World Hunger and Poverty

1437 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Detrimental effects of poverty

According to the US Census Bureau, America’s official poverty rate in 2012 was 15.0 percent, representing 46.1 million people living on or below the poverty line. In that same year, 26.5 million people ages 18 to 64 (13.7%) were in poverty compared to 16.1 million children under 18 (21.8%) and 3.9 million ages 65 and older (9.1%). As far as education goes, 49.4 million people are enrolled in school from pre-k to 12th grade. With 14.9 million high school students, the current dropout rate for all American states combined is 7 percent, 1.1 million students, and the main causes of dropouts are due to poverty. California is known for being one of the wealthiest states in America but it is also known for being one of the poorest. In California, 6.1 million people are in poverty, more than any other state. California also holds the highest count of student membership in schools with 6.2 million students. With high school students counted at 2 million the dropout rate in California is 5 percent (over 100 thousand students). Most of humanity lives on just a few dollars a day and you can see high levels of inequality whether you live in the wealthiest nations in the world or the poorest. The main problems that afflict the poor are hunger, malnutrition and disease. Those living in poverty also have less access to health, education and other services. Today poverty is measured by a Supplemental Poverty Measure that estimates poverty rates by looking at a family or an individual’s income along with tax payments, work expenses, food, shelter, clothing, and utilities. Based on the number of persons in a family, the official poverty threshold for a two-adult-two-child family was $23,283 in 2012. Many people struggle to relieve themselves from t...

... middle of paper ...

...te/
• Capra, Theresa. “Poverty and its Impact on Education: Today and Tomorrow.” Thought & Action. National Education Association (Fall 2009): 75-81.
• Engle P. L., Black M. M. (2008). The effect of poverty on child development and educational outcomes. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1136, 243–256.10.1196/annals.1425.023
• Holzer HJ, Schazenbach, DW, Duncan, G, and Ludwig, J (2007) The Economic Costs of Poverty in the United States: Subsequent Effects of Children Growing Up Poor. National Poverty Center Working Paper Series # 07-04.
• http://www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/p60-247.pdf
• http://foodoutreachamerica.org/2013/04/08/poverty-in-americaadressing-the-root-cause/
• http://www.census.gov/hhes/povmeas/methodology/supplemental/overview.html
• Shonkoff, J.P. & Garner, A.S. (2012). The lifelong effects of early childhood adversity and toxic stress. Pediatrics, 129, e232-e246.

Show More
Related

  • The Glass Castle Stereotypes

    1391 Words  | 3 Pages

    Poverty in America is a very complex issue that can be looked at from many directions. There are a plethora of statistics and theories about poverty in America that can be confusing and at times contradicting. It is important to objectively view statistics to gain a better understanding of poverty and to wade through the stereotypes and the haze of cultural views that can misrepresent the situation.The official poverty line in America begins with a person making at or below $12,060. To calculate the poverty line for a family, an additional $4,180 is added to the base of $12,060 for each additional member(“Federal Poverty Level Guidelines”). According to the last U.S. census, over 45 million or 14.5% of Americans are at or below the poverty line(Worstall). At this level, the U.S. poverty level has not changed much from the 1970s when the government began a “War on Poverty.” However,

    Read More

  • Neighborhood Poverty, Social Capital, and the Cognitive Development of African American Preschoolers

    1496 Words  | 3 Pages

    Allhusen, V., Belsky, J., Booth-LaForce, C., Bradley, R., Brownell, C. A., Burchinal, M., & ... Weinraub, M. (2005). Duration and Developmental Timing of Poverty and Children's Cognitive and Social Development from Birth Through Third Grade. Child Development, 76(4), 795-810. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2005.00878.x

    Read More

  • Catholic Community Services Helps Poverty-Stricken Community in Utah

    1104 Words  | 3 Pages

    In recent years, the number of children whose families fall under the line of poverty has risen at an alarming rate. Crosson-Tower (2013) postulated a reason for this increase when she said, “The recent weakening economy, a higher unemployment rate, unprecedented numbers of home foreclosures and a decline in the safety net for children and their families have resulted in a gradual continuing increase in children living in extreme poverty” (p. 57). Apparently, nearly every aspect of the United States’ crumbling economy affects a family’s ability to meet basic needs. The rise in single parent, mother headed families has not helped poverty statistics because of the lower earning potential of women. A major reason so many children liv...

