect to poverty, and the responsibility of all Americans in addressing the issue of poverty in America.

The view that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer has been heard repeatedly in reference to America’s income inequality. Though ironic, it comes as no surprise that America, a continent that easily trumps other countries in terms of wealth would be affected by the issue of poverty at such high levels. While much has said regarding the poverty levels, many economists, educators and scholars feel that the income inequality in America may be the reason why it is difficult to live and maintain a middle class lifestyle or to rise out of poverty into the middle class in the current economic state. With this in mind, the only way America, has a chance of lessening or eliminating poverty altogether is by understanding how it exists.

It is expensive to be poor in America. With unemployment being persistently high, this is good news for those in the poverty business who make money off of the misery of the poor. The working poor have to contend with payday loans, rent to own schemes, sub-prime lenders, exorbitant credit cards and a diabolically clever ideas that entrepreneurs have though of to get rich off those with thin wallets. The poor are stuck because they do not have the means to go elsewhere (" Place matters,," 2008).

It's hard to believe in a country as wealthy as the United States, that we have the problem of poverty. Poverty has not become a recent problem of our

Americans have the highest standard of living of any civilization ever to exist. Our technology and ease of access to everything afford us lifestyles never achievable to all previous generations. Jobs, cars, and opportunities are equally available for almost everyone. Almost. As a result of the last recession there is an abnormally high number of people living below the poverty line and many more living on welfare. Many people in the United States fear that they cannot provide enough food to their families and barely have the ability to fuel the own cars to get to work. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the rate of poverty ceased to decrease about ten years after the implementation of anti-poverty

Compared to the rest of the world the United States is economically prosperous however, many citizens are plagued with poverty and destitution. Poverty has become such a problem that one in six Americans are living below the poverty line (Yen). Despite the significant number of Americans living in poverty, most Americans are unaware of its vast scope and scale. The public’s apathy towards poverty has caused it to become an invisible epidemic. The middle -class’s flight from the cities has created de facto segregation between the impoverished and the financially comfortable. Lawmakers find that running on the platform of “fixing poverty” is not appealing to the majority of their middle-class constituents. The media turns a blind eye to

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

Today, despite strong labor markets with record low unemployment rates, there are millions of Americans who work but remain poor. In 2009,.which is the most recent data available, accordint to the Working Poor Families Project (a privately funded effort aimed at improving economic security for low-income families) 10 million low-income working families in the United States an increase of nearly a quarter million from the previous year. Forty-three percent of working families with at least one minority parent were low income, nearly twice the proportion of white working families (22 percent). The number of working poor in the United States is higher than they have ever seen it before and it continues to increase at a staggering pace. I'm going

This “middle-class nation” is struggling to support all those who live in its borders and the misconceptions about wealth are vastly overrated. Furthermore, the idea of wealth and stability is incorrect, and there is a very sharp contrast between the rich and poor in the country. As the richest twenty percent of American hold ninety percent of the total household of the total household wealth in the country, those at the bottom have managed very poorly and suffer to get through the days.

Most Americans think the United States is the most powerful country in the world in terms of economy and living standards. The United States, land of the free, has millions of people effected by poverty and inequality everyday. Poverty and inequality does exist in this country and is a huge issue that needs to be solved immediately. For this issue to be solved, we have to uncover the characteristics of poverty, get rid of the stereotypes people have about the poor, and discover how poverty can end. In this essay we will discuss the poverty and inequality issue with some common points between three articles.

Even though having the “poor class” is a necessary evil needed for society to function, most Americans, at some point in time, will experience what it is like to live in poverty or live below the poverty line. One main reason for having a high percentage of people living in poverty is because the U.S. policy makers have ignored the poor and have given tax breaks to those with a much higher income. Funding for welfare was slashed and extended unemployment benefits were ended. With little success with the economic reform the United States has been going through for the past five years, about 14.5 percent of Americans are still living under the poverty line.

While it has proven to be difficult to end poverty in America, Peter Edelman is optimistic. In his book So Rich, So Poor Edelman makes a call to action. There are four prominent ideas that underpin Edelman’s reasoning throughout the book: (1) More people must understand why poverty is still so prevalent in America; (2) extreme poverty must be taken into consideration as a shocking 6 million Americans’ sole income was food stamps in 2011. This fact alone creates a sense of urgency that drives Edelman; (3) increasing income inequality should be treated as a moral issue; and (4) bold political action will be required if substantive progress will be made in alleviating poverty.

For many years’ poverty has affected people throughout the world, one of the countries that poverty has an effect but it’s not that noticeable is American, although it is also one of the richest countries.

The greatest tragedy of life is to think that it is good for men to have an abundance of things, but not good to consider the man who has nothing. America, the land of the free and the home of the brave, yet some who served this country don’t have a place to sleep in the country they gave life and limb to defend. Society appears to accept poverty as not a problem only a condition for someone else or another place not the U.S.A. Poverty has many ways that it show its self that affect the U.S. economy and its people in negative ways. Addressing poverty as Americas #1 Problem we can help the middle class that is steadily fading, eradicate hunger, and most importantly give people a second chance to turn their lives around.