...How can we reduce poverty in the United States? In the United States there are 1.2 billion people living in poverty. The question was “how can we reduce poverty in the United States?” I believe was can reduce poverty by creating more job, an increase in the security of our food, exploring renewable energy sources, investing in our children, and improving education in the United States. The reasons for hunger in the United States are embedded in poverty. Attempting to address one alone is impossible they go hand in hand and they’re deeply-rooted in each other. Americans everywhere are get paid low wages and struggle to put nourishment on the table and bring home the bacon. We all seek the same end goal to address the issue with pervasiveness of poverty in the U.S. We have educate our children and make greater employment opportunities for everybody, give sufficient work aids to the unemployed, and offer benefits for low-wage people allowing the ability to save money. For so many Americans, the U.S. workforce doesn't allow people to support their families. In the average home one or more parents work two or more jobs to survive. Youth food programs are key to stopping poverty in kids’ life. At the point when kids get the nourishment they require, they are more prone to move out of poverty. This battle will not be won by one human being, it is a joint effort and we all need to do our part to end...
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...what are its origins? What are the pros of having a minimum wage, what problems does it have potential to solve? What are the problems with having a minimum wage, and just how much do they affect the U.S. economy? What are potential alternative solutions to raising the federal minimum wage? Many different viewpoints and ideas will be discussed below, but it is difficult to fully grasp how far reaching the effects of minimum wage. The purpose for a baseline wage was set to help poverty stricken workers a fair wage for their cost of living. In June 25, 1938 President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the “Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938,” which aimed to ban child labor, set maximum work weeks at 44 hours, and set minimum hourly wage at 25 cents. Roosevelt felt child labor, undercutting wages, and stretching out hours of the lowest paid workers during times of recession had a big effect on buying power even though this act affected one-fifth of the United States population at the time. Roosevelt realized a population without buying power is more than just an ethical problem but an economic one as well (U.S. Labor Department). The father of modern economics Adam Smith once stated, “But what improves the circumstances of the greater part can never be regarded as an inconveniency to the whole. No society can surely be flourishing and happy, of which the far greater part of the members are poor and miserable (wealth of nations).” Although it is easier to justify wage increases during...
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...Global Poverty If I was to describe world poverty I will have to quote Mother Teresa “We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty of them all”. I believe this quote says it all. It really shows what poverty is about. It made me realize that people that are poor don’t just need to be feed and sheltered, but also need to be loved. While some of us just think of what we could do to better our homes and cars many people living in absolute poverty just want clean water, food, shelter, and their health. It makes you want to step back and look at life in different perspective and want to better the world we live in. Poverty is the most essential problem we have to today and has been a continuous problem since the beginning of time. No matter what the income, unemployment or overall prosperity level is, there will always be people who are homeless and hungry around the world. I recall myself saying when I was younger to my peers that I was poor and grew up with little because we had a one bedroom house and I had to wear passed down clothing from my older sibling, but after traveling to various countries I have recognized that I was never deprived of anything. I had all my meals and plenty of clothes and shelter in which some people wish they had. Poverty doesn’t discriminate billions of people lack basic resources including food, water, education and sanitation...
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...drafted by Senator Hugo Black of Alabama and signed into law in June 1938, the FLSA was designed to “put a ceiling over hours and a floor under wages” by establishing an eventual maximum 40 weekly work hours. Henderson, David R. "Raising the Minimum Wage Will Not Reduce Poverty." Poverty. Ed. Viqi Wagner. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2007. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "The Negative Effects of the Minimum...
