Poverty in America has taken control of 46.7 million people’s lives. From senior citizens, to working adults, to teenagers, and even children, poverty ruins people’s lives. Of course, some could say that there is poverty because we are such a successful nation; however, I believe that America can become a much finer nation without it.
What do we mean when we talk about poverty? Everyone has their own idea on what poverty actually means. People are poor in many different ways. People who live at or around the poverty line cannot fully participate in society. Even people who do not live excessively far below the poverty line are always worrying about where their next meal will come from. Only last year, 15 percent of the nation’s population was in poverty. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, that’s around 46.7 million people in one country. (source) America is one of the wealthiest countries in the world (source) but has the highest rate of child poverty in the industrialized world. 21 percent (or 15.5 million children) of children live in poverty. (source) There are more people in poverty than the entire population of Asian people in America. African Americas have the highest poverty rates in America, topping at 26.2 percent with Whites at the bottom with 10.1 percent. One in three people in the U.S. struggle to meet their basic needs. Average wages have barely increased since 1968. 9 million people who work full time still live in poverty. History has shown that when we invest in programs that fight poverty, poverty rates go down. At the height of the War of Poverty between 1960 and 1970, poverty fell by 43 percent. Over the last 30 years however, the poverty rate has remained mostly unchanged. What went wrong? In the last few decades, good paying jobs across America have been disappearing. New jobs, when available, are low-paying and lack benefits like health insurance. Costs from housing, to health care, to transportation continue to rise. And politicians continue to cut funding for vital programs that help those in need. Meanwhile, corporate profits and executive pay have ballooned, but their taxes have been dropping, leading to a concentration of wealth at the top. Now, a small group of wealthy people use their influence over politicians to push for even fewer taxes and regulations, and fight laws to increase the minimum wage, requite paid sick leave, or ensure health care. As a result, only a few people are sitting comfortably on the majority of the country’s wealth while the rest of us work harder …show more content…
About 9 billion people die before their fifth birthday, most of who die of diseases that are avoidable. And around 25 million children are not immunized every year. Many of us think about how to make this problem go away. On the topic of eradicating poverty, there are two polarized sides, the same as politics in America. On one side we have aid optimists who believe that foreign aid can eradicate poverty. And on the other, we have aid pessimists who believe that foreign aid is useless and that only free market can eradicate poverty. These conclusions are usually taken from comparing the experiences of different countries. For example, how countries with more malaria cases are poorer, or how countries with free market institutions are
What do we mean when we talk about poverty? Everyone has their own idea on what poverty actually means. People are poor in many different ways. People who live at or around the poverty line cannot fully participate in society. Even people who do not live excessively far below the poverty line are always worrying about where their next meal will come from. Only last year, 15 percent of the nation’s population was in poverty. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, that’s around 46.7 million people in one country. (source) America is one of the wealthiest countries in the world (source) but has the highest rate of child poverty in the industrialized world. 21 percent (or 15.5 million children) of children live in poverty. (source) There are more people in poverty than the entire population of Asian people in America. African Americas have the highest poverty rates in America, topping at 26.2 percent with Whites at the bottom with 10.1 percent. One in three people in the U.S. struggle to meet their basic needs. Average wages have barely increased since 1968. 9 million people who work full time still live in poverty. History has shown that when we invest in programs that fight poverty, poverty rates go down. At the height of the War of Poverty between 1960 and 1970, poverty fell by 43 percent. Over the last 30 years however, the poverty rate has remained mostly unchanged. What went wrong? In the last few decades, good paying jobs across America have been disappearing. New jobs, when available, are low-paying and lack benefits like health insurance. Costs from housing, to health care, to transportation continue to rise. And politicians continue to cut funding for vital programs that help those in need. Meanwhile, corporate profits and executive pay have ballooned, but their taxes have been dropping, leading to a concentration of wealth at the top. Now, a small group of wealthy people use their influence over politicians to push for even fewer taxes and regulations, and fight laws to increase the minimum wage, requite paid sick leave, or ensure health care. As a result, only a few people are sitting comfortably on the majority of the country’s wealth while the rest of us work harder …show more content…
About 9 billion people die before their fifth birthday, most of who die of diseases that are avoidable. And around 25 million children are not immunized every year. Many of us think about how to make this problem go away. On the topic of eradicating poverty, there are two polarized sides, the same as politics in America. On one side we have aid optimists who believe that foreign aid can eradicate poverty. And on the other, we have aid pessimists who believe that foreign aid is useless and that only free market can eradicate poverty. These conclusions are usually taken from comparing the experiences of different countries. For example, how countries with more malaria cases are poorer, or how countries with free market institutions are