There are 15 million more people living in poverty than in the year 2000. Moreover, America has become a low-wage nation. The median paying job in the country now pays about $35,000 a year for a full-time job. It is barely more than it paid in 1973. With the salary being $35,000 it has people in America living in poverty because that amount of salary isn’t even enough to even live in a one bedroom house. It maybe is enough for one person, but for a person who has a family, it sure isn’t. In most cases in America, many families don’t have both parents. Single mothers were and are in trouble, with a poverty rate in excess of 40 percent. With this being said single mothers are the ones who are being affected and who are one of the cases that live in poverty. They live in poverty due to being the only ones that are bringing money into the households and with their salary being $35,000 is not enough to provide for themselves along with their children. Family structure plays a big role in poverty. “The poverty of single mothers with children at home, of all races, is the highest among demographic groups, higher than any minority or age group.” states Edelman, Peter. (2014). During the great recession when many single mothers were living off of food stamps and they soon destroyed the legal rights of benefits the Food stamp
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,
As of 2012, roughly thirty five percent of the population in the United States was living with some sort of government assistance. The Welfare Reform Act was passed into law in 1996. Many of the country’s leaders promised to end welfare with this act. (“Welfare Reform”) This act ended the legal entitlement to welfare benefits. The bill also created time limits and work requirements for participation in the program. Welfare in the United States should be reformed because reform decreases poverty, increases independence in the country’s citizens, and increases the quality of life for former welfare recipients.
The history of welfare has been a short story. This is a short summary of welfare history from Micheal Katz’s article The American Welfare State. AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) was around the 1970’s, and it was the first modern welfare division but after a reform in the 1990’s TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) rose out of the remains of AFDC. After the reform the people on welfare went down, momentarily, but the poverty rate stayed steady. Since then there have not been many changes (Katz).
Poverty is a prevalent issue that many Americans face and it has been a serious problem over centuries. Every year there are people at risk of hunger. Combating poverty is not an easy task; there are many underlying issues that need to be addressed. Fortunately there are policies in place to assist with in decreasing the negative effects of poverty; however, some of the policies may cause people to become more dependent on government assistance. As a result it may cause a rise in taxes to support these policies and programs. Poverty is very common and widespread around the world. Unanswered questions that arise in regards to poverty are what can be done to resolve it, what are the causes of poverty, and is it possible to eliminate poverty entirely. Based on research and my personal experiences, government aid and housing are some resolutions to decrease poverty.
The sociological approach toward social problems is different from many social science studies. Sociology connects with social problems which are local, or global; as well as, social problems discovered in individuals, and groups. Equally important the sociological study measures the effect of people and society. “As a social science, sociology offers an objective and systematic approach to understanding the causes of social problems.” (Leon-Guerrero, 2011, pp. 5-6) Unfortunately some social problems remain more significant than other social problems. Subsequently due to the danger and, or seriousness it may cause to some, or many people in society. (Crone, 2011, p. 7)
When one hears poverty they think of having no money or a house and being on the streets like a homeless person. That is in fact true but, poverty is more than that it is more widespread across income levels. Not just those at the absolute bottom of income earned and wages. 12% of Americans are unable to meet their basic needs 20% being 18 years or younger (mit.edu). Poverty does not just affect people on the individual level it also can have effects on communities as a whole.
Ronald Reagan once said, “We should measure welfare’s success by how many people leave welfare, not by how many are added.” Welfare began as a relief program in the 1930’s to assist those suffering from The Great Depression. In modern times, this system’s abuse rises every year. Social welfare spending causes people to abuse their free money; our government needs to revise the length of time for the benefits and who can receive this money.
Poverty is defined by Webster says the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions. The most common measure of poverty in the U.S. is called the poverty threshold. This measure determines the lack of food and needs commonly taken for granted. The federal poverty threshold for a family of four is approximately $ 23,550 dollars a year in 2013. Many people will have at some point lived below the poverty level for at least a year according to the government. Poverty rate are constantly high in rural and inner city areas in the United States. According to the November 2012 census bureau more than 16% of the population in the United States lived in poverty. This includes 20% of American children. In 2011, child poverty reached an all-time high with over 16.7 million children living without enough food for the day. (US Census Bureau, 2013).
Poverty is a phenomenon that affects more than 1 billion people worldwide (Roser, 2015). It does not discriminate based upon one 's age, sex, ethnicity or the color of one 's skin. According to the United State 's census website 15.6% of people live in poverty in the United States alone. This could be due to addiction problems, health issues, natural disasters, job shortage (or loss), and various other unfortunate events. With such outstanding statistics one is left to ponder what we can do about it. Is government assistance a solution or a problem?
The weight of our government financially cannot carry the burden on the War on poverty much longer. The war on poverty is not shutting their doors yet, but a white flag is truly being raise slowing on the economic financial situation. There is yet hope for the United States the poverty level declined a little for the first time in several years. It is a far cry of relief from destitute, when children, and people are in need. What Social welfare requires is a resolution on capping off this mayhem in America that has reeled out of control.
Looking at the bigger picture, 16.4 million of our nation’s future is technically poor. Living in poverty is defined by: An individual living alone has to make $11,770 or less per year to be considered living in poverty; two people living together has to make $15,930 or less in a year; for each household member you have to add $4,160 starting from $11,770. For example, if a household has nine members then the income has to total over $45,050, otherwise that household would by definition be living under the poverty line. All though many numbers, facts, and statistics have been presented, people may never truly understand what it is like to live in poverty until they themselves are unfortunate enough to live in poverty. America, a country which people are free to pursue all of their life dreams, a country which people enjoy success beyond anyone’s wildest dreams, a country where everyone who inhabits it is equal, yet America is a country plagued by poverty which takes a toll on health, education, and our
Welfare can be received for a short period or long period of time. Although there are many people who abuse the luxury of getting welfare, there are also many people who use it to their advantage and use it to help them get back on their feet, using it until they find another job and make their own money again. To receive welfare you cannot make more than about $1000 monthly. There are approximately 110,489,000 people on some sort of welfare. Annually the government spends around $131,900,000,000 on welfare, and that is not even including food stamps or unemployment (“Statistic Brain”). The government welfare system is there to help, as evidenced in the Missouri state constitution: “all constitutional government is intended to promote the general welfare of the people; that all persons have a natural right to life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness… all persons are created equal and are entitled to equal rights and opportunity under the law; that to give security to these things is the principal office of government, and that when government does not confer this security, it fails in its chief design.” Which in other words, is stating that when the government system doesn’t help you, it fails in its main purpose, to ensure people are treated equally and given the opportunities to have lives that are worth living (“US
I agree that poverty in America is a big problem. Many people do feel that they are stuck in the cycle of poverty in neighborhoods and communities. I feel that poverty in some case is generational and often the cycle is passed down from generations to the next. Often it is seen as a way of life for those living in poverty and they have learned to accept it choices for change become very limited in most families.
Welfare can be defined as health, happiness, and good fortune; well-being; Prosperity; and Financial or other aid provided, especially by the government, to people in need (Merriam-Webster, 2014). It can be very beneficial to people in need of it. Tim Prenzler stated that, “Welfare systems are often seen as providing a ‘safety net’ that prevents citizens falling below a minimum standard of living (2012, p2). Everyone is able to use is if they are in need of it. People have successfully used welfare to get out of their slum, and started to support themselves. Others have decided to not try to get out of that slum, and live off that welfare. They decided that they didn’t have to try, and let the government support them. Welfare is a good tool for people to get back on their feet, but shouldn’t be that persons steady income.