Problem Of Poverty In America

1180 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Income inequality between classes

Poverty is a serious problem in society today. Many people are living in poverty, unable to meet basic needs and working more than forty hour weeks. It’s difficult to distribute aid when there aren’t the resources for everyone living in poverty. Many single women raising children are in poverty, along with homeless veterans, and anyone who is disadvantaged because of their race, gender, religion, etc. A poverty line was actually created in 1955 to determine who was in poverty. It was based upon the fact of people spending 1/3 of post-tax income on food. Obviously food is an important necessity to everyone, but there is also proper housing, education, healthcare, and clothing that will most likely dissolve the rest of the 2/3 of post- tax …show more content…

They may work in low paying jobs that often lays off their workers who then can’t find other work and look to the government for assistance. Those living in poverty may work factory jobs that are so insecure that one week they will have forty hours plus overtime, and the next they won’t work for three weeks straight. Then they are looking to get on unemployment for three weeks because they have a car payment, mortgage payment, insurance and a huge medical bill to pay for. The job insecurity in certain businesses can be caused by economic instability. The worker of the company doesn’t know if they will be receiving work for the week or not. It is stressful and frustrating to those in poverty working for these types of companies that offer little stability for their …show more content…

Although they may only have limited skills, it means that they should at least be able to work enough and be paid benefits on minimum wage to make it over the poverty line. A lot of poverty has to do with the government, economic and social requirements of how people are placed into each social class. The government controls what the minimum wage will be and therefore those working those jobs aren’t even able to make it over the poverty line if they are single working families. Certain strategies could be for social workers to help change the stereotype of those who fall into poverty and help them receive helpful resources. People can advocate for the poor and for the government and laws to raise the minimum wage to help families that are single parents, have limited skills at least make enough to be above the poverty line and receive proper benefits for healthcare, and other

Show More
Related

  • Why the United States Continues to Give around Billions in Aid to Other Countries?

    1409 Words  | 3 Pages

    America has the highest overall and childhood poverty rate of any major industrialized country on earth. Nearly 45,000 people die in the United States each year, mostly because they lack health insurance and cannot get beneficial care. From an economic perspective and as the government tries to fight its way out of this terrible recession, it makes no sense that the United States ignores numerous citizens who could be of such great help (Sen. Bernie Sanders). Poverty in America is about a lack of basic necessities and an uncertainty as to where to get food, an uncertainty how to pay your most bills, and it's about a dependence on either imperfect government institutions or overwhelmed private charities. Even though the United States does not have starvation,...

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Working Poor By David Shipler

    1565 Words  | 4 Pages

    People are often faced with many challenges that force them into poverty, which often is out of their control. A person that lives in poverty has the ability to take hold of their lives and go on to become productive is inspiring to me as a student of the social work cohort. Striving to become a social worker and reading this book allowed me the insight of the different people that I will encounter on a daily basis. As a social worker I will come intact with a variety of people that live in poverty, as well as some that do not. The people that I will encounter will be recovering addicts, people that are faced with unemployment that are struggling with paying bills or providing food for their families. Another thing that stays with me is the few that can live just above the poverty line, as well as the many that live in poverty daily. Advocating, counseling, or educating is one area of social work that I will have to provide for clients. In thinking about this, there are many services that can help individuals and family. These services only aid the persons and will not take them out of the condition known as poverty. Families fall in and out of poverty easily during their life time. With that being said, there are families that receive a much needed hands up, which allows them to fall out of poverty. But the fear of poverty looms constancy at their doors. One of the most important things that a person that lives in poverty can do is to strive for a better education. With a higher education there are more opportunities for advancement within the work force. The advancements that are rewarded with a higher degree of education will enable poverty stricken families to a better way of living. Which will provide a higher income, medical insurance for health problems, better education, and better housing opportunities. This is another area that my studies will enhance my ability when working as a social worker.

    Read More

  • Barbara Ehrenreich Nickel And Dimed Analysis

    1459 Words  | 3 Pages

    Poverty and low wages have been a problem ever since money became the only thing that people began to care about. In Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich, she presents the question, “How does anyone live on the wages available to the unskilled?” This question is what started her experiment of living like a low wage worker in America. Ehrenreich ends up going to Key West, Portland, and Minneapolis to see how low wage work was dealt with in different states. With this experiment she developed her main argument which was that people working at low wages can’t live life in comfort because of how little they make monthly and that the economic system is to blame.

    Read More

  • The Logic Of Stupid Poor People

    796 Words  | 2 Pages

    Poverty is a complex and growing problem in the United States. As of right now there is no solution. There are proposals and acts, such as Obama Care, that were enacted in an attempt to help people in poverty, and there are so many organizations, such as Habitat for Humanity and The Hunger Project, that try to aid people when they start to lack the necessities, like food and shelter. College students are graduating college with a large amount of student loans and no way of paying them off, people are being evicted from their homes, and employees are being laid off. The unemployment rate in the United States in 2015 was five percent, that’s about fifteen million people. It’s becoming difficult for people to find jobs, therefore making it hard for people to get back on their feet and start living a comfortable lifestyle. Poverty in the

    Read More

  • The Failure of the U.S. Labor Market to Distribute Gains

    2120 Words  | 5 Pages

    ...he nation’s prosperity as increases in benefits and wages to poor and working class Americans. Most of the gains due to the rise in the GDP in recent years wind up in the hands of the wealthiest of Americans. The increase in income inequality has cause stagnation in real wages among low skilled workers and has led to an increase in poverty. Unable to gain the education necessary to escape the cycle of low skilled jobs with little chance of upward mobility, children of parents who are in poverty stand a higher chance of being in poverty themselves. The solution to the problem of poverty is not simple; especially when it may involve changes in the way the U.S. labor market functions. However, as it stands now, failures of the labor market lead to higher rates of poverty, and unless the problem is addressed, we are unlikely to see a reduction in the U.S. poverty rate.

