It is no secret that, within the last decade, America has faced an economic crisis of historic proportions. Though the nation appears to be in a state of recovery from the greatest recession since the Great Depression, there are still major issues to address; namely poverty. Poverty today has hit more homes than ever, especially in places such as Eastern North Carolina. According to the 2010 Bureau of Economic Analysis, North Carolina ranked as the ninth wealthiest state with gross domestic production worth $424.9 billion.[2] North Carolina is among the top states for agricultural output, which consists of poultry, tobacco, hogs, cattle, sweet potatoes, and soybeans. A U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey, however, states that North Carolina’s poverty rate spiked to 18 percent, surpassing the official national poverty level of 15.2 percent (1). While those percentages may seem considerably small, it equates to 1.7 million people without adequate housing, health care, education or employment. This ranks North Carolina as the 12th highest poverty state in the nation. Moreover, the federal government reports that at least 20 percent of the residents of 10 Eastern North Carolina counties have consistently reported living in poverty for the past 30 years. These counties of “persistent poverty” include Bertie, Bladen, Columbus, Halifax, Martin, Northampton, Pitt, Robeson, Tyrell and Washington County.
Merriam Webster defines poverty as the state of lacking a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions. The United States Census Bureau identifies poverty as a lack of goods and services commonly taken for granted by members of mainstream society. Professor Gene Nichol, however, defines poverty from an emotional, yet som...
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...italize on the resources that are already there. The historical sites and scenery, as well as military presence and agriculture are believed to be additional contributors to the growth of the region.
While efforts to rebuild ENC are in effect, the fact that 16% of residents are in poverty still remains. Education, or in this case the lack of, has proven to be a major factor in the poverty levels in Eastern North Carolina as opposed to the rest of the state. The fact that service jobs requiring less education are hiring most residents also affects the poverty rate. Lesser education requirements mean lesser pay, therefore contributing to the rise in poverty. Community colleges have acknowledged the booming industries aforementioned, and with the combined efforts of the Aerospace field, provide the opportunity to expand their education as well as their bank accounts.
Appalachia is no longer the land of severe poverty that it was three decades ago, now the poverty rate of one in 15 is close to the national average. The number of adults who have received a high school diploma has also jumped from one out of three to two out of three; and the infant death rate has been cut in half. Comparing the 391 counties in the Appalachian Regional Commission with counties outside the region that were similar to Appalachian counties in the 1960s, researchers found that Appalachian counties grew significantly faster than their counterparts. Specifically, overall income in Appalachia grew 48 percent faster; per capita income grew 17 percent faster; and population grew five percent faster.
Educational absence has proved to be a burden for families in the Appalachian region. Appalachian families suffer intellectually, along with financially. Reports display that the median household income in Appalachia was unluckily around $42,500, which is roughly only $21,000 per adult in each house. An additional 56 counties in Appalachia, unfortunately, had household incomes of under $30,000. In contrast, 19 counties in the region, most of which were in the metropolitan area, had household incomes at or above the national average. Almost all of the counties in the group were outside metropolitan areas and even more of them were in central Appalachia (Pollard, Jacobson 38). This report shows that income levels for the Appalachian region are significantly lower than the rest of the nation, which indirectly illustrates how hard it could be to live on such a low income.
Nelson Mandela once said, "Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it is an act of justice. Like Slavery and Apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great. YOU can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom” (Make Poverty History, 2005). Gwinnett county is third in the country when it comes to a high poverty rate, with 14% of the population living below poverty (Family Promise of Gwinnet County, 2013). As an educator it is important to familiarize with the county of which one is to teach in, and poverty is an issue in Gwinnett county. One must understand the affects of poverty on children's learning, how to recognize children of poverty and how to help those students, and what rights those children have to an education.
