Rich Get Poor

Do you enjoy your hard earned tax dollars being given to unemployed people because they don't want to work? Between 2008 and 2013, the number of people on food stamps grew by 69 percent (Riley). Welfare tends to pay more than most entry-level jobs, so most people choose the lazy way of life and stay unemployed. Financial aid from the government is America’s fastest growing source of personal income (Will). That goes to show that the Americans that are on financial aid programs are being lazy and have no will to get off of their couches to go to work. Public welfare programs are not helpful because they encourage laziness, get abused, and take money away from hard working taxpayers.

Poverty has been around as long as there has been an America. Programs have been set in place to help offset the issue, such as Food Stamps and housing. The government’s implementation of some of these programs is to ensure that the poor have a place to sleep and adequate meals to eat. There are issues with these programs that contribute to the furthering of poverty, but for the most part are more helpful than harmful. While there is a chance that there will always be a poverty line that Americans will be under, there are solutions that can be implemented towards getting many of these people above it. Some options might include keeping jobs within the

For a nation of 323.1 billion people, it is astonishing to see the people of America unaware of some situations. According to The Center for Poverty Research, in 2015, an estimated 43.1 million Americans lived in poverty according to the official measure. We are not doing enough to help those in need. Of course there are places for people to get help but so many people are struggling. “In 2015, 12.2% of men lived in Poverty USA, and 14.8% of women lived in poverty” (The State of Poverty). As a nation, we could try to be more considerate to the people that need help. “Overall, the typical American defined as poor by the government has a car, air conditioning, a refrigerator, a stove, a clothes washer and dryer, and a microwave” (How Poor is America’s Poor?). Some people suffer silently. They may have all of these things but they will always be in need of assistance. Our government has ignored the poor people of America and it is time to take action. Already, there are food

"Why are record numbers of Americans on food stamps? Because record numbers of Americans are in poverty. Why are people falling through the cracks? Because there are cracks to fall through." (Bill Moyers) This quote is explains one factor in of why people use food stamps, however there is more you have to look into of why people use food stamps. In this article it showed a woman that struggles to pay for food four children. For me what I saw was a nice house, kids with expensive electronics, place that she lived in was very dangerous and there were no food grocery stores nearby from this article "14% of U.S. Households Struggle to Put Food on the Table." It stated “that 14% of Americans struggle to provide

Florida’s minimum wage (for example) is insufficient for even a single adult living alone to live off of. 13% of married couples with children under 18 and 42% of single parents have to use food stamps for assistance. Not that having to rely on food stamps is a bad thing, it’s only that those who have to use food stamps are at a disadvantage in the workplace and could use a little bit of help to ensure they can take care of their families.Many people of the community have to rely on welfare and a minimum wage increase would help immensely. Many people of the states have to use welfare -or food stamps- to make sure they are stable financially, which can have an awful feeling on one’s personal self. (‘Living Wages’ Needed).

Ideally not everyone can commit to welfare-to-work programs, but this doesn’t mean they deserve to fend for themselves. It only makes sense for families who work to receive enough money to support themselves. Michele Gilman divulged how stagnant the wages for lower income families are she wrote, “American workers are among the most productive in the world, but over the last 40 years the bottom half of income earners have seen no income growth. As a result since 1973, worker productivity has grown . . . almost six times faster than wages” (Gilman 2018). Without raising the minimum wage there will be the same problems for posterity in the U.S. Michelle also expresses the problems in wages and how they affect housing she asserts, “There are 11 million renter households paying more than half their income on housing. And there is no county . . . in America where a minimum wage worker can afford a two-bedroom home. Still, only 1 in 4 . . . eligible households receive any form of government housing assistance” (Gilman 2018). Housing cost steadily increase yet the amount wages that are being paid out to the lower working class stays constant, if this continues the basic necessities are going to become too unaffordable and more people are going to need government assistance. It is also made evident that many not all people living in poverty gain welfare

In the United States of America, it can be said that we live in a nationwide system of oppression. Whether it pertains to color, race, religion, or economic standing, there is a natural perceived division between the privileged and the rest. The same can be said about the system that NCAA deploys with participating institutions. There are the privileged big universities that constantly make profit from athletics and then there’s everyone else that struggles to break even. It’s a trend that has been established for many years and a trend that will continue to hinder the competitiveness of college athletics; the rich will get richer, leaving everyone else struggling to stay afloat.