    Read More

  • World Hunger In The World

    1674 Words  | 4 Pages

    The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that nearly 870 million people of the 7.1 billion people in the world, were suffering from chronic undernourishment in the years 2010-2012. Ellen Gustafson has spoken in ted talks on the issue of Obesity plus Hunger equals one global food issue. One the main issues Gustafson speaks of is world hunger and how to end it. She also speaks briefly on obesity and how in comes into play with world hunger. Even though some people would argue that there just is not enough food in the world, world hunger and obesity can easily be prevented and eliminated with proper knowledge and programs.

    Read More

  • Racism and White Privilege in the Education System

    3421 Words  | 7 Pages

    Wight, V. R., Chau, M., & Aratani, Y. (2010, Jan). National Center for Children in Poverty. Retrieved from Who are America’s Poor Children?: http://www.nccp.org/publications/pub_912.html

    Read More

  • An Emergency to Support the Indigent in the US

    896 Words  | 2 Pages

    Huston, A. C. (Ed.). (1994, August 26). Children in Poverty: Child Development and Public Policy. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Poverty Programs

    1509 Words  | 4 Pages

    Education can help Americans receive a well paying job and lead to less low income families. A quality education allows people to feel accomplished and empowered to get a job that could help their family and their financial needs. According to an article by the Global Partnership, education reduces economic inequality and “If each [employee] from poor and rich backgrounds receive the same education, the disparity between poverty would decrease by 39 percent” (“5 Ways Education Can Help End Extreme Poverty”). In an article by William Bennett, states that American companies estimate that currently there are 3 million jobs available. The downside is that the children are poor and lack the education to fulfill those jobs. The government needs to provide more affordable schooling so that young adults can obtain a higher education to earn a higher salary. Currently, The U.S. Census Bureau reported that in 2014 the poverty rate of people twenty-five and older was 12 percent. Figure 1 demonstrates the statistic provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. It clearly displays that Americans who obtain more years of schooling and further their education, display a lower poverty rate. In 2014, those who have obtained no high school diploma show a greater poverty rate in relation to those who do have a bachelor degree. For example, Americans who have no high school diploma have the highest poverty rate at 29 percent. In contrast, Americans who have Bachelor’s degrees or higher, have the lowest poverty rate at 5 percent (“How does level of Education Relate to

    Read More

  • Child Poverty In America

    1493 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout the U.S. approximately “21 percent of kids are living in poverty” (“Child Poverty”). This shows that child poverty impacts both urban and rural populations and is crippling one out of every five children in the U.S. With poverty being so diverse and widespread this puts a lot of pressure on kids to try to escape. Also, with so many of America's kids living in poverty, it leaves a good chunk of America's population at risk for damaging effects. In another study by NCCP, they found that “42 percent of kids born into the bottom fifth of the wage class will stay there” (Frass). This shows that with so many kids in poverty that a lot of them are going to be stuck in poverty. This is an issue because serious health concerns are in place with people in poverty such as poor living conditions and inadequate food supplies. This statistic also affects children due to the fact that there is a greater chance for these kids to have children who are born into poverty, thus perpetuating the

    Read More

  • Causes of Poverty in the United States

    2299 Words  | 5 Pages

    The United States defines poverty for a family of four as being less than $16,036 per year, or $4,009 per person (Leone 12). People find themselves under this line for an innumerable amount of reasons. Some of these causes are under one's control and others are greater factors beyond an individual's power. Each family or individual person has unique and separate reasons for living in a state poverty. There is no way to try and define them all. Focusing in, three main topics arise that encompass the most predominant reasons for a person to fall into poverty. Education, family life and influence, along with the business cycle may work individually or together to cause poverty. These three leading causes are presented and discussed along with facts prevalent to the issue in the section below.

