In the beginning, God said, “Let there be poverty,” and there was poverty. Although this is obviously false, poverty has been a growing problem in the United States since its founding in 1776. For centuries, presidents have been conjuring up ways to cure this ongoing headache in our society with policies and procedures that have been either somewhat successful or a complete failure. This year, on November 8th, Americans will choose the next candidate who will try to defeat this problem once again. The 2016 presidential candidates, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, have drastically different views on how to attack poverty in America. Trump believes in the system of “trickle-down economics”, while Clinton seeks to raise the federal minimum wage while taxing the rich in order to create a more fair economy. After comparing the policies of both candidates, I have concluded Hillary Clinton’s policies will more effectively address the problem of poverty in America.
In order to more clearly understand the severity of poverty in our nation, we must first look back to the source of the issue. With the start of The Great Depression in the 1920s, economic downturn was at it’s worst. After the Stock Market Crash of 1929, millions of investors on Wall Street were uprooted. This caused consumer spending to drastically decline over the next several years. With this decrease in consumer spending, nearly 15 million Americans were laid off and half of the country’s banks failed. President
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 real tragedy of the poor is the poverty of their aspirations,” said Adam Smith. The quote above sheds light upon the primary driving force behind the conspicuous poverty that currently plagues American society and its citizens alike. Whether it be the further exacerbation of an indigent individual’s lifestyle or augmented power rendered to the commonplace bon vivant, the vicious circle of poverty seemingly appears to be an indelible taint on America’s rather diverse mosaic of individuals. From the gruesome working conditions endured by impoverished Americans to the immense profits garnered by affluent storeowners, the nation remains fixated in an economics-oriented rudimentary state: a reality directly intertwined to a dearth of bona
Over forty years has passed since Edelman worked with Kennedy, and throughout his career, he has been trying to make a small effort in reducing American poverty. Edelman cites the purpose of this book is “to look anew at why it is so hard to end American poverty and how we might do better” (xiii). Poverty has grown worse over the past decade, and it is more important than ever to consider it a national concern. Edelman notes that the United States is the wealthiest countries in the world, yet we have the highest child poverty rate in the industrialized world. He stated his disbelief that the reason the United States has such a high rate of poverty is because the nation itself is generous. He notes that the non-profit sector is unequaled and that public policy is in a state of fluctuation with the encroachment of Republicans in Congress. We have failed and become a two-speed world:
The United States has a history of discriminating against the poor and racial influences as well. From the legal system imposing harsher sentences and actions against those who cannot afford counsel, to the economic system issuing unfair sanctions to the poor, to political implementation of policy to deem poverty a crime, poverty in America is an issue that must be tackle. And with wealth inequality at its highest more than ever with politicians being brought, poverty will continue to be an issue until something serious
Poverty has been around as long as there has been an America. Programs have been set in place to help offset the issue, such as Food Stamps and housing. The government’s implementation of some of these programs is to ensure that the poor have a place to sleep and adequate meals to eat. There are issues with these programs that contribute to the furthering of poverty, but for the most part are more helpful than harmful. While there is a chance that there will always be a poverty line that Americans will be under, there are solutions that can be implemented towards getting many of these people above it. Some options might include keeping jobs within the
Katz (1983) summarizes the history of Poverty in America has been going on for many years. But in the early 20th century is when the people of the United States started to become more vulnerable to poverty and when poverty started to become part of the United States background and history. “When industrialization started advancing after the Civil War, wages were raised with the work being done. This had opened a new door for Americans to be more vulnerable. Immigrants, Native Americans, and African Americans moving across the United States due to war, racism, and the industrialization of farming” (Katz,1983). It leads to the Progressive Era led to the high unemployment and dangerous factory environments. This quickly led to conditions in the urban
Poverty in the United States has been a very big issue throughout its history. Poverty is both an economic condition and a social concept. Poverty in the United States first took place in the 19th century and till this day. Poverty was caused by people being selfish and not allowing everyone to have a chance on being successful. Poverty took a big hit from the Great Depression to the Great Recession that led millions of people down. Since then the poverty rate has been going up and down, never keeping a steady pace. “In the late 1950s, about 22 percent of Americans nearly 40 million people were on poverty” ("Poverty"). This means that poverty is a big issue and everyone needs to contribute to fixing this problem. Since this is a big issue
Many reforms in the UnitedStates have been passed to help fight against the “War on Poverty”; but it has not been effective in eradicating poverty in the U.S. There are about 46 million people who are living in impoverished conditions and poverty continues to be a social issue in this country (Heritage Foundation, 2011) In the beginning, our country was formed under the belief that “this land is the land of opportunity and if we worked hard enough the American Dream can be gained” (Schwarz, 1997). People immigrate to this country today in hopes of becoming rich so they could gain a better life. In spite of coming to this country for a better life, many are faced with the lack of skills and money to succeed. In the end, most will end
While it has proven to be difficult to end poverty in America, Peter Edelman is optimistic. In his book So Rich, So Poor Edelman makes a call to action. There are four prominent ideas that underpin Edelman’s reasoning throughout the book: (1) More people must understand why poverty is still so prevalent in America; (2) extreme poverty must be taken into consideration as a shocking 6 million Americans’ sole income was food stamps in 2011. This fact alone creates a sense of urgency that drives Edelman; (3) increasing income inequality should be treated as a moral issue; and (4) bold political action will be required if substantive progress will be made in alleviating poverty.