    Read More

  • The Position Of Poverty In America

    712 Words  | 2 Pages

    Insular poverty, elucidated by Professor John Kenneth Galbraith in his 1969 essay, The Position of Poverty, refers to the collages of people who are poor because the designation of their lives trap them on ‘social islands’ where nearly everyone is living in these standards. (Galbraith 404) Poverty has flagrantly become a ‘back of the mind’ subject in America. The underlying question remains; is American society responsible for the uprise of insular poverty? Despite the "efforts" America puts off to relieve the world of insular poverty, American society is indefinitely responsible for its popularity due to the absence of will for the impoverished to climb out of the hole of poverty, the absence of opportunities given to poverty minority, the absence of compassion for the povertized.

    Read More

  • The Three Challenges Of Poverty In America

    1414 Words  | 3 Pages

    The American dream is impossible for the more impoverished because over the years poverty rates have been increasing. The richest country in the world still has more than 12% of its total population, and almost 20% of all children under the age of 18, unable to meet, let alone be guaranteed coverage of basic needs. With that said the nation has fallen apart in the last 25 years. America has faced economic insecurity and it is up to us to change it. Furthermore, the three main issues why poverty in America continues are the high cost of living, a great percentage of people living (below the poverty line) and the economic inequality that the impoverished face.

    Read More

  • African American Sociology

    1392 Words  | 3 Pages

    One of the main causes of poverty is a lack of money. There are some families that do have at least one person employed in the household but the money earned is not enough to provide for the family. Tough decisions such as paying rent buying groceries become a daily challenge for struggling households. Those living in households headed by people with no high school degree are the most likely to enter poverty. Limited options in the job market make it hard for those without degrees the ability to find jobs that will pay above minimum wage. Many Americans earn less than the nation’s median income which hinders most Americans from living a life free of hunger. Children who grow up in poverty suffer more persistent, frequent, and severe health problems than do children who grow up under better financial circumstances. Children of poverty are at an extreme disadvantage and cycle ends up repeating itself until the pattern is somehow

    Read More

  • Poverty in America

    1213 Words  | 3 Pages

    Everyone knows what the word poverty means. It means poor, unable to buy the necessities to survive in today's world. We do not realize how easy it is for a person to fall into poverty: A lost job, a sudden illness, a death in the family or the endless cycle of being born into poverty and not knowing how to overcome it. There are so many children in poverty and a family's structure can effect the outcome. Most of the people who are at the poverty level need some type of help to overcome the obstacles. There are mane issues that deal with poverty and many things that can be done to stop it.

    Read More

  • Social Determinants Of Health Essay

    2035 Words  | 5 Pages

    Lack of education can leave those with low-level or no qualifications at all which could lead to the individuals struggling to find full or part time work which results in low or no money whatsoever to be able to

    Read More

  • Cycle Of Poverty In America

    255 Words  | 1 Pages

    I personally don’t not feel that placing the blame on anyone who lives in poverty is helpful. Instead, looking for solutions to help them achieve better success is something that I would like to see happen. If a social worker can empower one family to make a small decision for change that would be a step in the right

    Read More

  • Reflection Of Social Work

    1332 Words  | 3 Pages

    When they are in need we must do everything in our power to make a change. Sometimes this involve advocating for them to see a change in social problems. The definition of a social worker states that they are trained person that carries out work with the aim of alleviating conditions of those in need (12). This often calls the need for social justice. After learning about social workers throughout history, I realize there’s multiple ways to help those in need (11). They’ve been able to implement social welfare for the public.

    Read More

  • The Negative Effects Of Poverty

    1313 Words  | 3 Pages

    This nation has a problem: more of its citizens rely on the federal government for help than to support themselves with a full time job. Poverty has many negative effects on the people who suffer from it and on the economy. Everyone needs to be made aware of poverty and the many negative effects it has on people. There are things that could be done to help reduce the amount of people that are in poverty. Reducing poverty would decrease health risks, strengthen the middle class, and help the democracy.

    Read More

  • How Poverty Affects Academic Performance

    2579 Words  | 6 Pages

    Poverty in America is measured using thresholds and guidelines that are updated each year so that we have a more accurate picture of who is in need. Using these standards it is then decided who is impoverished. According to the Institute for Research on Poverty (2013) a family of four, who makes less than $23,492 in a year, are considered poor. There are numerous federal programs provided by the government that are designed to help those who are in need. Some of these programs provide food stamps, free lunches, Medicaid, Head Start, and rent assistance. Although these programs are helpful to people who need them they do not entirely prevent children from the consequences of being poor.

    Read More

  • The Causes and Effects of Poverty

    598 Words  | 2 Pages

    Has anyone ever considered thinking about what the world is really going through? How many people don’t have the necessities in order to survive? If so, what are these people going through? Poverty is the state of one who lacks a standard or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions. Sometimes events occur that changes a person’s perspective on life. Poverty is one that can have a huge effect on not only one person, but also the people around him/her. Over half of the world is going through this tragedy and we, being the ones who created it, have the responsibility to end it.

    Read More

More about Problem Of Poverty In America

Open Document