...Poverty…. which is defined as the state of being extremely poor. There are two types of poverty that are known, absolute and relative poverty. Absolute poverty is lacking the need of food and shelter, which is necessary for a person to survive throughout life. And relative poverty is those who are stable, but lacking the needs of most Americans because of their financial status. There are many reasons that cause poverty. For example, loss of job and not being able to find work. But many Americas believe that poverty is caused by the poor, because of the belief that you can do anything in America. Poverty can cause health problems for children growing up also. Things such as chronic stress, and experiencing difficult things throughout childhood...
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...Is Childhood Poverty Increasing Inequality In America? Is childhood poverty increasing inequality in America? The test of our progress," said Franklin Roosevelt, "is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have too much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little." It is by that great test that we must measure our progress in the years ahead. John F. Kennedy, 1960' (Lindsey, pg 34, 2009) Children born in America are promised equality and opportunity. How well is America keeping its promise to 1 in 4 children living in poverty? The Bible teaches we are created in God's image (Genesis 1:27). Each child is born with God's DNA but not all children grow up in a world conducive to developing their God-given potential and dreams. Not all children are given equal opportunity. "Their economic and social development will be primarily influenced by the opportunities their parents, community, and society provide" (Lindsey, 2009, p. 3). What defines childhood poverty? The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) defines child poverty as "a child is deemed to be living in relative poverty if he or she is growing up in a household where disposable income, when adjusted for family size and composition, is less than 50% of the median disposable household income for the country concerned" (Garofalo, 2012, p. 1). The United States Census Bureau for 2011 qualified the poverty threshold for a family of four as $22,281 annual income...
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...Poverty is a terrible thing that many people have to live with, it may not be seen to the naked eye but it is great problem in the United States. Society in America is the cause of insular poverty because of the bad education system, all the people are poor because they are living below the average income of the country, and it is hard for people to get out of the place they are at physically and financially when poor. Last year alone, more than 45 million people (or 14.5% of all Americans) lived below the poverty line. In, “The Position of Poverty” by John Kenneth Galbraith he tells the readers about the struggle of poverty that America that he saw, and is still true in today's economy. It is hard for poor people to get out of the place...
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...Poverty in America; Created or Inherited According to an article written by Barbara Ehrenreich “How I Discovered the Truth about Poverty”, society defines poverty by its ethnicity, culture and economic status. Ehrenreich accredited this discovery to Michael Harrington. Government assisted programs were design to be a temporary remedy for poverty, instead it is a crutch for others. The implication that poverty was not caused by “low wages or lack of jobs, but bad attitudes and faulty lifestyles” projects images of laziness (608). Society defines poverty by an individual capability to earn wages without the assistance and dependency on the government. Ehrenreich describes the history timeline of poverty, referencing Harrington’s book “The Other America”. Poverty was not acknowledged as a problem until, Harrington discovered that one quarter of the population who is “the inner-city black, Appalachian white, farm worker and the elderly” lives in poverty (609). Based on his analogy these categories of individual...
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...Today, foreign poverty is one of the primary concern in the United States of America. It has a significant impact on youths and families with low income. It effects on the American economy has triggered a vast debate currently in the US with a focus on the international poverty reduction proponents and opponents. Therefore, a comprehensive analysis of the effects on America based on its economy is highly recommended for organizations as well as professionals supporting such international initiatives. Currently, the impact of foreign poverty today is immense among youths. Therefore, each foreign poverty reduction proponents in the United States of America must first involve the analysis of its meaning, theories, and causes as well as its effects...
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...Poverty is defined as the state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support. It is basically a condition of being poor as human beings, it is a moral duty to take care of people that are less fortunate and cannot fully take care of themselves to the best of their ability. However, on the other hand some people believe that we as humans have no moral obligation to do anything good for anyone else but ourselves. Poverty in the United States has been a social, political, and human rights issue for decades. Furthermore, the United States have been considered one of the richest country in the world. Some may even say that it is the land of opportunity for all or even the land of freedom. This in true for some Americans. However, on the other hand, many Americans are in poverty and children of Americans are suffering in America. Many families are not able to send their children to school on a regular basis. As result, they get involve prostitution and drugs in order to survive and take care of their families. The lack of education and intelligence has put individuals at risk of finding jobs and supporting their families. The government needs to pay more attention to the poverty issues within the country. The number of children that is currently living in poverty is distressing. According to the US census twenty five percent of young children are living in poverty in America. The numbers are continuously rising everyday. The number of people in the...