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...Poverty and Public Policy ECON203 Introduction Increases in poverty have occurred since 2000. Rising poverty rates have caused significantly high caseloads to many public assistance programs in the US; causing a growing concern regarding public safety net cost. Poverty is a situation where a family cannot satisfy its needs for food, shelter, clothing and transportation based on their income alone. The government determines the poverty-level income for each family size. The Official Poverty Measure (OPM) determines poverty status by comparing pre-tax cash income by three times a minimum food diet, adjusted by family size and updated annually for inflation. In 1963, the average family spent a third of their income on household goods; today, the ratio of income spent on a food diet is less than 33%. Programs There are several government programs available to assist the poor called safety nets. Safety nets are where county or municipal government, secular nonprofit, faith-based nonprofit organizations and religious congregations come together to provide an assortment of programs of assistance for the poor. The role of local safety nets has received less attention from poverty and safety net researchers, regardless of the important role that they play in many communities. There are disputes in legislation that will cut public assistance program spending and caseloads; these opinions for cutbacks occur frequently. Since the debates and studies of restructuring poverty...
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...There has never been a time in history where there were not “poor” people. As a child, we lived in an old home in bad need of repair. Many today would probably call it little more than unfit. According today’s standards of poverty, my family would have been classified as such. However, we had clothes that were given or bought at second hand places and food on our table. We had chickens, raised a calf for meat, and grew a garden. We learned to can and preserve many types of food. My sister’s and I did not consider ourselves “poor” although we knew others had more than us. We felt rich because we were happy and loved. We were thankful for what we had. Our world today is not the same as it was then. Many are dissatisfied and unhappy while having everything money can buy. Yes, being “poor” brings hardships, but many times there are ways to make our world better with a little hard work. So how can we (government) fix the poor that lack in money and are unable to provide the basic necessities of life? Totally change the way we look at the poor. Stop enabling. Now, by this I mean… more taxes from those who have worked hard to earn their money is not going to answer the problem. Taking from one to give to another is our tax system at this time. Yes, I agree we need to help someone get back on their feet, but we also need to give them the tools to do so. We need jobs and more jobs. Jobs that pay more than minimum wages and training or education to enable unskilled or workers needed reskilled...
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...with information on the various diversity groups in America. The U.S. population’s diversity is influenced by immigration. There are both benefits and challenges to having such a diverse population. Fostering a culture of acceptance in society is key to reaping more benefits and reducing challenges. Mass media has an influential impact in society, perpetuating stereotypes or building appreciation for diversity. If individuals and the U.S can come together, they can reduce prejudice and increase acceptance and tolerance. Final Paper The plethora of information about diversity in the United States can give someone a better understanding than they may have previously had. Through understanding, a person may be able to better relate to someone that is different. Many websites are available on the Internet with information on the various diversity groups in America. The diversity of the U.S. is ever changing with immigration and inter-racial couples having children. As the country becomes more diverse, we will face challenges as well as receive benefits. The key to reaping more benefits, while reducing the challenges, is to foster a culture of acceptance in society. The media plays a large influential role in society and can work to perpetuate stereotypes and prejudice or build appreciation for diversity. Working together, the government and the people can work to reduce prejudice through education and intervention. What I Have Learned ...
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...success looks like. The idea of eradicating drugs form the world by waging a war on those who use them is basically flawed. It does not reduce drug taking. The standard response is that we must continue on our course. Maybe if a few more people are arrested, or seize more shipments then the Government has achieved a victory. This is NOT true. It is like playing a game of Russian roulette. The government attacks one major supplier allowing for another to build up. The cycle is never ending. Where there is a demand there will always be a supply. We are not stopping drug supply because it moves. We could never get the resources to shut down the entire hemisphere. It is a simple as the law of supply and demand. No matter how many more billions of dollars are spent, or lives lost, history has proven that as long as there is a demand for drugs that there will be a supply for them. If alcoholism is supposed to be considered a public health issue then why is drug addiction considered a national security threat? The United States tends to declare war on things that it considers harmful or bad; for example the War on Cancer, The War on Drugs, War on Poverty, etc. Yes, you may be able to reduce poverty, prevent most terrorist attacks, cure many types of cancer, and even reduce crime rates but there is no clear end to any of these wars. The problem is that we cannot win any of these wars. I believe that you may fight many of the issues but to declare war on them is not the solution. Is...