The book demonstrates that poverty may not be a government issue but everyone is impacting towards this issue. People must work with what they got, and give respect to their close ones

People who live in poverty work twice as hard as wealthy people because they must do everything they can to survive and support their families.  Furthermore, America’s economy today makes it impossible for people to survive on minimum wage (CBS News). Considering that America is a First World country, American citizens should live their lives with abundance and wealth, but fortunately, America has one of the highest poverty rate. Today, America has reached over forty-six million people living in poverty; one out of seven Americans and one out of five children are living impoverished lives (“Who is Poor”). The growing gap between the top one percent and the people living in poverty is affecting almost every aspects of American’s lives, such as education, health, housing, employment, and overall

I liked reading your post this week. I agree with you in a lot of things you emphasized. Think about that there are 126 improvement programs. I do not want to believe that these 126 poverty improvement programs have not helped the poverty stop in the United States, and most of the programs have worked properly. I believe that the United States will win over the poverty monster sooner or later with some regulations, changes and improvements, such as more tax collections from the rich people and enterprises. Enterprises! Yes, enterprises! Some of them do not want to pay the regular taxes as they are supposed to do. Why? If they pay regularly without any tax free events, the amount you will pay would help the poverty stop, and at

There are other good alternatives to welfare. Private charities can successfully serve the poor. Arnold Kling quotes, “Those organizations that work directly with poor people stand a better chance of learning how to meet their needs” (Bily, 2009, p 71). He believes charitable organizations are more flexible, accountable, and efficient. The poor would be better served by a new tax policy directing more money to private charities and less to the federal and state government. The role of charitable organizations is better than the government as a source of aid. It is easier for donors or volunteers to hold charitable organizations accountable than it is for taxpayers to hold government accountable. Failed government programs can go on forever, but an unsuccessful charity has a more difficult time obtaining adequate funding. In 2005,

1A. The author expresses the statement that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

The rich get richer and middle-class gets poorer. This is a point that really phases through some minds because they just fail to realize the reality of how the government controls the country’s money. It is not a secret that you need money to make money. Although some may disagree with this statement, it sure does make it a lot easier. People who build up their savings and people who invest are all people that need money to make money. The amount of money you have is not so important compared to how long it actually took you to make that money. This is why people go to school to pursue an education and good job but yet they fail to grasp this idea. School is an investment that will provide you with an education that will qualify you for a job that pays well. In today’s government-based society, escaping the middle-class is something that becomes really important if you wish to progress and live a wealthy life. This is all because of taxes and how they are distributed to the people of the country. Majority are ignorant of the numbers behind income tax and benefits of investing into an education. This is the ignorance that plagues the minds of the middle-class and prevents them from moving on and elevating to a wealthier lifestyle. This is how a country’s people become poorer under the guise of everything being fair and equal.

Poverty has been evident since The Great Depression in the 1930’s. Since then, there has been an attempt to lower poverty level, though only a 2.5% decrease has been seen since 1965. It is argued that we do not need another war on poverty since nothing has seemed to help, but this is an issue that affects everyone. As Mark Bittman stated in his article “Why We’re Fasting” “This is a moral issue; the budget is a moral document.” Poverty can be improved if more emphasis is added to helping individuals or families out of poverty, instead of assisting them through their lives, by improving existing laws or implementing new laws centering around the idea of a fixed income.

What is a short story? “A short story is a work of fiction that develops a single idea” (Dowling Central, n.d.). Dorothy West, an author of many short stories, has entertained and taught many lessons throughout her writings. This paper will discuss West’s short story, “The Richer, The Poorer.” In addition, this paper will examine the entertainment value of this story as it relates to the lesson it teaches to the reader by discussing the literary elements found in “The Richer, The Poorer.”