Essay On Poverty In America

In the United States, many families and their children are going hungry and some are losing their homes due to many factors including; lack of support from our government, flaws of the welfare system and social misconceptions of the poor in general. We will discuss some of the causes and possible solutions to America's poverty issues that often tend to get overlooked.

First, priority shifts in government assistance have affected several homeless families and the resources available to them. Greg Kaufmann states in his article, "Ignoring Homeless Families," "federal attention and resources have focused instead on chronically homeless single adults." (par.2) This is due to costs of helping single homeless adults being significantly less than helping entire homeless families. As a result of this choice, shelters separate men and women which may not always be an option for families. This …show more content…
As stated by Jeff Madrick in, "The Cost of Child Poverty," "there are between 10 and 17 million children under eighteen living in poverty in America today," (par.2) and remain unacknowledged. The controversies of today's society tend to overshadow American poverty such as, matters of gun control or climate change. Both children of poverty and homeless families benefit from the welfare system with programs like, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance program (SNAP formerly known as food stamps) and housing subsidies. Although beneficial, these programs are under scrutiny by politicians and civilians alike, as to the effectiveness they have in relieving the issues of poverty. Popular opinions are that the poor become slaves to the system or take advantage it. Welfare reform may help how the poor transition out of poverty, but others seek to abolish the welfare system