Poverty And The American Dream

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.

The facts are as stands; if a person was to walk down the streets in any which neighborhood in America, 1 out of every 6 people passed could be living in poverty. This issue is rarely talked about for these outstanding numbers. Each year the number of poverty in America goes up. The new poor are the former middle class,

A cause of income inequality could be the jobs that people have. “In the United States, income inequality, or the gap between the rich and everyone else, has been growing markedly… (Income Inequality, para 1).” There have been no signs of income inequality changing for the lower classes, or getting better, therefore, it has become a very concerned issue upon Americans. “America’s top ten percent now average at least nine times as much income as the bottom 90 percent (Income Inequality, para 2).” Many people who have a big dream have jobs that pay minimum wage, which makes it hard. With the rich getting richer, it makes it hard for the lower classes to get a shot at being at the top with them. This also makes it hard to close the gap between the three classes.

In 2000, the poverty rate among children was 16.2% (Reef 253)! Poverty is a relevant issue that isn 't going away. It 's ruining minds and lives at the same time. Poverty changes how people view the American Dream, achieve the American Dream, and even affect how people 's brains work and develop.

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.

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

The book called They Say I say with Readings contains multiple articles. However, chapter nineteen focuses on the American Dream. Chapter nineteen, “What’s Up with the American Dream?” indicates how the article will be focusing on the American Dream. The American Dream changes over the course of time as the income inequality widens between the higher and lower class. Few events occurred that affected the income, which led to a growing gap between the different classes. The income of a person depends on the education that a person possesses, which can affect one’s income. Consequently, causing inequality between the different classes. People believe the American Dream changes over time as situations and circumstances vary. Health care is affected by the income inequality because different choices of insurances and doctors are available to those with specific incomes. The impact of the Income Inequality on the American Dream by the gap increasing between higher and lower class, education, interpretation of the American Dream over time, health care, and gender roles. Various authors from chapter nineteen and others from different resources focus on how income inequality affects the American Dream.

No matter which country you would look into whether it’s from wealthier to those less wealthy countries through the eyes of economics, there are bound to be types of inequity within their borders. Inequity is a very crucial problem in the United States, you would think that our economy here in the states is booming, and the citizens are living life easy or without worry. Life is the United States isn’t as it seems, in fact, Inequity is in fact a big problem even in the United States. Over the years, there has been millions of Americans that were considered to be in poor or in poverty line that are not able to provide for themselves and their families. We can sadly see those Americans on the streets, cars or shelters unable to keep-ends meet that are not able to keep a decent paying job. That is why throughout this paper I’ll be discussing why inequity is a big issue in the United States from how income is distributed through causes of income inequality, social status, and even how the government interventions is trying to alleviate income inequity.

The United States is known as “The land of opportunity”, but does the country still live up to its name as the land of opportunity, for all? The American dream is one the main reasons many choose to move to the United States in hopes of gaining a better life not only for themselves but for their children. But with so many people striving to achieve their dream, the playing field has become more and more competitive making the dream a complete nightmare to achieve. From getting into colleges for degrees to obtaining desired job positions, moving up the social ladder has become a more strenuous task than ever before. This American dream has become more of an impossible dream because of income inequality and opportunity shortages from

“We know when we open the doors to college, we open the doors to opportunity. When we make college more affordable, we make the American dream more achievable.” William Clinton gave this remark on Launching the Agenda for Higher Education and Lifetime Learning in 2000. Education and achieving the American Dream go hand-in-hand. Education and poverty go hand-in-hand. Lack of education and poverty are very strong barriers that hinder millions of Americans from achieving the American Dream. There have been countless tries to help lower the poverty rate and increase the number of Americans above the poverty line, but almost all of these tries have failed due to the lack of education on the behalf of the Americans in poverty. Abraham Lincoln helped to weaken the barrier of poverty and its correlation to lack of education by creating the Land-Grant Act, later passing the Morrill Act of 1890 and creating, passing, and enforcing the Emancipation Proclamation. Poverty and its correlation to lack of education have been hindering American citizens from a full life, and achieving the American Dream.

The notion that only twenty percent of Americans believe in the American dream should not be a big surprise. The American dream in practice is dead, however this does not mean workers are lazy. It isn’t exactly a lack of faith that leads to the undermining of our democratic system, but it is the cold fact that the American dream is impossible for most Americans. The concept that in our current system the harder an individual works the less benefits they receive; therefore, they earn a lower net income this leads to people being discouraged by our economic system. The idea of Alienation leads to a social disconnect between laborers and their work, which can be disheartening and misconstrued as laziness. In our capitalistic society, we have become incredibly efficient at producing goods; so much so that the demand for work has decreased. This leads to a decrease in wages and an increase in unemployment. These three reasons are why the American dream is ceasing to exist.

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.

Income inequality has affected American citizens ever since the American Dream came to existence. The American Dream is centered around the concept of working hard and earning enough money to support a family, own a home, send children to college, and invest for retirement. Economic gains in income are one of the only possible ways to achieve enough wealth to fulfill the dream. Unfortunately, many people cannot achieve this dream due to low income. Income inequality refers to the uneven distribution of income and wealth between the social classes of American citizens. The United States has often experienced a rise in inequality as the rich become richer and the poor become poorer, increasing the unstable gap between the two classes. The

Inequality is one of the biggest problems facing our country today. The wealthiest 1% of Americans have as much financially as the poorest 50% of Americans. Many people in this country are working hard every day and are barely able to make ends meet. The voice of the poorest in this country is being ignored in favor of the voice of the wealthy. Most Americans do not desire to be poor but they are not given the chance and the resources to overcome poverty.

After thoroughly examining some the hardships experienced by underpaid workers’, it has become evident that the definition of poverty is often misconstrued by society. Demonstrated through numerous case studies and as presented in David K. Shipler’s “The Working Poor: Invisible in America”, the lives of many low income workers’ are adversely impacted by the lack of a sufficient salary. After gathering materials from such resources as journals and articles, it is apparent that the U.S. government has steadily attempted to enrich the lives these impoverished workers, through an abundance of job training programs and strategies.