...How to reduce poverty in the United States Kimberly Woods HUM/114 March 9, 2015 Amanda Freeman How to reduce poverty in the United States Poverty in America Poverty in the United States is getting worse each day and not enough is getting done about it. There are people who want to help the poor, but no one knows exactly how to help them. Those who are against poverty agree that something needs to be done, but they do not know how to go about getting things done. A primary reason for people not taking action is because of lack of information that is provided about issues on poverty. Issues about poverty is not stressed enough by the media to keep America informed on what the country is going through with this problem. Poverty in America is being blamed on the system and the individual affected. The poverty line equals roughly three times the annual cost of a nutritionally adequate diet. It varies by family size and is updated every year to reflect changes in the consumer price index. In 1990 the poverty line for a family of four was $13,359(American Progress.org) There are many ways that poverty could be reduced in the United States. More jobs need to be created and minimum wage needs to be increased. Work schedules need to be more flexible especially with single parent families. The criminal justice system needs to make work available for inmates being released so that they may start over in life(American Progress.org) If the government would listen to the citizens...
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...Poverty There has been many world problems in the recent years, but what I perceive is the most disturbing at the moment is Poverty in the United States. You can walk around a city and spot so many people who live in poverty and are homeless. Even with all these itinerants around, people walking on the street just act so accustomed with it. We can make a difference and make poverty go away in the United States. Poverty in the United States is just disgraceful because we are one of the most powerful and prosperous nations in the world. No matter where you go there will be poverty. Still, there are 325 million Americans and 43 million of them are in poverty, and about half of that number is people in severe poverty. There are a lot of...
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...Poverty means not knowing how you are going to put food on the table. Poverty means possibly having to donate plasma to try to get enough money to pay the bills, put gas in the car so you do not miss school or work, or to have money to replace the brake pads on the car. Poverty means past due bills and late fees because pay day is when the bills get paid. Poverty means only having one cell phone between two adults because you cannot afford two. Poverty is not being able to pay the extra eleven dollars every month to have dental insurance, so you must find some way to take your child to the dentist. Poverty is not being able to afford to have your child go to daycare, so if a family member or friend cannot watch your child, you must miss class...
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...Johnson’s proposal to combat poverty in the inner-city began with the War on Poverty. Many people in the United States were considered to be living in a state of poverty. Times were hard for many American citizens because of lack of food, jobs, and education, on top of the racial inequality happening during the time period. The term "war on poverty" generally refers to a set of initiatives proposed by Johnson's administration, passed by Congress, and implemented by his Cabinet agencies. As Johnson put it in his 1964 State of the Union address announcing the effort, "Our aim is not only to relieve the symptoms of poverty, but to cure it and, above all, to prevent it." This is an exceedingly lofty goal, but a goal nonetheless. Richard Friedman...
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...Women and Poverty “Poverty is the condition where people's basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter are not being met” (Business Dictionary). Poverty is a great problem in The United States and can be seen all around us on a daily basis. According to The US Census Bureau “In 2014, the official poverty rate was 14.8 percent. There were 46.7 million people in poverty. Neither the poverty rate nor the number of people in poverty were statistically different from the 2013 estimates.” However, poverty statistics have always differed, whether it is by race or gender, the economy results and numbers have always displayed a bias statistics. In this essay, women and their part in poverty will be addressed, and just exactly how their statistics...
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...Poverty and Children in the United States Patsy Fox Soc 120 June 26, 2011 Barbara Romero Poverty and Children in the United States The United States is one of the richest nations in the world, and yet millions of Americans live at or below the poverty level and many more struggle each month not to fall into this category. Unfortunately, the number of children in our society that are living in poverty is increasing daily. Many of these children are from single-parent homes where the parent is not working or have become disabled. Early parenthood is also a big contributor to this situation. Poverty in the United States is largely due to low family incomes and the declining job market. Poverty can best be described as the lack of resources to meet the basic needs of healthy living, or not having sufficient income to provide food, shelter, and clothing for oneself or one’s family. The causes of families finding themselves in this type of situation are continuing to grow on a daily basis. In today’s economy, often people find themselves losing their jobs and living in areas where job opportunities are slim at best. Lack of education can also limit the opportunities that are available to an individual. With the economic downturn that we have experienced, many American’s are faced with the loss of long time jobs when factories and business close suddenly. Many of these individuals may find themselves completely unprepared for today’s job market because they have been in their...
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...Children & Poverty in the United States Children & Poverty in the United States Kylon D. Shipp SOC120 University of Phoenix In the United States, there are millions of families with children who live at or below the poverty guidelines set by the federal government. The federal poverty income level is around $22,050 a year for a family of four, and it takes about twice that amount to cover the basic needs and expenses of a family of this size (National Center for Children in Poverty, August, 2010). Although most parents are employed, the low pay wages these days tend to leave these families in a constant struggle to provide for their children. Most states have programs that help families that have a lower income take care of their children’s basic needs such as food, shelter, and medical expenses. However, children who grow up in poverty may still be affected by poor health and mental health issues. Poverty has also been known to affect a child’s ability to learn and leaves them at a greater risk for emotional, social, or behavioral problems. Research shows that poverty is the highest threat to a child’s well-being (National Center for Children in Poverty, August, 2010). Since 1964 when the war on domestic poverty was declared, the United States has spent hundreds of billions of dollars helping large and small towns across the country. They have repaired old homes, helped people find jobs, and also provided free food for those who are living in poverty. Despite the...