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...As we grow older we think about all the potential issues within the world. Many different things may come to mind when we think of the future, our children’s futures as they become adults, the children whom are not even born yet and our future as we grow old. We also think about what the world has already overcome and what we still need to overcome. Some choices society has made have been positive, some negative. What is the largest problem we may face in the future and how will this impact us? The increase of population will affect the world over the next ten to twenty years by increased carbon dioxide emissions, employment opportunities will be reduced and the increase of poverty. Carbon dioxide emissions will increase which will put our recourses at jeopardy. As we all know, humans need oxygen to live. Burning of fossil fuels, such as oil, coal and gas, increase the carbon dioxide within the air and reducing the oxygen levels. Our dependence on fossil fuels combined with the global issue of climate change alternatives need to be used (Writers, 2007). To reduce emissions the population can turn to solar power, wind power and geothermal energy. With the population growing more people are in need of income but employment opportunities within the U.S. are decreasing. Statistics show only Latin America is the only country reporting healthy job markets, while the U.S., Japan and Europe have higher unemployment rates (Business Recorder, 2012). With population rising all over the...
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...Tiffany Shelby Annotated Bibliography Capella University Cohen, R. (Ed.). (2002). Dear Mrs. Roosevelt: Letters from children of the great depression. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press. The editor provides a context and elaborates on the meaning of nearly 200 letters written to Eleanor Roosevelt by children and youth experiencing the hardships of the Great Depression from 1933-1941. The young people request individual assistance, explain why their families are unable to provide basic necessities, and justify the worthiness of their requests. The poignant letters provide some insight into hard-working families during this period who either have no employment, work part-time, or work at low-paying jobs. Children and youth plead with Mrs. Roosevelt for clothing; for money to ward off evictions, pay debts, and purchase simple household conveniences; for funds for educational expenses, Christmas gifts for family members, marriage and new household expenses, bicycles to help their families, and for radios to ameliorate loneliness. The letters attest to the courage, tenacity, and intelligence of youth who had few resources, but hoped for better lives during this era. The editor also clarifies Mrs. Roosevelt and her staff’s responses to the letters. Only 1 percent of youths received the material assistance they requested. About 5 percent were told by Mrs. Roosevelt’s staff to seek help from New Deal agencies, 3 percent were directed toward charities, and...
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...Week 3 Case Study 3.3 Poverty in America Stacey Curry Business Ethics Upper Iowa University Professor Kalai McHan TRY TO TURN POVERTY TO POSITIVE In the time of the Great Depression back in 1930’s, where a time where four million Americans had fallen into poverty. Then in 2008 the economy experienced a serious economic meltdown crisis and recession, at this time 44 million adults now live below the poverty line officially defined as an income below $10,830 for a single adult or less than $22,050 for a family of four (Shaw, 2013 p.132). The economy today in my opinion, where poverty is still a huge impact due to the cost of living going up but the income is not changing and it appears people are digging themselves into bigger holes. There are times I feel bad for a lot of people in this world and I wonder a lot how is it going to be when my kids grow up, has me thinking are they going to be able to take care of their families and not have to struggle. The young kids this time in day, especially for my kids I advise them all time to please get a college degree not just a high school diploma and pick a great career. The existence of poverty doesn’t imply that our socio-economic system is unjust, what is causing the socio-economic system is lack of education in the schools, divorces, single parent households and disease’s. The concertation of poverty groups doesn’t matter at all, the ethnicity of the religion or race, has nothing to do with poverty. The Americans have a different...
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...How tax strategies impact on the Social Economic Problem? We are going to highlight some social issues and whether the tax strategy is effective in dealing with the issues. The issues discussed include the issue of urbanisation on vacant land, child poverty, inflation and unemployment. Issue 1: Tax Penalty: Eliminate Land Speculation and Vacant Land to avoid Poverty The urbanisation level of 56.25% in South Africa has recorded the world highest level in 2001. The “Apartheid City was a political economy of space which was based on two policies, i.e. racially-based spatial planning and development for some at the expense of others”. Cities were purposely designed to push poor black citizens to the margins of the city. Thus, the black population were materially distanced from advantages normally associated with city life”. With the abolition of Apartheid in 1994, the new government made a commitment to redress these imbalances and inequality and to create cities that are more equal, inclusionary, productive and sustainable. Although 1.6 million houses have been provided since 1994, they have tended to enforce traditional apartheid planning where the poor are still located on the periphery, far removed from employment and economic opportunities. This has resulted in increased urban sprawl and de-densification. Furthermore, the subsidy on public transport was more than double that spent on housing subsidy but the house prices has increased by an average of 20% per year. Land...
