The Importance Of Poverty Inequality In The United States Of America

Many individuals all over the world are affected by poverty. In order to completely understand the cause, the effect, and the solution to ending poverty, we must first understand the meaning of poverty. Poverty is the condition where an individual’s basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter are not being met (business dictionary). According to the World Bank Organization, poverty is also the lack of healthcare, education, information, and jobs. There are two general types of poverty: Absolute and Relative. Absolute poverty occurs when individuals cannot obtain adequate resources to support a minimum level of physical health. Relative poverty occurs when individuals do not

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.

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.

“Poverty is the worst form of violence.” Mahatma Gandhi’s words still ring true in today’s society. Poverty is nothing to sweep under the rug or put on the back burner. While many statistics state that poverty is decreasing, other sources state the opposite. Poverty is a hot topic in the U.S., foreign countries, and speaks true about many genders, ethnic groups, and children.

42% of kids born in poverty will not get out. Today, more Americans are falling below the poverty line and are struggling trying to find a way to get out. The Inequality gap in America has increased for the past few decades. Resulting from Economic Inequality in America, 400 Americans share more than 50% of America’s total wealth. These 400 Americans are the Top 1%. While the Top 1% are living luxurious lives, the Bottom 99% is struggling to make ends meet. Inequality is nothing new to the United States. In fact, it is a serious problem for America’s Economy, Democracy and the Middle Class.

Although the United States may be an industrialized country, it still “…has one of the highest poverty rates in the advanced world” in comparison to other similar countries (Conley 400). This may be due to the high economic inequality between the rich and the poor with “economic rewards [being] far more lopsided” (Conley 400). The American class system is unlike any other industrialized nation in the world as the rich make an average of five to six times more income than the poor: a

Within not only our own country, but throughout the entire world, there is poverty. It is pretty much a fact of life, and the current way the U.S. government is attempting to resolve the problem is not the correct way. We are trying to fix a long-term problem with a short-term solution. Instead of welfare, there are much better ways to solve the problem of poverty.

Since the early 1980s in the United States, there has been a big push advocating for tax cuts benefitting the wealthiest Americans at the expense of investing in education, infrastructure, child care, and income supports that would help raise well-off children to be productive adults. As a result of this, the gap between the rich and the poor has grown wider, making the wealthy more willing to sacrifice overall economic growth in exchange for the larger share of money that they are getting for themselves. This has led to severe income, racial, and poverty inequality in the United States and creates an inequality trap because as the rich get wealthier, they favor policies that earn them more money and power at the expense of the low-income workers education and well-being.

Poverty in the United States is getting in inferior quality every day and nothing is being done about it. Many people who want to help the poor, but no one knows exactly how to help them. A primary reason for people not taking action is because of lack of information that is provided about issues on poverty. Poverty is defined as the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions. According to the U.S. Census Bureau data released Tuesday September 13th, 2011, the nation's poverty rate rose to 15.1% (46.2 million) in 2010, up from 14.3% (approximately 43.6 million) in 2009 and to its highest level since 1993. In 2008, 13.2% (39.8 million) Americans lived in relative poverty. In 2000, the

In the book, Poverty and Inequality, it is noted that many people look at the economy and poverty status in the 60s to gauge how to solve poverty today (1997). The sixties saw the longest and strongest economic growth in US history. The unemployment rates went from twenty two percent to thirteen percent. The economy grew 4.3 % every year. This leads many economic analyses to tie the bustling economy with the declining poverty level. The eighties saw two short recessions before the second longest and strongest growth in US history. The unemployment rate went from just over ten percent to just over eight percent. It is important to note that the poverty rate only fell slightly during this period. By 1990, the poverty rate

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

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.

As Americans, many of us take our socioeconomic status and right of equal opportunity for granted. However, there are many who lack the resources to raise their economic status thus creating a growing wealth gap. The only way to stop this economic inequality is to have private funders advocate for these poor people. There needs to be more of a focus on the economic portion of socioeconomic because it provides the necessities of life. Therefore, inequality exists in America and the only way to stop it is by having private funders be the primary advocate for those who suffer from this inequality.

In 2017, as indicated by ASPE, the poverty line for four people in the United States is 24,600 dollars or less, and will rise as the standard of living costs increase with inflation. Many people believe that if one is poor, than their children will be poor. This opinion is flawed and outdated due to the many programs that help people in need nowadays. Other factors determine the success in a person’s future, such as their mindset and drive. Poverty does not affect power because behavior aspects influence a child's future, in addition to their cultural and geographical background.

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.