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...Child poverty is an extremely saddening issue, and I found the statistics given in our textbook as well as the websites to be utterly horrifying. I found it shocking how much childhood poverty is evident in the United States as compared to other countries. As one of the most powerful and wealthiest countries on earth, it would only make sense that we have some of the lowest poverty rates in the world; however, that is sadly not the case. Out of 35 countries surveyed by UNICEF, "The United States ranks 34th of the 35 countries surveyed, above only Romania and below virtually all of Europe plus Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan" (Fisher, 2013). The fact that the United States has such a high percentage of child poverty is abhorrent, to...
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...To me, it is absolutely crazy that the United States of America, the richest country in the world, would stand for the number of people living in poverty today. There is a record number of people now living in poverty – 46.1 million, 15.1 percent of the country (www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty, 2012). How can a government such as ours even allow this to happen? And the worst part of all is that not one of the candidates in the recent presidential election even mentioned the word poverty in their campaigns, not even President Obama. My goal is to bring America back from poverty by creating an economy that is so strong that it will bring the United States away from poverty, never to return again. I would like to see this goal completed by the middle of the next decade so that once Americans are out of poverty, they will be able to stay out of poverty own their own. This will be no easy task. I have developed four solutions that will hopefully eradicate poverty in the United States. First, the creation of jobs. The lack of jobs in the United States greatly affects the number of people at the poverty level. The recent 7.5 percent unemployment rate is an improvement over the past, but it still shows that a huge number of Americans still do not have jobs. There is a requirement for both public and private companies to create jobs. Creating jobs at minimum wage will not take families out of the poverty level, creating jobs that pay middle class wages or better will...
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...Isn't it obvious that a country can have childhood poverty which numbers are not that higher however, it can be much uglier. An example can be United States. If we take a look at U.S today, 22% of the children live in families that are below the Federal poverty level. According to a new study from the urban Institution, before they trun into 18 years old, almost 40% of the American children spend at least one year in poverty. While a current analysis of poverty trends might find a lower rate of children living in penury, that doesn't capture the fluid nature of people's lives, with many lower-income families bouncing slightly above the poverty line -- just under $24,000 for a family of four -- before sinking below the threshold in other...
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...Honorable English teacher Mindy Geihs, my dear friends and family, and delegates to the United Nations; it is an honor for me to be speaking to you today about Poverty. The word Poverty means not eating any food after a week. Poverty means children working everyday in the hot sun, being in the streets and washing people’s windows so they can just give you one dollar. Poverty means sleeping in a bed with your three other siblings and sharing the little bit of bread your mom could get. It means not being able to send your children to school, not being able to send them off to college and not being able to give them the life they deserve. About ½ of the Earth's population lives off of less than $1.25 a day. People around the world are suffering and we wealthy countries aren’t doing anything. If we have the chance to unite in countries and help each other, then let’s take that chance. But in the process, let’s not reject our own people. There are thousands of people in the United States that are living on the streets. That have nowhere to go and live off of the food people give them. There are people on the streets here in Nevada that live on the ground and feel shameful when people look at them. They feel hate, disgust, repulsion all from one stare. Some of these people want to make a better life and get back on track, but how can they get...
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...While various states have adopted various political models and principles, there are multiple components of a state that will exist no matter what model is chosen. One of the most contested and common components is poverty and destitution. States may adopt and practice various roles and expectations however; it should be the standard in all governments that the poor and destitute be supplied with governmental aid. As a governing body situated with maintaining the welfare of the people as one of its motivations, assistance to the poor should be guaranteed and heavily regulated. The seriousness and expansiveness of poverty is an issue that can and should only be addressed by the state. Because of a set of understood expectations, it is the responsibility...
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...In the early 1960s, the civil rights movement forced the United States to address the rising problem of poverty. The movement motivated discontent young Americans as well as President John F. Kennedy to take action at help stop poverty in the states. Kennedy responded by taking initiative and beginning federal programs to address job creation. These new programs focused primarily on skills training and fighting hunger. Kennedy’s successor, President Lyndon Johnson, would use these programs as the bases for his campaign to end poverty in the United States. During his State of the Union address held on January 8, 1964, Johnson declared an “unconditional war on poverty in America.” For his 1664 presidency. On August of that year, President Johnson...
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...Mississippi is known for being the poorest state in the U.S. In fact, 24% of people live below the poverty line. Besides the residents of this state, few people truly know how bad this state has it. One-fourth of the state population is truly struggling, almost one in every four people in Mississippi are living under the poverty line. Mississippi was once a flourishing state but has been sucked deep into the dark hole of poverty, because of the massive unemployment and lack of education. The poverty problem started way back in the beginning of the 19th century. Mississippi was the top cotton manufacturer in the United States. The state was economically and politically dependent on cotton. It was the fifth wealthiest state thanks to the immense production of cotton, large plantations, and forced slave labor. (Source-History) Mississippi’s economy really came crashing down during the Civil War. Before then it was once one of the wealthiest cotton producers in the world, and then suddenly lots of planters were forced to give up their land in order to pay debts or taxes. Along with the Civil War another detrimental factor was farming. The state’s crop industry was a major source for earning money. The main crops included soybeans and cotton. Severe...
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...Sociologists define poverty as a state where individuals lack a certain amount of money or material possession to enable them to live efficiently. Despite being a first world country, the United States faces high levels of poverty, especially among the African Americans and Hispanics. The poverty levels mostly affect school going children leading to dropouts. According to Rumberger (2013), it is estimated that over 1.1 million high school children fail to graduate due to dropouts. Children who drop along the way are unlikely to find a job. Thus, they live a poor life due to failure to earn wages. As a result, such children are likely to engage in crime, rely on public assistance, thus generating social costs that are shouldered by taxpayers. According to 2009 research, about 20% of children from low-income earning families were more prone to drop out of school. The poverty level among young children is high in the U.S. with over 20% of children born in low-income families dropping out of school. As per...
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