science people have been able to hold onto jobs a lot easier (650). It has
Since poverty affects a wide array of people, poverty has evolved into a very complex issue. And even though the government has passed legislature to try to ameliorate the situation, many of these means-tested measures like food stamps, have only been able to help the surface of poverty and fails to rip out the long roots poverty has grown throughout history. Poverty’s deep effects are seen especially in minorities as they struggle much more to leave a current situation that has been created by historical process. Even though government assistance like food stamps do help alleviate some of poverty’s burden, these measures fail to recognize the reality that many of the impoverished minority have undervalued homes or no homes at all and even if they can rent, that rent can be high enough to take up more than fifty-percent of their paychecks. Overall, poverty in America is a vastly complicated issue rooted throughout history. And even though the government has attempted to pass legislature to help provide relief from poverty, America still has yet to provide measures that target the roots of poverty and until then, the government assistance it does provide will only be superficial and fail to provide long-term solutions to a complicated
The United States developed the official poverty measures in 1960. It was developed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, who had declared a war on poverty during the Civil Rights era. (The Path of Power- The years of Lyndon B. Johnson, (Caro, 16). The poverty rate of African Americans has been declining for many years. The Census Bureau releases two reports every year that describe who is poor in the United States based on cash resources. There is also the supplemental poverty measure (SPM) which takes account for the cash resources and non cash benefits from government programs aimed at low income families. (www.Census.gov/People and household). In 2012 there were over 46.5 million people in poverty and of those numbers 10 million were African American according to the poverty reports. African Americans have been a major factor since slavery. Since the late 1660s there has been a race on poverty since the marches of the Civil Rights Movement and Dr. Martin Luther King. One of the protests was the call to March on Washington in 1963. Dr. King stated that “on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity”. (MLK speech, March on Washington, 1963)
“For most Americans, the word ‘poverty’ suggests destitution: an inability to provide a family with nutritious food, clothing, and reasonable shelter” (Rector, 2007). Poverty can be socially defined through severe deprivation of education, food, safe water, sanitation, and health care regardless of one’s income. The U.S. Department of Health and human Services periodically updates poverty guidelines and depending on what state you live in the guidelines range.
Poverty is the state of being extremely poor , or as if policy makers define poverty as "being a condition in which individuals/families do not have the proper resources to meet their basic needs." Not having enough funds to acquire the things we need can indeed be frustrating for anyone. Poverty in Texas affects mostly Hispanic and African Americans , over 26 % of Hispanics and 23% of African Americans are poor in Texas.
It varies in definition from one person to another. (Mills, 2000) However, the kind of poverty I will be talking about is the situation that comes to one’s mind on hearing the word; lack of basic needs and living from hand to mouth. This was a situation that I was in some time back not out of choice though. I was unlucky just as many kids born in a poor family where my parents aren’t really earning much and in that event one of the parents or both dies.
Poverty is general scarcity or dearth, or the state of one who lacks a certain amount of material possessions or money. It is a multifaceted concept, which includes social, economic, and political elements. Poverty seems to be chronic or temporary, and most of the time it is closely related to inequality. As a dynamic concept, poverty is changing and adapting according to consumption patterns, social dynamics and technological change. Absolute poverty or destitution refers to the deprivation of basic human needs, which commonly includes food, water, sanitation, clothing, shelter and health care.
Poverty is “the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions” (Merriam-Webster dictionary, 2015); in other words, struggling to provide a comfortable living style. It is the cause of family stress and many other problems, especially for the children. Millions of people around the world are struggling with poverty; families suffering to provide enough food seem to be growing in numbers. According to the United States Census Bureau, the poverty rate was highest in the 1960s and decreased greatly in the 1970s. However, it is now slowly starting to increase again. Recently released census data by the Bureau showed that one in five people are living in poverty (Census Bureau, 2014). Poverty is even
Poverty is an undeniable problem in America. In 2014, 14.8 percent of the United States was in poverty (“Hunger and Poverty Fact Sheet”). There are more people in the United States than it seems that do not have their basic necessities. In an
The question is, what is poverty? Poverty is about not having enough money to meet basic needs of life, including food, clothing, and shelter. Nevertheless I believe that poverty is much more that not having enough money. The World Bank Organization describes poverty as, “Poverty is hunger. Poverty is the lack of shelter. Poverty is being sick and not being able to see a doctor. Poverty
Poverty is a major problem in the United States today. Social, economical, political, and cultural factors all contribute to poverty. Education and economic development are two major issues that will help prevent poverty. The United States Census Bureau defines poverty as an "economic condition in which people lack sufficient income to obtain basic needs for food, housing, clothing, health services and education." In other words, poverty is powerlessness, a lack of representation and freedom. Poverty is an issue that the world faces everyday.
What is poverty? Well, according to Webster's Third New International Dictionary, poverty is "lack of money or material possessions; poor." Two-thirds of the world's population fits this definition. I know that many times we think of being poor as not being able to buy the car we want or take the trip we can only dream about. However, being poor, living in poverty, hits a lot lower than that. For example, a resident of the country of Chad will only bring in $100 each year. Since many people can make more than that in one week, some in one day, can you imagine having the feed a family of five or six, or even a family of two, on only $100 a year? These are the conditions that exist in poverty-stricken countries.