Poverty In United States Essay

fall in States of America being among the richest and or so developed nations one would expect pauperization to be a vocabulary that only exist in the national policies of third world countries. By parity Americans can be described as wealthy but in that location argon some pockets of meagreness in this vast and rich nationThis paper attempts to explore poorness situation in United States highlighting its causes and characteristics, digging deeper to understand which group of sight consist the poor. A report released in 2002 shows that there were 35 million poor Americans, this represented roughly 10% of the population, and this figure has been risingPresently 12% of Americans are living below the poverty line. By definition poverty is described as that correct where one is unable to meet the base need in life, thats one, can non afford a well balanced meal, tolerable housing and clothing. Poverty in United States is somehow contrary from the one experienced in least de veloped nations where living on slight than a horse qualifies one as poor. The poor in America constitute people who depend on press pop welfare since they are unable to provide for themselves, every year people fall in and issue of poverty.In a period of 10 years 40% of American fall in and out of poverty, this is attributed to fall of their income, when one of the family member moves out, among other situations (Fisher, G.M., 2003) Some groups of people are more prone to poverty than others. This depends on their economic social or cultural position they occupy in the society. There are those who are unemployed meaning they do not engage in any income generating activity.Crime on one hand is a result of poverty or it can breed poverty. Poor consort to engage into criminal activity or they are driven into it by poverty. Apprehended criminals in correction centers rarely engage in economic activity while victims of crime e.g. thefts micturate to replace the stolen keeping e ating on their savings. (Zweig, Michael, 2004) Households headed by women on average tend to be poor in semblance to those with both spouses. In this type of a family woman is the sole bread winner. Most of her income goes towards provision of basic needs with less or no savings therefore making it difficult for this family to rise beyond poverty line (Martin N.,2008). The size of the family affects family income, large families have more mouths to feed, more household bills to clear, huge outgo in insurance, education and healthcare. If this type of family income is not enough they will for ever be detain in poverty cycle. different groups that are likely to be poor are the unskilled, the less educated nubble abusers immigrants and children. Causes of poverty in America are several they range from economical, cultural, and geographical to social.. Distribution of resources largely affects people ability to produce. This also determines habit opportunities available which by a nd large dictates people incomes. States endowed with resources will have low poverty rate than those with little or unexploited resources. (Adams, J.Q, Pearlie S.A, 2001) Economic condition which is not kindly will result to increased poverty rate, boxs leads to rise in inflation which means people turn over more for the same goods they were buying but their income remains constant, and this means savings are curtailed. For example recession in 1982 led to rise in poverty rates from 12% to 15% Education equips Americans with skills that modify them to gain employment or venture into business. On average Americans with a college diploma have accession to high de full of lifering jobs compared to the less educated. To a greater extent educational level determine ones income, less educated are likely to earn less making it impossible for them to afford a decent living. On the same line education level dictates opportunities available to an individual. Unskilled labor attracts lo w pay making unskilled laborers more prone to poverty than their skilled counterparts. Rural and urban settings provide greater disparities as far as living standards are concerned. Americans living in urban areas have high incomes when compared to their rural countrymen. There are more opportunities in urban areas due to high population with fluid income and better infrastructure. In rural areas opportunities are few and are limited to primary production e.g. agriculture, digging e.t.c.This means income generation activities and employment opportunities are fewer and only attract the less skilled Regionally, most of the southern states have higher poverty rates especially the rural areas .This is due to few employment opportunities and historical background. Children are more prone to be poor than any other age group. accord to the information released from population survey by census bureau in 2004, 21% 0f children were considered as poor. A greater disparity is seen when it co mes to racial lines, almost half of African Americans and 40% of Latino kids are trapped in poverty circles. (Harrington, M.,1962). Immigrants are great victims of poverty .Those with low education earn their living in low paying jobs. Illegal immigrants are even more disadvantaged as they can not gain any meaningful employment, therefore remaining in poverty circles for a long magazine In conclusion, poverty in United States is dynamic, one may be in and out of poverty throughout their lives. Though there are conflicts as to who is poor, there is a common understanding that those who live on an income that is below what an average American earn is living below poverty . What constitutes poverty in United States may be middle class in some parts of the world especially in least developed nations.Poverty is a limiting factor in the society as it denies some Americans decent lives curtailing their freedom to enjoy lives. Policies need to be implemented to lower the poverty rates so as to rid United States of poverty.ReferenceAdams, J.Q. Pearlie Strother-Adams, 2001. Dealing with Diversity. Chicago, IL Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company. .Harrington, Michael ,1962 The Other America. Macmillan.Fisher, G.M. ,2003 The Development of the Orshansky Poverty Thresholds. MacmillanZweig, Michael ,2004 Whats Class Got to do With It, American Society in the Twenty-first Century. ILR Press.Martin N. ,2008. loving Inequality Patterns and Processes, 4th ed.. Boston McGraw-Hill