Poverty And Inequality In America

Poverty, the state of being extremely poor, exists all over America! There are several different types of poverty, and the causes of poverty. Most people think of poverty as just somebody who is homeless and has no job, somebody who has no money to support the basic needs of life, and wears ragged clothing and lives under a bridge. What people don’t know is there are people living in poverty that have jobs and make money but live so poorly that they are categorized with people that live in absolute poverty.

Poverty has always been with us from beggars outside the gates of Jerusalem to the mentally ill homeless woman in the park. America is known for our huge difference in culture and class. This is due partly to the dynamics behind the political decisions of this country. The president himself admits that America is more unequal than it’s been since the great depression and many of his own supporters say he has failed. America now has, by many standards, the lowest social mobility of all of the high-end countries, meaning that a child born into poverty is likely to grow up as a poor adult. This is surprising for a country that not only prides itself as being a middle class society, but as the society where anyone can make it and where

The book “The Other America”, written by Michael Harrington, describes poverty in America in the 1950s and 1960s, when America became one of the most affluent and advanced nations in the world. The book was written in 1962, and Harrington states that there were about 50,000,000 (about 25% of the total population) poor in America at that time. The author did extensive research with respect to the family income levels to derive the poverty numbers, and used his own observations and experiences to write this book. This book addresses the reasons for poverty, the nature of poverty, the culture of poverty, the blindness of Middle Class America with respect to poverty, and the responsibility of all Americans in addressing the issue of poverty in America.

The current poverty rate in America is 13.5 percent (US Census Bureau). That measures out to roughly 43.1 million Americans. What exactly is poverty? Poverty means not having enough money to meet basic needs including food, clothing and shelter. However, poverty is so much more than just not having enough money. Poverty is not having access to a doctor or medications you may need, poverty is not having access to a good education. Poverty can be the people who are barely able to pay for food and shelter and simply can’t afford other expenses such as car repairs, field trips with their children and any other extracurricular activity.

staggering? Poverty occurs when a person’s need for food, clothing and shelter are not being

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.

Public housing is another program that helps to provide a roof over a family’s heads for reduced costs. Rent in some places can be quite high and a family of four may find it hard even to afford a small 3 bedroom house without breaking their pockets.

“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.

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 an epidemic that has swept the American nation many times over. Whether it be quietly lingering under the surface, or blatantly staring us in the face as it is in this current recession, it affects people across America on individual, community and national levels alike. While there are many causes and effects of poverty, it is important to view the issue of poverty and its causes from all angles when one seeks to tackle the problem. These factors include socio-economic status, mental illness, family values and work ethics, to name a few. In this essay, I will be examining these factors as they are discussed in the book, The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls (referred to as Glass Castle throughout essay), as well as in the article

An issue that impacts the world globally is poverty. Poverty is a problem that is not to be taken likely. Poverty affects almost the majority of the world's population, and it can turn into hate, lust and other things that can affect family, friends, cities, government, and even nations. Take Germany for example. During the era of WWII, the Germans started to go down an economic slump and recession because of the harsh Treaty of Versailles that France and Britain dictated on. Corrupt leaders in Germany influenced the poor that Jews were the reason for the loss of the first World War. Because the people were tired of living in poverty, they decided to believe these so-called "leaders" and scapegoat the Jews, and they did not take the acceptance

Hall and Midgley (2004: 14), said poverty can be defined as a condition of material and social deprivation that causes individuals living under decent standard of living, or the conditions in which individuals experience relative deprivation compared with other individuals in society. John Friedman, poverty is defined as the inequality of opportunity to accumulate social power base. Bases of social power include (not limited to) productive capital or assets (such as land, housing, equipment, health, and other) sources of finance, social organizations hand and politics that can be used to achieve the common interests, the social network for jobs, goods; knowledge, skills adequate and useful information (Richard Quinney ,. 1979).

a vicious cycle that encompasses our country’s massive and inequality, Based on years of rooted fieldwork and thoroughly gathered data, evicted changes our understanding of extreme poverty and economic mistreatment, while providing existing ideas for solving an overwhelming exceptionally American

I think there is definitely a chance of this based on recent events in our country’s history. For instance, there is a lot of conflict between different classes, races, ethnicities, religions, etc. One of the biggest issues is economic inequality. There have been debates about things like the minimum wage, health insurance, the cost of higher education, and other things that primarily affect poor people. I think that if the lower class-- which is quite a lot of people in the United States today-- feels like they are being mistreated and oppressed, it is possible that they will one-day revolt against the government. However, this could only happen if they felt like they had nothing left to lose. It is difficult to organize things like strikes and protests because people are afraid of losing their jobs. They would have to feel like their current conditions are so bad that it would be more beneficial to risk losing everything to try to bring about a positive change in society.

The United States of America is seen as one of the strongest countries when it comes to its economy and people’s standard of living. It is believed by Americans that if you work hard enough you will make it to where you are having everything you need, this is known as “The American Dream”. The American Dream over the years is slowly turning into greed and inequality the poor are getting poorer while the rich are getting richer and the bridge to cross from poor to rich has only become harder to cross. Many people argue that there is no poverty in the United states or that everyone is treated equally but that is just a big lie there are in fact millions of Americans that are currently living in poverty and equally as many that get their rights trampled on daily. Being this big of an issue it would be ideal to try and find a solution to how we can change poverty inequality in the united states. Questions we need to find answers too are, what are some reasons behind poverty, Attitudes people have toward the poor, and how can poverty be solved. In these three articles they all share points on inequality and poverty, “Born Poor and Smart” by Angela Locke she talks about how once you are poor it is extremely hard to become rich in today’s society, she also says in her article how each social class comes with certain stereotypes. “Middle of the Class” by The Economist, brings attention to the reader about the problem of “peoples rosy view on the middle class”. (The Economist, 2005)