THE SOCIAL CAUSES OF POVERTY USING SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION
By Anya’ Burnett
Soc 101 I01
Midlands Technical College (MTC)
03-03-2017
Abstract
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
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Here are just a few general reasons why people in America are living in poverty: epidemic causes, mental illnesses, lack of access to education, natural disasters, and corruption. So with that being said not all americans live in poverty because of the basic reasons that we assume. I will be conducting a research on the poverty rate, and the true factual reasons people are living in poverty and how us as a society can assist on giving back and helping the less fortunate. .
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
To being with poverty is defined as the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions. In other words, according to the sociological dictionary poverty is defined as “the state of lacking the material (particularly income) and cultural resources that a person requires to live a healthy life.” Some sociologist have tended to explain poverty by referring to people’s moral failures, or dependency cultures. Sociologist have been trying for many years the art of balancing the importance of social structures (how society is basically organised) and the role of individual people’s independent choices and actions.
“The reasons poverty rates remain high despite the [economic] recovery has to do with wage decline and failure of the “safety net” i.e, the government systems of taxes and transfers designed to ameliorate poverty.” (Scribner 2014) This quote is explaining why the poverty rate is not decreasing. It also means that the
Poverty is when an individual does not have enough money to meet basic needs such as housing, clothing, and food; however, this is not all that poverty is. In addition to the things mentioned earlier, poverty is about being unable to take part in activities for leisure such as not being able to send their children on a school field trip or have a birthday party, as well as being unable to pay for medications. Everything that has been listed are all costs of being in poverty. These individuals have to focus more on the necessities of life rather than their wants in order to get by on a daily basis. There are many common misconceptions when it comes to individuals who are in poverty. Many believe that those in poverty are lazy and living off of welfare, all children have equal opportunities to succeed so there is no reason for them to end up poverty-stricken as adults, and an individual’s life choices caused them to become impoverished. These misconceptions have a lasting effect on the individuals who believe these misconceptions. They are less willing to help make a change because they believe that those in poverty chose the life they are living. While that may be true for a portion of those impoverished, that is not the case for all of them.
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
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 is defined as people being deprived of income, material goods, services and other means of life needed to enable them to meet the customs and responsibilities of their society. With poverty being such a complex issue, it can’t be the result of just one particular problem. There is no simple solution to end poverty nor a single cause of poverty. Although the United States of America is one of the richest countries on earth, it has a higher inequality than other developed country. The inequality mostly occurs in wealth, income, and education. Citizens who are poor in the United States have a tendency to stay in poverty throughout their lives but not always by choice. Some are provided with less education opportunities and tools to be
Poverty has been a global social problem which affects individuals all over the world. The economic research suggestion regarding poverty in America suggests (2005) about 37 million people, approximately 13 percent of the total population, lived
Poverty is a rampant domestic issue, of that there is no doubt. According to the United States Census Bureau, as of 2015, “there were 43.1 million people in poverty” (Proctor). However, the causes of poverty and how they should be remedied are points of serious contention in the political world. When the divide falls between liberals and conservatives, the left and the right, both sides have their own very different ideologies.
Astonishingly in 2013 there were 45.3 million people living in poverty out of the 316.5 million inhabitants of the United States of America. That means about 14.5% of people live below the poverty line, which is an extremely large amount for such a lucrative world dominating country. Poverty is a very serious issue in the United States and has devastating effects, yet it continues to effect massive amounts of people. It is essential that Americans make the necessary changes to combat poverty because those living in poverty often experience a decrease in academic performance, lack of employment opportunities, and a lack of proper health because poverty prevents a good overall quality of life.
Poverty touches many lives in both the United States and all over the world. People associate poverty with shortages or pauperism. Some individuals ignore the fact that poverty is a major problem in the world. While there are many causes and effects of poverty, such as ethnicity and crime, there are three important causes and effects that impact individuals and their families every day. Three important causes of poverty include lack of education, drug addiction, and standards of living while three effects of poverty include death, minimum wage jobs to no jobs, and imprisonment.
Today approximately fourteen percent of the population would be able to give you an accurate definition of Poverty, because they are currently experiencing it first-hand in the United States (Maiese, 2003). Absolute Poverty, which academically can be defined as the lack of the minimum food and shelter necessary for maintaining life. This definition comes with much controversy because most Americans who have the bare basics to maintain life are still living in what is known as Relative Poverty. This would be a more appropriate definition as many of the poor lack the ability to live decently because they earn a considerably less amount than the nation’s median income. The social issue of Poverty is a phenomenon that is complicated to discover why it is perpetuated in our society. Americans as a whole have created a stereotypic explanation that cycle of poverty occurs because the poor choose to continue it. The idea that the people in poverty resign themselves to a culture of poverty passed down from generation to generation where previous generations cannot transmit the intellectual, social, and cultural capital necessary to change their situation. This leaves them feeling negative, hopeless, powerless, and inferior to those of the middle class.
In this paper I will discuss the causes for those below the poverty line in America set by
I once believed that poverty was a state of mind that resulted in a variety of physical and mental manifestations. While this may be true in some cases, the simple truth is that many people around the world are born in poverty with virtually no exposure to any other way of life. Others may find themselves in its clutches due to personal choices or from circumstances beyond individual control. The same as any other social issue, it is important to understand the cause of poverty; however the complexity of the problem is such that society is bogged down in assumptions and attitudes that have permeated the minds of community members as a whole. Likewise, there appears not to be a clearly defined agreement concerning what poverty actually
Talking about poverty in the United States, we have two explanations: blame the victim” and “blame the system.” They all contribute to the situation happening in this country; however, there are some differences between these two explanations. After contrasting and comparing them, we can see which one is a better explanation.
The consequence of poverty is a cause for concern nationally. The government blamed the poor for their poverty and the result of the policies created by the coalition government which continued into the follow up conservative administration caused more hardship and poverty for the people (including the working household) amongst which are
Millions of people in the U.S are slipping below the middle class and into the grip of poverty. More than 45 million people are living in destitution in the U.S. That means more than 14% of the population is making less than $2,400.00 a month. The Many people believe that there several factors that cause poverty. However, there are really only three main causes of poverty; a poor economy, a long history of drug use, and lack of education.
Nowadays, one of the most important associated topic in people’s live is poverty. The definition of poverty is a social condition where individuals do not have financial means to meet the most fundamental standards of the life is a acceptable by the community. Individuals experiencing poverty do not have the means to pay for basic needs of daily life like food, clothes and shelter. According to Lansley, (365) “Poverty is humiliation, the sense of being dependent on them, and of being forced to accept rudeness, insults, and indifference when we seek help.” Poverty staves human being off from accessing needed social materials of well-being like education and health requirements as well. The direct results from this social problems are