What Should the Government Do to Eradicating Child Poverty in the United States?
In Tulsa, Oklahoma, Cassidy, a twenty one year old who was born into a successful household is on track to become a future journalist. Bethany, also twenty one years old, is currently in a residential drug treatment program, hoping for a second chance at life. Cassidy and Bethany are similar in age and personality; but, one distinct difference that led them to their current state is the environment they were born into. While Cassidy was born to a doctor and a lawyer, Bethany was born to a criminal and a drug addict, directly into poverty (Kristof 1). This minor difference paved way to how their lives turned out.
In the first American Human Development Report, results revealed that the “most challenging deficits in wellbeing in the U.S. are actually symptoms that begin in childhood” (Burd-Sharps 157). One of those symptoms is poverty. In fact, …show more content…
Research from the American Academy of Pediatrics show that “child poverty is associated with neuroendocrine dysregulation… [which develops] chronic cardiovascular, immune, and psychiatric disorders” (AAP 2). Combined with the lack of health insurance, children living in poverty are “five times as likely to be in…poor health” (Edelman 1). This statistic ultimately costs the U.S. “economy more than $500 billion annually in…increased health care…expenditures” from more serious conditions (Brown 1). That is why David Wood, a researcher with a medical degree at the University of Los Angeles, believes that the public income-transfer programs are ineffective. Instead, he advocates for government to increase funding for pediatricians to improve healthcare. He believes pediatricians can “receive and welcome families that are poor…into their practices” and prevent development of chronic conditions (Wood 710). However, he fails to consider the fact that better health does not bring a child out of
In Tulsa, Oklahoma, Cassidy, a twenty one year old who was born into a successful household is on track to become a future journalist. Bethany, also twenty one years old, is currently in a residential drug treatment program, hoping for a second chance at life. Cassidy and Bethany are similar in age and personality; but, one distinct difference that led them to their current state is the environment they were born into. While Cassidy was born to a doctor and a lawyer, Bethany was born to a criminal and a drug addict, directly into poverty (Kristof 1). This minor difference paved way to how their lives turned out.
In the first American Human Development Report, results revealed that the “most challenging deficits in wellbeing in the U.S. are actually symptoms that begin in childhood” (Burd-Sharps 157). One of those symptoms is poverty. In fact, …show more content…
Research from the American Academy of Pediatrics show that “child poverty is associated with neuroendocrine dysregulation… [which develops] chronic cardiovascular, immune, and psychiatric disorders” (AAP 2). Combined with the lack of health insurance, children living in poverty are “five times as likely to be in…poor health” (Edelman 1). This statistic ultimately costs the U.S. “economy more than $500 billion annually in…increased health care…expenditures” from more serious conditions (Brown 1). That is why David Wood, a researcher with a medical degree at the University of Los Angeles, believes that the public income-transfer programs are ineffective. Instead, he advocates for government to increase funding for pediatricians to improve healthcare. He believes pediatricians can “receive and welcome families that are poor…into their practices” and prevent development of chronic conditions (Wood 710). However, he fails to consider the fact that better health does not bring a child out of