Poverty is an everlasting setback that the U.S. and the whole world will always have to face, but as long as we help to change it for the better we might be able to keep it at bay. People have tried to abolish poverty, but it is like a line on a graph that is inconsistent, it goes up and down however it pleases. Fifty years ago poverty was higher in that line. Lyndon B. Johnson was one person who made this line go down. LBJ said, “ ‘The challenge of the next century is whether we have the wisdom to use that wealth to enrich and elevate our national life, and to advance the quality of our American civilization.’ “ (Johnson, Lyndon B. "The Great Society." The University of Michigan, 500 S State St, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, Ann Arbor. 21 Sept. 2015. Speech). This speech was
Ronald Reagan once said, “We fought a war on poverty, and poverty won.” I read the book, Dancing in the dark by Morris Dickstein. This book was about the great depression, and the impacts it had on American life. The traditional thought of poverty, people dying of hunger and people lying in the roads, has been erased. America has abolished poverty by the traditional standards but the thought of poverty and what it is has changed. In America we consider poverty to be spending all your money on bills, so you have no money left for food to feed your family. We consider poverty to be just being poor. One-Third of our population makes less than $38,000. This is not enough to be able to be above the poverty line. Anything below this
It's hard to believe in a country as wealthy as the United States, that we have the problem of poverty. Poverty has not become a recent problem of our
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.
Donald’s Trump’s victory in the 2016 election is very complex. The political mishaps that have occurred since JFK’s presidency reshaped the American psyche of who the president should be. This chain of dissatisfaction with the federal government led the American people to hope for a president who is honest, free of corruption, and supportive of the middle class. Trump recognized the American need for a new kind of president and took on a persona that perfectly exemplified this. The Trump Mythology is the belief that Donald Trump is a transparent, honest politician; however, this is only part of the equation. Belief in the Trump Mythology contributed to his victory, but it is also important to acknowledge the respective roles of demographics, voter turnout, and Hillary Clinton’s flaws. An interesting difference between the Kennedy Mythology and the Trump Mythology that is worth noting is the role of the media. Throughout the Kennedy Era, popular media fed the people’s fascination of Kennedy’s Camelot, perpetuating the mythology. Donald Trump, however, was largely hated by popular culture. American media ultimately discounted Donald Trump as a viable contender for the presidency.
Will Donald Trump fulfill America’s request and actually “make America great again”? When friends of mine who are Trump supporters inform me that they support him, I don’t understand the reasons why they picture him as our future president of the united states. Donald Trump has never been an elected official. He has never been elected into an office of any kind. He’s never had to broker political compromise or gave any political speeches prior to him running for president. With no experience in politics at all, why would people think he’d make a good president? Sure, Donald Trump is a barefaced self-promoter and experienced businessman. But people don’t realize all of the mistakes he has made as a businessman. Washington, D.C., is not a type of Wall Street or anything for him to lose money or make some reckless decisions that would put our country into a deeper hole that we are already into, and also getting multiple things done within the nation’s capital takes more than a huge personality and a strong will. If Donald Trump is elected to be our president, he’ll have to quickly learn how to deal with his Democratic associates in the House of Representatives and Senate. He’ll also have to get used to the pace of government because there are moments when things can accelerate pretty quickly and also where things can move extremely slow at times. He’ll also have to get used to giving speeches on topics he may not be interested in, especially when it comes to conversations