The Effects of US Poverty: The Degradation of Health The United States of America has been considered by many to be the richest and most blessed country to exist. Many of its people are wealthy and powerful. Many US citizens are happy people, living in their homes with their families. However, some US citizens are living in extreme conditions that affect their lives drastically. Many face homelessness, some face extreme hunger, and most experience more stress than happiness throughout their lives. Undoubtedly, poverty causes a large array of issues in one’s life, but one of the most harmful components of being poor is the extreme health hazards that those who live in poverty face every day. A substantial number of Americans can afford Medicare and medical assistance to combat these illnesses, but many poor people cannot. This lack of medical support leads to various health issues that not only subtract from an individual’s already low quality of life, but can also impact others by spreading disease in the home or in public places. Furthermore, some may contract severe illnesses and even die from a curable disease because they could not afford the cure. The University of California San Francisco tells its readers in an article about a doctor who lost an important document in the trash and searched behind the clinic for the paper in the trash bins, “What he found instead in the mountain of rubbish were crumpled prescription slips that patients had tossed in hospital trash
Poverty is the single largest determinant of health. It has a widespread range of negative effects, both on the physical and the mental level, making it a significant public health concern in many countries. Poorer people tend to live shorter lives because there’s a clear correlation between income and access to healthcare. This disparity draws special attention to the significant sensitivity of health and the social environment.
More than 800 million people in the world are malnourished, 777 million of them are from the developing world (Raphel, S., 2014). Poverty is an issue that must be addressed to the population loud and clear or everyone will end up suffering. There are many families trying to survive and live from paycheck to paycheck. Unfortunately, there are some families that are unable to support himself or herself or any family member. One important key issue of poverty in the United States is inequality. Many Americans blame the poor people for their own fate but you should never judge a book by its cover. There can be many reasons why an individual or families end up in poverty. For example, low wage jobs, discrimination and social inequality, vulnerability to natural disasters, war and political instability. Another big issue we face today is child poverty. This is a very critical issue because these young children are our future. If we let these children live in poverty, there is a higher chance they will drop out of school, look for work in order to support their family, or give up in life.
Poverty, a common problem in the US and yet, something that people consistently overlook. We are often unaware of the magnitude of poverty in the U.S and sometimes even disregard it. People living in destitution are at greater risk for behavioral and mental problems. Children or Teens who live in poverty are prone to poor academic achievements, become school dropouts , or grow subject to abuse or neglect. People in poverty also occasionally show signs of anxiety and depression.
Poverty has been an ongoing issue since the birth of this Nation. When one thinks of poverty the last people we think of are the ones closest to home. As children some are told “finish your dinner, there are starving kids in Africa”, but what about the starving children whom are in neighborhoods close to us? Poverty is everywhere, even the places that are thought of as wealthy. Poverty in America; a continuing issue.There are many different definitions of poverty. The United States Census Bureau states that
When most people think of poverty they think of somewhere overseas, however; poverty is a lot closer to home than one might think. The winding, twisting roads of Eastern Kentucky have picturesque scenery, but many of the people here are struggling in these hills. The people of Eastern Kentucky have been dependent on the coal industry to feed their families and pay their bills, but this once thriving industry has been on the decline in recent years. Without coal, Eastern Kentucky is facing a grim future and many of its residents are struggling with the effects of losing one of their main employment opportunities.
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
The United States defines poverty for a family of four as being less than $16,036 per year, or $4,009 per person (Leone 12). People find themselves under this line for an innumerable amount of reasons. Some of these causes are under one's control and others are greater factors beyond an individual's power. Each family or individual person has unique and separate reasons for living in a state poverty. There is no way to try and define them all. Focusing in, three main topics arise that encompass the most predominant reasons for a person to fall into poverty. Education, family life and influence, along with the business cycle may work individually or together to cause poverty. These three leading
The United States is considered by many to be the greatest country in the world. However, when it comes to health care the US is ranked behind 36 other countries, according to the World Health Organization. If one was to do any research at all, they would find that an overwhelming 34 of these 36 countries all have one thing in common. They all use a universal health care system. This is not just a mere coincidence. The problems and outrageous cost within the US healthcare system causes over 700,000 Americans to go bankrupt every year. This staggering problem simply does not occur in any other industrialized countries. Accounting for these facts the United States needs to move quickly to embrace
Poverty is an important issue in America today and in the past, to make our country better we need to fix the rate of poverty in America. There are families that wonder, not what but if they are going to eat each day of the year because people just cannot support their families. Maybe it is the fact that they do not make enough money, or they do not have a job to make money. Sometimes they just blow away money on gambling, drinking, drugs, and other bad examples. However, there are hardworking people that try their best to support themselves and or their families.
