...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...
Words: 432 - Pages: 2
...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...
Words: 1871 - Pages: 8
...many over the needs of the few, state ownership and responsibility for economic control, and an equal distribution of wealth to its populace (ushistory.org). These two ideologies stood at the forefront of a Cold War that at times threatened the very survival of life on this planet as we knew it should it turn "hot," so different and mutually exclusive did their respective proponents consider their tenets. It is a fallacy,...
Words: 1405 - Pages: 6
...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...
Words: 832 - Pages: 4
...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...
Words: 1829 - Pages: 8
...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...
Words: 1902 - Pages: 8
...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...
Words: 681 - Pages: 3
...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...
Words: 351 - Pages: 2
...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...
Words: 471 - Pages: 2
...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...
Words: 636 - Pages: 3
...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...
Words: 515 - Pages: 3
...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...
Words: 1478 - Pages: 6
...The poverty line is vital to the government of the United States. While society uses it to determine who is considered poor, there have been some changes in world for it to be invalid. With times changing, there could be some adjustments done to the policy for it to be more accurate in modern times. While, there is much to be done, one would need to know the start of the poverty line. The beginning of the official poverty line was established in 1963 by Mollie Orshanky, the purpose being to see what makes one poor. Orshanky’s job was to determine what was the biggest necessity for people to purchase. With her angle on food being key, she configured the formula, which resulted the first poverty line being approximately $3,600 a year. With her first draft of the line being presented, she then had to rework to include less people in poverty, which moved the line to $3,000 a year....
Words: 490 - Pages: 2
...During the early 1930’s America had struck poverty, but for the people living in the central plains of the United States had other challenges to face as well. Along with the nationwide depression, these people had to overcome an eight-year drought. This drought brought huge dust storms that lasted from 1931-1939 and had prolonged the Great Depression. For the people living during this time the struggle to live forced many out of their homes, towns, and even state. The Dust Bowl not only prolonged the Great Depression and forced many people to become homeless, but affected them for the rest of their lives. The Dust Bowl affected southern Colorado, southern Kansas, northern Oklahoma, northern Texas, and northeast New Mexico from 1931 to 1939....
Words: 591 - Pages: 3
...Poverty can be described as the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty is described as the deprivation of basic human needs, such as food water sanitation, clothing, shelter, health care or education. Poverty is caused by several issues affecting Americans in the United States such as food insecurity, high unemployment rate, limited housing, lack of education, etc. The US Census Bureau reported that in November 2013 more than 16% of the population lived in poverty. Studies show that children living in poverty is continuously growing. Poverty has decreased amongst blacks but has increased in the hispanics community. In other countries such as Congo, Liberia, Uganda, Burkina Faso, Lesotho, Sierra Leone,...
Words: 469 - Pages: 2