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...Running Head: Poverty Examination of a Concept: Poverty Shelton Land Virginia Commonwealth University Poverty 2 EXAMINATION OF A CONCEPT: POVERTY Introduction Poverty has existed persistently since it was uncovered. The results of a family or individual living in poverty range from infectious diseases to drug abuse. “As the economy has shifted from the industrial sector to services and computer based technology, the impact has hit hardest for working class and poor families, with limited education, job skills and employment opportunities” (Walsh, 2003, pp.17). Despite the effects of poverty, different individuals have different perceptions about the persisting problem. Some assert that poverty is a natural condition of man; while others view it as self-imposed, imposed, or a debilitating economic situation. This paper will examine the many concepts of poverty and discuss how it is related to at least two theoretical perspectives on human behavior, how it has changed over time, current issues related to poverty and how these issues are similar and different for two countries. Definition Many scholars and researchers define poverty as an insufficiency of the material necessities of life. The disparities between the rich and poor have increased so solemnly since the industrial revolution that it formed a poverty line. A poverty line which is used in defining what percentage of the population is poor based on the economy. Poverty 3 The US Census Bureau (2009) cites...
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...Eugene Harmon Poverty in Latin America Inequality: The Most Political and Economic Problem in Latin America Throughout the years, Latin America has experienced dramatic political, social, and economic changes amongst its numerous countries. As time went on, various leaders brought grand ideas to the table in hopes of bettering the region. However, in most cases, the outcome was far from grand, failing to address social conflicts that derived from deep inequality and high levels of poverty. Without successfully conquering the underlying causes of conflict within the region, change in a positive direction for Latin America does not exist. This paper will define inequality as the most political and economic problem that Latin American countries continue to face, and how inequality, discrimination, poverty, and crime violence stem from the underlying problem of inequality. As a result, social programs currently in place fail to properly address the issues of inequality and poverty within Latin America, thus being unsuccessful. In their literature review of the Southern Commands, Jorge Castaneda and Patricio Navia remind the reader that, “be it in the Caribbean heat or in the Andes-mountain cold, the uniform and lasting defining characteristic of Latin America is inequality” (82). They continue to explain that, “Latin America brings together – often within the same countries, same cities and occasionally even the same neighborhoods...
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...encountered the strange in the familiar in your own neighborhood or in some other place and what reference groups do people use in your neighborhood to define what is culturally and socially appropriate habitus? 3. In your neighborhood, are there ways that the people create social distance to separate themselves from others unlike them even to the point of being ethnocentric? CO1, CO7 Discussion Forum 2 Discussion Forum 2: Cultural Experiences In Discussion Forum 2, post your response to the following discussion question. Reply to at least two classmates’ responses by the date indicated in the course Calendar. Using a blend of your own experiences, supported by your understanding of the course readings and key terms integrate the following questions into your discussion board posting. It should be three strong paragraphs of 4 – 5 sentences in each paragraph. Then respond to at least two colleagues with an antithesis question on their posting. 4. Culture defines social roles, religion, family, fashion, foodways, language etc. within a given people group. Describe some aspects of your culture. 5. At times, culture goes against our own belief systems. How do we counteract this? Do we attempt to change it? Can we affect change? 6. Some families uphold particular traditions that we disagree with and constrains us. Define some ways to affirm the elders and peers...
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...Inequality: The Most Pressing Problem in Latin America Throughout the years, Latin America has experienced dramatic political, social, and economic changes amongst it’s numerous countries. As time went on, various leaders brought grand ideas to the table in hopes of bettering the region. However, in most cases, the outcome was far from grand, failing to address social conflicts that derived from deep inequality and high levels of poverty. Without successfully conquering the underlying causes of conflict within the region, change in a positive direction for Latin America does not exist. This paper will define inequality as the most pressing problem that Latin American countries continue to face, and how inequality, discrimination, poverty, and crime violence stem from the underlying problem of inequality. As a result, social programs currently in place fail to properly address the issues of inequality and poverty within Latin America, thus being unsuccessful. In their literature review of the Southern Commands, Jorge Castaneda and Patricio Navia remind the reader that, “be it in the Caribbean heat or in the Andes-mountain cold, the uniform and lasting defining characteristic of Latin America is inequality” (82). They continue to explain that, “Latin America brings together – often within the same countries, same cities and occasionally even the same neighborhoods – the wealth and prosperity of the most-industrialized nations in the world and the dispossession, despair and hopelessness...