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...related behaviour.Non communicable diseases are the top cause of death worldwide, killing more than 36 million people in 2008. Cardiovascular diseases were responsible for 48% of these deaths, cancers 21%, chronic respiratory diseases 12%, and diabetes 3% (WHO, 2011). This health inequality effects not just how people live, but often dictates how and at what age they die. In this essay I would like to reflect upon the main causes, preventions about all diseases whether it is infectious or lifestyle related diseases, and my response to the global health inequalities that is existing. According to Willi (2004) the sociological imagination consist of four interrelated parts:1) Historical factors, 2) Cultural factors, 3) Structural factors, and 4) Critical factors. I would like to explain historical factors in relation of my topic. I am born and grew up in Asian region, there People are likely to try native remedies because they cannot afford to go to regular doctors. Lack of education is another teething trouble; there is a lower level of awareness because of the lack of education among people. They do not know how to prevent the spread of disease, and even if they are taught how to do it, they do not have access to basic sanitation facilities like clean toilets, which makes it hard for them to...
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...Running head: POVERTY AND IT’S EVERYDAY LIFE CHANGES 1 Poverty and its Everyday Life Changes Professor Deanna R. Lindsey Sociology 100, Strayer University November 4, 2011 POVERTY AND IT’S EVERYDAY LIFE CHANGES 2 Abstract This report tells of the ratings of poverty in the United States and America. It tells how poverty is constantly changing the lives of men, women, and children on an everyday basis. It speaks of things we can do as a society to help support and change the lives of those living in poverty. Poverty And It’s Everyday Life Changes 3 Poverty is a very emotional and important issue in America. It is a fact that all social inequality creates poverty. There are generally two types of poverty that are discussed, which are relative poverty and absolute poverty .Relative poverty is the lack of resources of some people in relation to those who have more. Absolute poverty is the lack of resources that is life threatening. It has been reported by “Global Stratification “, that about one billion human beings, which is one person in six are at risk of absolute poverty (Sociology, Thirteenth Edition). In this wealthy country of the Unite States families still go hungry, and live in in adequate housing, and suffer poor health because of serious lack of resources. In 2002, it was reported by the Census Bureau that poverty in the United States was had reached a high of 35 million people (Rector and Johnson, 2004). It is fact that we as human beings...
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...Brendan Miller 4-28-12 Prof. Odock Microeconomics The Welfare System Enabling Poverty Thirty seven million people residing on our “land of opportunity” have fallen below the poverty line, and our efforts have produced little improvement to poverty. The U.S. citizens can’t ignore the poverty issue, but should determine the best plan of action that would produce most positive outcomes on poverty. Proof that our efforts are producing a positive outcome would be displayed with statistics, which displays significant reductions in poverty population, when comparing the current years to past ones. While attempting to reduce the amount of the poverty population, the government must be sure to maintain the poverty line, so that the people of poverty don’t suffer any harsher effects, than they have already experienced today. Unfortunately, the U.S. has been fighting a war on poverty for over 50 years, and hasn’t produced the improvements they had hoped. Above all we have to consider that the welfare’s assistance maybe creating a behavioral-dependence on the governments financial assistance, that decreases the likelihood of a recipient from moving-up in financial class, and increases likelihood of being on welfare long-term. We need to investigate whether our welfare system is truly helping poor population, or whether changes are necessary to rectify system. By the government focusing their attention to reducing the behavioral-dependence on the financial assistance programs...
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