    Read More

  • Educational Inequality

    1207 Words  | 3 Pages

    Laden, Greg. "Children from Low-income Families at Educational Disadvantage." Science Blog. N.p., 26 Dec. 2008. Web. 8 Jan. 2014.

    Read More

  • Global Poverty

    570 Words  | 2 Pages

    Peter Singer, in his influential essay “Famine, Affluence and Poverty”, argues that affluent people have the moral obligation to contribute to charity in order to save the poor from suffering; any spending on luxuries would be unjustified as long as it can be used to improve other’s lives. In developing his argument, Singer involves one crucial premise known as the Principle of Sacrifice—“If it is in our power to prevent something bad from happening, without thereby sacrificing anything of comparable moral importance, we ought, morally, to do it” . To show that such principle has the property to be held universal, Singer refers to a scenario in which a person witnesses a drowning child. Most people, by common sense, hold that the witness has the moral duty to rescue the child despite some potential costs. Since letting people die in poverty is no different from watching a child drowning without offering any help, Singer goes on and concludes that affluent people have the moral duty to keep donating to the poor until an increment of money makes no further contribution.

    Read More

  • The Other Wes Moore Essay

    1447 Words  | 3 Pages

    (Brooks-Gunn et all, 1997) That points out the disadvantage and how the family income influence youngsters overall childhood, since under the poverty condition, they children do not have enough money to support for their necessary needs, they will more likely to have low self-confidence and hard to blend in with their peers. Poverty has impact on children’s achievement in several different ways. Payne (2003) maintained that the poverty could affect children achievement though emotional, mental, financial, and role models (Payne, 2003). Thus, the children from low-income family are more likely to have self-destructive behavior, lack of control emotional response and lack of necessary intellectual, that is really important for the students under the age of 16.

    Read More

  • Why is there so much poverty in the United States?

    989 Words  | 2 Pages

    The question “Why is there so much poverty in the United States?” has such a broad spectrum of issues. There is no simple cure or single cause of poverty. According to statistics from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, “the 2011 Poverty Guidelines are $10,890 for a single member household and $22,350 for a family of four” (par 13). In addition, “families’ incomes that fall below the threshold given, means that every individual in the household are considered to be in poverty” (par 13). Poverty is too complex an issue to be the result of just one problem, but we can narrow down the subject, to show the effects of how the lack of education can diminish our countries resources and how that has a ripple effect on future generations. Without an education, people receive lower pay; there is an increased rate of crime, and a higher reliance on state and federal aid, which is draining economically.

    Read More

  • Poverty And Child Development Essay

    937 Words  | 2 Pages

    Poverty is “the inability to acquire enough money to meet basic needs including food, clothing and shelter” (Gosselin,2009). This social disadvantage limits one’s ability to receive a quality education and it is a constant problem throughout the world accompanied with“deleterious impacts on almost all aspects of family life and outcomes for children”(Ravallion,1992). Poverty is a main factor that affects normal human growth and development in a variety of ways, primarily impacting children’s early development, social behaviour, health, and self worth.

    Read More

  • How Poverty Affects Academic Performance

    2579 Words  | 6 Pages

    Living in poverty exposes children to disadvantages that influence many aspects in their life that are linked to their ability to do well in school. In the United States of America there are an estimated 16.4 million children under the age of 18 living in poverty (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). “The longer a child lives in poverty, the lower the educational attainment” (Kerbo, 2012). Children who are raised in low-income households are at risk of failing out before graduating high school (Black & Engle, 2008). U.S. children living in poverty face obstacles that interfere with their educational achievement. Recognizing the problems of living in poverty can help people reduce the consequences that prevent children from reaching their educational potential.

    Read More

More about World Hunger and Poverty

Open Document