Poverty in America

Have you ever lived without enough money to support yourself? Last year, 13.2 percent of people in the United States did not have enough money to support themselves or their families. 1 in 7 people were at risk of suffering from hunger in the United States, as well as 3.5 million people that were forced to sleep in parks, under bridges, in shelters or cars. In this paper, you will learn about poverty’s history in America and its definition, the causes/reasons of poverty, the effects of poverty on America, and the salaries of people in poverty.

Poverty is the state or condition of having little to no money or goods. In America, poverty started being a major issue in the late 1950s when it reached 22.4 percent of the American population. Throughout the 1960s, poverty steadily declined, and reached 11.1 percent in the year 1973. Over the next 10 years, poverty alternated between 11.1 and 12.6 percent, but by 1980, the percentage of people in poverty began to rise again. By 1983, poverty had reached 15.2 percent. Over the next decade, the poverty rate stayed above 12.8 percent, increasing to 15.1 percent by 1993. By the year 2000, the poverty rate had decreased to 11.3 percent. In 2004, the poverty level had reached 12.7 percent of Americans. The poverty rate has increased to 15.1 percent between 2004 and 2012. There has to be many reasons that this many people are affected by poverty.

There are many reasons that so many people are experiencing poverty. The primary cause of poverty in America originates from social or racial grouping and stereotyping, isolation from social interactions and opportunities, lack of knowledge, lack of employment skills, education, and resources. Other reasons for poverty include lack of affordable housin...

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...rting themselves as well as their families. There are things as well as organizations being started to try to help to prevent poverty, such as raising the minimum wage to over $11 an hour, which would make housing more affordable for people that are living in poverty or for anyone that cannot afford a place to live. Another thing being done is an organization that is known as Bread for the World is working to end hunger in not just America, but in the world by raising money to buy food and to send to the people living in poverty. One last major effort that can be done to help the people that are living in poverty is by anybody donating old clothes or donating food to help those that are struggling in poverty. People all over America are experience poverty, and poverty is not going to disappear. Yes, many things are being done for the less fortunate, but is it enough?