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...PAD-201: Social Change 24 March 2015 Poverty Introduction In order to define and understand what poverty is, we can consider about conditions of having a little or no money, goods or means of support, state of being poor and lack of vital resources such as education, healthcare, food, clean water and safety. According to Feed America analysis, there were around 14.5% of population (43.5 million) who lived in poverty in 2013 whereas 15.1% lived in poverty in 2010. Thus we can see that poverty rate among United States slightly decreased due to powers applied by different sectors of country, such as government, business and society/non-profit organizations. United Nations organization states that about 21,000 people die every day of hunger or hunger-related causes, it means that there is one person die every four seconds. It is very sad because children die most often. Today, poverty is a huge issue which affects global economy and wealth of the whole population. Moreover, we see high level of inequality, there are people who earn couple dollars a day, whether they live in wealthiest nation in the world or poorest, the difference is real. Many people feel that high level of inequality will affect social cohesion and lead to problems such as increasing crime and violence. Moreover, the poorest part of people always has less access to health, education and other services provided by government and private businesses. Some of these people cannot even afford initials...
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...A couple of the most common groups of people affected by this struggle are people that are born into poverty, and people that do not have determination, or set goals for themselves. The immigrants that come to America are also affected. There are always going to be obstacles for people with the hope of fulfilling this dream. The reality is, the American Dream is not something that is for everyone, nor is it something that just gets handed to you. It will most likely be more a dream than a reality for most people, and especially immigrants that come to America specifically for this idea that people have. This “dream” that people want to achieve is a long shot and takes so much time and work. The miracle stories of the American Dream are more rare than many of the citizens of America are led to believe. This gives people false hope that the same will happen to them at some point in their lives. In conclusion, the American Dream comes with many obstacles that people will have to face, and comes with many failures, so it is something to think about when one attempts to obtain the American...
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...encountered the strange in the familiar in your own neighborhood or in some other place and what reference groups do people use in your neighborhood to define what is culturally and socially appropriate habitus? 3. In your neighborhood, are there ways that the people create social distance to separate themselves from others unlike them even to the point of being ethnocentric? CO1, CO7 Discussion Forum 2 Discussion Forum 2: Cultural Experiences In Discussion Forum 2, post your response to the following discussion question. Reply to at least two classmates’ responses by the date indicated in the course Calendar. Using a blend of your own experiences, supported by your understanding of the course readings and key terms integrate the following questions into your discussion board posting. It should be three strong paragraphs of 4 – 5 sentences in each paragraph. Then respond to at least two colleagues with an antithesis question on their posting. 4. Culture defines social roles, religion, family, fashion, foodways, language etc. within a given people group. Describe some aspects of your culture. 5. At times, culture goes against our own belief systems. How do we counteract this? Do we attempt to change it? Can we affect change? 6. Some families uphold particular traditions that we disagree with and constrains us. Define some ways to affirm the...
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...has gradually become a major health issue in America and the statistics, which I am going to talk about later, is frightening. To understand how large the health issue is, we have to understand what obesity is. Obesity is a condition where someone has so much body fat that it might damage their health. We define this amount of body fat by at least 20% or higher according to http://www.medicalnewstoday.com. According to http://www.businessinsider.com USA actually has some of the highest obesity rates in the world, and in this text I am going to look at some of the reasons why. The obesity does not just harm a specific part of the people, it harms everyone. Over a third of the American adults and almost 20% of the teenagers is obese. (http://edition.cnn.com) All this obesity has to come at a cost, not only personally but also economically. In this text I am going to look at some reasons to obesity, look at statistics and also talk about the future of obesity. For major parts of the American people, obesity is not a choice. Many are raised up in a poor family who do not have the resources to buy their kids or themselves healthy meals. 14,8 % of the American population live in poverty, that equals to around 47 million people. (http://talkpoverty.org/basics/) This is one of the biggest causes to obesity. Poor people have a lot less access to healthy and nutritious food. (http://frac.org/) Therefor I would say that obesity and poverty is strongly connected. According to USDA, a...
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...Poverty: Who are the poor in the United States? When most people think of the United States they think, the land of the free and the place were dreams come true. Living in the US, there is no limit for advancement and opportunity. No man, woman or child should ever go hungry or want for anything. Here in the US we have more cars on the road and more skyscrapers in large cities than anywhere. In small towns, there are wheat fields and cornfields for miles and miles. As an American living in the US, when we think of poverty we think of countries like India where women wash their clothes in ditches alongside main roads in Mumbai. In countries like Africa Ethiopian men, women and children may go days without a meal, sometime weeks. Examining third world countries and their poverty level, does it cross our minds that poverty really exist here in the United States? Poverty levels in the US do not compare to the poverty level in third world countries. Poverty in a third world country is measured in the terms of absolute poverty, where a person lives in conditions he/she does not have the means to meet the basic needs in life. Their living conditions could be life threaten. Here in the US, poverty level is measured in the terms of relative poverty. According to the article reviewed by Thomas J. Corbett entitled “Poverty” (2008), “Relative poverty is the condition of having fewer resources or less income than others within a society or country, or compared to worldwide averages....
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