Reflection About Poverty

To many Americans, poverty is merely a synonym for ‘not rich’. Even those who understand the definition may struggle with the concept that poverty is not a distant, foreign, concern; poverty can occur in any country, region, neighborhood, and household. In a study performed by Carroll et al, 60% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the statement “poor people are poor because of laziness and lack of will power (2011, p. 116). In the same questionnaire, 77% of respondents felt most poor people have the ability to escape poverty without government assistance (Carroll et al, 2011, p. 117). As above facts show, despite the widespread nature of this issue those not living in poverty often have

“The real tragedy of the poor is the poverty of their aspirations,” said Adam Smith. The quote above sheds light upon the primary driving force behind the conspicuous poverty that currently plagues American society and its citizens alike. Whether it be the further exacerbation of an indigent individual’s lifestyle or augmented power rendered to the commonplace bon vivant, the vicious circle of poverty seemingly appears to be an indelible taint on America’s rather diverse mosaic of individuals. From the gruesome working conditions endured by impoverished Americans to the immense profits garnered by affluent storeowners, the nation remains fixated in an economics-oriented rudimentary state: a reality directly intertwined to a dearth of bona

As you can see, there are more than the basics of poverty. These poor people struggle on a daily basis to provide the needs of themselves and their family. Poverty affects adults and their children in so many ways. I believe that poverty should be one of the main focuses of America. I have deep sorrow for these people doing whatever they can to make money. I think that poverty needs to be decreased in the United States. I don’t know how the people in poverty do it. They have a weight that they are carrying on their shoulders that they shouldn’t. It’s time for a change.

Poverty is a serious dilemma in which people live in starvation, do not get educated, and have to work hard to survive, similar to what the Youngers face in the story, A Raisin in the Sun. Their situation is so bad that Ruth can’t even afford to give her own son fifty cents to take to school even after it was a requirement and not just a want. Beneatha wants to become a doctor but does not have the resources to pay for a higher education. Poverty has been a complete chaos since decades ago and sadly, is still one today. Robert Rector examined that the Census Bureau reported “a record [of] 46.2 million persons, or roughly one in seven Americans, were poor in 2010” (Rector, 1). However, comprehending poverty involves “looking behind these numbers

Poverty in the United States today has many faces. There’s the pleading face of a middle-aged man on a city street holding up a sign that says “Hungry, Need Help.” There’s the anxious face of a young child in a schoolroom somewhere, whose only real meal today will be a free school lunch. There’s the sad face of a single mother who doesn’t have enough money to buy clothes for her children. And there’s the frustrated face of a young man working at a minimum-wage job who can't afford to pay his rent.

The scourge of poverty in the United States of America is a tragic story that seems to never end. When President Lyndon B. Johnson fired the first shots in the “War on Poverty” in 1964, the rate declined by a several percentage points in the coming decade. Sadly, whereas in 1964 the percentage of Americans in poverty was approximately 17 percent of the population, the rate still stood at 14.8 percent a full 50 years later in 2014. The ongoing plague of poverty has given rise to a moral value shared almost universally in communities across America: in a society as prosperous and successful as ours, it cannot possibly be considered moral to bear witness to so many poor people who can see little or no way out of their lot in life. Unfortunately,

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.

For many years, people have had the misconception that people fall into the poverty due to the culture of poverty. The culture of poverty is what others think “of people living in poverty “fundamentally different from other Americans and that these factors are largely responsible for their continued long term poverty (Henslin, 2014).” Behind this concept, people continually think that the poor are lazy and that they bring poverty on themselves. Although there are many people who fall under the stereotypical view, there are those who live on the verge of poverty but are barely able to keep themselves out of poverty; especially when they are dealing with life changes like divorce, an accident, an illness, or the loss of a job. With the social structure that emphases discrimination amongst many subcultures as well as the job market being

The American people deserve basis hopes. These hopes include a fair chance to be successful, be protected under the law, find a full time job, have a decent home in a decent neighborhood, and send one’s children to a good school with good teachers and to have peaceful mind in old age. It is important to note that 25% to 33% of Americans experience some type of hardship. This is higher for Millennials and people of color. A surprising fact is that in America, 61% of families’ income falls behind their cost of living and only 6% of families income actually helps them get ahead financially. Some factors that lead to poverty are single parent households headed by women, lack of college education, and access to higher education. It is important to note that children that grow up in a single parent home are four times as likely to be poor. This further adds to the poverty rate in the United States. A Brookings analysis found that if the US had the same marriage rate that existed in the 1970s today, then the poverty rate would fall by 25%. Research continues to show that more education leads to more money and is the key to overcoming poverty. Without a college degree, 45% of the children from families in the lower quintile of wealth will themselves become adults in the bottom quintile.

Anyone who has ever struggled with poverty knows how extremely expensive it is to be poor. I think the most frustrating part of living in poverty is the lack of resources. Most things cost money and if you’re poor it usually means you don’t have the money to purchase those resources. In most cases those resources that one can’t afford are the things that will help them get out of

The disproportion of income distribution in America is a hot topic these days, and a major factor in the bondage of poverty. While the economy has grown substantially, the incomes of the underclass have seen the least growth. Levine draws attention to the fact that the share of income for the bottom fifth of the population has hardly changed over the last few decades at less than 4%, yet for the rest of the population it grows at higher rates the farther up the ladder you go. Levine illuminates that “the U.S. income distribution appears to be among the most unequal of all major industrialized countries.”5 While most Americans perceive that we have a society in which one has the power to move up or down the ladder with personal choices, the “empirical analyses suggest that children born into low-income families have not become more likely and may have become less likely to surpass their parents' position at the bottom of the income distribution.”6 There are a lot of variables that will contribute to explaining this immobility, from the added expense of being poor to the cognitive and social effects that are associated therein.

This review is formulated with scholarly sources and references based off of poverty in America. This disclosure is approached with a value free sociological approach, and it will give insight on the social causes of poverty and the effects it has on America. Poverty is a very controversial topic. Many will assume that people living in poverty are lazy, made bad life decisions, or that they are solely the reason for their predicament however, people living in poverty would argue that their are deeper issues for it. Poverty will be deeply explained and researched from both perspectives

Poverty is a massive issue today, it surrounds all of life’s experiences, and it impacts on the future for people everywhere, and on health everywhere in society. Poverty is not just related to unemployment or

Thousands of individuals are living in poverty. Why is it that this worldwide dilemma is still rising in rapid numbers till this day? Is it because of a lack of authoritative power, or a lack of one’s self control to do good? Despite the unknown cause, it has managed to drastically affect the lives of many. Poverty is like a curse, one that is wrongfully placed, difficult to get out of, and resistant to many forms of help.

Many Americans believe that America has one of the most powerful economies that is involved in the global market and the best average living standards. Since the creation of the United States it has been known as the land of endless opportunities, regardless of social or economic classes. Under this philosophy, all citizens should have equal rights and given equal opportunity to progress in the workforce. However many Americans are living full lives and do not have financial obstacles to get over. Even so, millions of Americans are still faced with poor living conditions and struggle with providing for their families basic needs. Whether Americans believe poverty and inequality exist in America exists or not, the authors in three different articles:” Culture of Success” by Brink Lindsey, “A Great Time to Be Alive?” by Matt Yglesias, and “Born Poor and Smart” by Angela Locke, and “The War Against the Poor Instead of Programs to End Poverty”by Herbert J. Gans, shared ideas on how to help fix the problems of the impoverished community and address the cause of the problem. The four articles also explain different biases that the impoverish have to endure everyday.