The Importance Of Poverty In America

Poverty can be characterized either as far as a clear salary level or as a relative condition that progressions as society reclassifies it. As the age of the world grows and progresses among the middle and upper class, the lower class is struggling to keep up with the rest. As citizens they have the right to be in the same boat as other successful people in the world, they just do not have an advantage in doing so. Communism is not in the conversation, but many of the working people in poverty deserve to be paid as normal to keep a home and more. Poverty can be reduced drastically with just a little help and kindness.

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

The U.S. is among the richest countries in the world today, yet millions of people in America still live below the poverty level. The number of Americans living in poverty is increasing day by day as well as the number of children. Poverty in America has become a great threat to children’s wellbeing as they are affected emotionally, socially, and even in their school performance (Wood 720). Poverty in America is mainly caused by lack of jobs. Many people who live in poverty in the United States is due to lack of jobs and getting jobs with minimum wage. Another cause of poverty is due to the rise in the cost of living. Poverty exists in America despite the fact that is among the richest nations in the world.

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

There was always ways societies took care took care of those in need. Stated by Zastrow “non-literate societies its needs of those who were not self-sufficient were met by family or by tribal members. In medieval period poor relief was the church's responsibility” (p. 118). There was the famous Elizabeth poor law of 1601 in England which basically was a relief of poverty for a moment. The Great Depression also had a huge impact on poverty, this is when a lot of individuals were unemployed and not just low class people but mostly everyone. Resulting from the Great Depression, a lot of programs were created because this was a time when the poverty rate were high. Some of those programs consist of: Social Security, head Start educational funding AFDC and TANF.

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

It is an undeniable fact there exists a growing poverty epidemic within American society that needs to be addressed. According to a 2012 report by the Cato Institute the United States government spends nearly one-trillion dollars every year to combat severe financial need through a total of 126 separate welfare programs. While this value by itself seems significantly large, perhaps to an even excessive extent, in reality it had little effect on the American poverty level, never al allowing it to drop below 10.5%. Even with these massive government expenditures aimed at elevating quality of life, for many households an escape from their low-income bracket is still vastly unattainable. Current statistics show that more than 40% of individuals born into the bottom quintile will remain there, failing to escape into a life of financial stability. Despite immense funding, in its existing state of organization, the system of aid currently offered by the American government to lower income household fails to effectively alleviate the living conditions of the impoverished due to its negligence towards payday loans and the other intangible costs of poverty, its temporary and ineffective solutions to fight hunger, and most significantly, its insufficient reliance on an unreliable and inconsistent enforcement from state jurisdictions.

Today in the United States poverty is a big problem that gets worse by the day and not a whole lot gets done about it. Poverty in the United States comes from the prolonged economic recession that forced millions of Americans into poverty, with nearly 15 percent of the population or roughly 46.7 million people living below the poverty line in 2014. What most people think the way money is divided up in the United States is actually pretty far off what the reality is. Over the years there has been reforms to help those who are living in poverty, but those reforms have been holding many people back from moving up the social ladder.

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

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.

What are the main reasons there is so much poverty in America? In the past 30 years, poverty has increased drastically leaving many people homeless and helpless. Adults, as well as the children, are left on the streets to seek different ways to aid their families. If a working family member is injured, then it is up to the others to find ways to care for the injured and at the same time set food on the table. Many women also work to aid their families, however, when a woman works at a factory she only earns the 75 cents when compared to when a male earns a dollar. It does not even seem proportional if a person works for a long period of time and then the person only receives a fraction of what they worked. Despite the economic growth in America, there are still signs of poverty in some parts of the country, which is due to the lack of employment, low wages, overpopulation, and injury.

In this world, poverty exist, even to this today. Some people in this world are extremely fortunate to have a lot of money or even have enough to be able to support themselves and their family. However, some people do not have the money to get necessities such as food, shelter and water. People should work to reduce poverty because it can help a lot of people who can not get necessities, and this will help people realize that it is important to help people out to make their life a little easier. People who a lot of money should donate as much as they can to programs to help out not people within their own countries. An example of this is if someone makes over a million dolars a year, then they can donate to a group of people that can buy some

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.

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