The Effects of Poverty in Our World

1593 Words4 Pages

All over the world, disparities between the rich and poor, even in the wealthiest of nations is rising sharply. Fewer people are becoming increasingly “successful” and wealthy while a disproportionately larger population is also becoming even poorer. There are many issues involved when looking at poverty. It is not simply enough (or correct) to say that the poor are poor due to their own (or their government’s) bad governance and management. In fact, you could quite easily conclude that the poor are poor because the rich are rich and have the power to enforce trade agreements, which favor their interests more than the proper nations. This is a very serious problem in our society today. Poverty is everywhere and it needs to reduced so that our economy will be more stabilized and balanced that it has been. What does it mean to be poor? What does it mean to describe a nation as “developing”? A lack of material wealth does not define one as deprived. A strong economy in a developed nation does not mean much when a significant percentage or a majority of the population is struggling to survive. Development usually implies an improvement in living standards such that a person has enough food, water, and clothing, a stable social environment, freedom, and basic rights to have a fair chance for a decent life. Is this actually progress? On the other hand, are we fooled into believing that it is? The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services placed the poverty level for a family of four at $16,450 in 1998, and the poverty rate in 1996, according to the HHS, was 13.7 percent, or 36.5 million Americans. (Egendorf: 1999, 12). Is there really a way to measure poverty, and to decide exactly what poverty is? Hunger, income level, housing and the economy’s condition of the working poor are just a few example of what needs to be considered when measuring the poverty levels in our nation. Poverty expands and contracts and its definition changes in accordance with temporary exigencies, including the interests of those who propound the definitions do the counting, which means that there is no concrete definition of poverty, except for the numbers. (Valentine: 1968, 13). Poverty is not something that has just recently become an issue; it has been around for many years. The economy has been a major influence on the levels of poverty in our nation. In 1973, poverty increased ...

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...h it and does not give up, eventually our country will be known as the “Land of Opportunity” again. With the developing of countries, and the growth of population, there is going to be an increase in the amount of opportunities that will be available. Not every single person who is suffering from poverty will be motivated to take advantage of these opportunities, but the people who do, will greatly benefit from these arising chances at a new way of living. Hopefully, society will view those who suffer at the hands of poverty in a less discriminating way. Our nation must realize that because they may be poor, does not mean that they don’t deserve they same chances in life and are less of a human than those who have financial freedom.

Bibliography

1. Valentine, Charles A. CULTURE AND POVERTY. Thee University of Chicago Press, 1968. 2. Engendorf, Laura K. POVERTY, OPPOSING VIEWPOINTS. Greenhaven Press, 1999. 3. Lynn, Laurence E, and McGeary, Michael G.H. INNER CITY POVERTY IN THE UNITED STATES, National Academy Press, 1990. 4. Shein, Lori. INEQUALITY-OPPOSING VIEWPOINTS IN SOCIAL PROBLEMS. Greenhaven Press, 1998. 5. Katz, Michael, THE UNDERSERVING POOR. Pantheon Books, 1990.

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