“Of all the shocking and inhuman in society, the lack of access to health care is the most inhumane.” (Allender, Rector, & Warner, 2014). Based on the 2010 Census, almost 50 million Americans were uninsured and without equal access to healthcare services due to exponential costs resulting from lack of coverage (Gibbens, 2012). According to Gibbens (2012), 54% of patients reported delaying recommended care, filling prescriptions, or visiting a provider due to unaffordability of care. The impoverishing effects of our health care system have caused 1.5 million families to lose their homes every year and almost 3,000 to file bankruptcy daily (Gibbens, 2012). The United States spends four times as much on health delivery than on national defense
Statistics indicates a rise in poverty levels in most countries all over the world. In America, more than 15% of the population lives in poverty and deplorable living conditions. Poverty and homelessness are particularly high amongst children living in the United States. Poverty is considered as the inability to meet one’s basic needs due to lack of money. It is state of deprivation in which a person lacks and is unable to acquire the normal monetary sum or property and other possessions. In the United States, the poverty threshold is used by the government to measure the level of poverty in the country. The government implements different policies and programs to eradicate poverty depending on the level of poverty. The policies and programs are meant to improve the welfare of the poor in the society and enable them to improve their social status. This paper will entail research on poverty and the policies and programs implemented to eradicate poverty in the United States.
Poverty within neighborhoods throughout the United States has increased immensely throughout the past 50 years. In 2011, nearly 46.2 million Americans were living in poverty compared to the 353,000 Americans who lived in poverty in 1959. (Dosomething 1) Poverty is hardly just defined as a lack of financial resources, it is defined as a condition that results in an absence of the freedom to choose arising from a lack of the capability to function effectively in society. (Poverty and Education 1) For a person to be impoverished or to be living in a state of poverty is to live where they do not have the economic means to provide a healthy lifestyle for themselves and their family. A majority of public school students across the country are considered “low-income”, according to a new study by the Southern Education Foundation. Areas of concentrated impoverishment are often characterised by crime, unemployment, and lack of resources. Children represent 24 percent of the population, but they comprise 34 percent of all people in poverty. The shift to a majority-poor student population implies that a growing range of students who attend public schools are less likely to possess support at home, are less often exposed to enriching activities outside of school, and are more likely to drop out and never attend higher education. Children living in poverty have a higher number of absenteeism or leave school altogether because they are likely to have to work or care for family
Poverty has become a major problem in the United States of America, affecting up to millions of Americans. Today the poverty level in the U.S is at a whopping sixteen percent. While sixteen percent doesn’t seem like a large number; it represents up to 40 million citizens in the United States. Statistics show that the poverty universe consumes up to 308,196,783 citizens that can be affected by poverty. According to the census Bureau, The poverty universe refers to the people who the Bureau can determine poverty status. However, the United States census Bureau has come up with a ninety percent confidence interval that shows that 48,810,868 to 49,067,044 citizens are affected by poverty. Coincidentally that interval
First, dealing with minorities in poverty has became a sensational problem with black, Hispanic, and other ethnicity. They are having problems gaining and maintaining jobs in the United states because of discrimination, by getting paid lower than those of the main ethnicity in that region. In the article America’s Poverty Problem Hasn't Changed “Blacks and Hispanics make up for well over 20% in the poverty level” (White). This is showing that minorities are being treated unfairly, causing them to live in poverty and not be able to provide for their families or basic needs. People that are being discriminated are also are having this problem. which leads to them to be part of the poverty rate. In the article “America’s Poverty Problem Hasn't
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