The Poverty Of The United States

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

Poverty is a big problem in the United States. According to Charles Zastrow, “in 2012 over forty-six million people, about fifteen percent of our population was living below the poverty line” (p. 117). In other words, there were a great amount of people living below the poverty line the poverty line. The poverty line is the minimum level of income needed for secured needs of life according to the government. Poverty causes malnutrition, homelessness, School dropout’s drug abuse, and much more.

It has become common in the modern era of America to forget that many nations are poverty-stricken and lacking proper education around the world. In the United States, most children take a bus, are driven, or walk a short distance in mild weather to reach school. The buildings themselves are typically modern and clean, with an abundance of high quality coloring supplies, binders, and notebooks. Pakistani children get none of these luxuries, particularly girls. Occasionally, parents are able to send their children walking to a small school building with underdressed and underfed students where often no teacher is present, but even this poor form of education is a rarity. Girls fare even worse with a 2:3 ratio of females receiving education to

Report shows by 2010, 46.2 million Americans were officially in poverty, representing 15.1 percent of the population. Statistics show that the probability of being poor is greater for families headed by a female, racial and ethnic minorities, and for those under eighteen years of age (Lauder 2014). Poverty includes people of the working class and the homeless. Many people believe the position of the poor contradicts the American value of the right to life and the pursuit of happiness (Lauder 2014). Income equality is a major problem in the United States because as the richest nation in the world, we have some of the highest poverty levels in western society.

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.

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

There are many factors which contribute to poverty in the United States. The first of the governing factors of poverty is economic downturn. According to Kneebone (2010) and Desilver (2014), both the Great Depression and Recession led to increasing levels of poverty due to the lack of employment. Essentially, if companies are not making revenue, eventually they must begin laying off workers to compensate for losses. In addition, collapse of family structures of contributed to poverty. Rushefsky (2014) reports single-parent families, specifically those with female head of households tend to be in poverty due to low wages and or lack of job opportunities, requiring the dependence of welfare programs. Fundamentally, it becomes more difficult for families

According to a 2013 article in the Economist, the US currently boasts the highest post-tax level of income inequality of any high-income country in the world (Economist 2013). The nations Gini Coefficient – a measure of wealth inequality – currently stands at .42, well above that of other nations such as Switzerland and Sweden, which have Gini Coefficients of .31 and .33 respectively. Unfortunately this high level of income and wealth inequality is growing. Between 1979 and 2011, American earners in the top one percent saw wages increase by 113 percent, earners in the 95th percentile saw wages grow 37 percent (Fuller 2014). However, the income growth for the median worker during that same period was a mere six percent. These simple

Poverty in the United States is defined as a social problem. As outlined in the text, a social problem is “a condition that undermines the well-being of some or all members of a society and is usually a matter of public controversy”. It is easy to see that there is a large economic divide in the United States, but with only a small percentage of people in the highest income stratification and the vast majority struggling to get by, the majority of United States citizens agree that there is too much power in too few rich people. The “American dream”, the idea that if you work hard you will be rewarded accordingly, is a increasingly inadequate theme of the past. Today, average people who work hard have been struggling to provide for

For the first time, this report shows that by investing an additional 2 percent of the federal budget into existing programs and policies that increase employment, make work pay, and ensure children’s basic needs are met, the nation could reduce child poverty by 60 percent and lift 6.6 million children out of poverty.

In the United States, 45.3 million people live in poverty. In a country with a population of 313.9 million people, that means that almost 15% of the nation is living in poverty. Of those who are in poverty, 12,700 of those are veterans. As small and insignificant as that may seem, it is a problem that those who fought for the country are the ones who end up fighting to stay alive in that same country they just devoted their life to. A major factor that leads to poverty is joblessness. The unemployment rate is drastically different for veterans than it is for the average citizen. Within the past ten years, veteran employment rate skyrocketed to an astounding 11.7%, whereas the general public has an employment rate of 9.1%. Now, the question of “Well, why?” occurs. Veterans cannot find jobs in their home country anymore because of mental disabilities that they evolved during their time serving.

Overtime issues with the percentage of citizens in poverty has risen. Several organizations have been set up to help those who suffer from poverty and provide their everyday needs. There are always ways where a community can help eliminate the amount of people suffering poverty. Government has an influence on how much money flow there is in the United States such as the FED, which was created to help maintain a stable monetary and financial system and control the money supply. People themselves can also help from falling into poverty, but there are many other issues that cause poverty. Poverty is often caused by discrimination, being uneducated, and how wisely money is spent.

When questioned what poverty is V. Martin defined poverty as “The inability to financially meet the daily basic needs of oneself or ones family” (personal communication, June 17, 2015). V. Martin added to her definition of poverty stating that people who are living in poverty have a difficult time meeting their basic needs for food, shelter, and clothing due to the amount of income that person has (personal communication, June 17, 2015). “Overall poverty means the same for each community and each family that is experiencing the poverty lifestyle at the same time it can be very different for each community and each family depending on what has led the community or family into poverty” (V. Martin, personal communication, June 17, 2015).

Isabel V. Sawhill wrote an article in 2008 titled “Poverty in the United States”. She talks about how poverty

People living in poverty suffer not only material deprivation, but also the hardships and diminished life prospects that come with being poor. Childhood poverty often means growing up without the advantages of a stable home, high-quality schools, or consistent nutrition. Adults in poverty are often hindered by inadequate skills and education, leading to limited wages and job opportunities. And the high costs of housing, healthcare, and other necessities