What Is The Cause Of Poverty In The United States

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Approximately 10.9 million American children from the age of 15-17 live in a family that has been struck by a low income, and the count continues to grow bigger by the day. That is about 21 percent of school-age children in America. (Kena, Musu, Robinson, Wang, Rathbun, Wilikinson-Flicker, Barmer, and Velez). These children are forced to face one of the most popular issues in the country today, poverty. Poverty, the act of being extremely poor or lacking sufficient financial funds, is a force to be reckoned with. It has become a prominent, fast-moving issue in the U.S., leaving families crippled in debt and unable to provide sufficiently for their loved ones. As of 2014, The United States poverty rate is 14.8 percent. That 's 2.5 percent higher …show more content…
Often at times, a parent who is intentionally not present in a child’s life or resorts to neglect causes them to grow up in poverty. Consistent to this idea, Shadi Houshyar says, "Children experience neglect more often than any other forms of maltreatment. Lack of housing and transportation, in addition to access to substance abuse treatment, are common themes in child neglect cases" ("Poverty and Child Neglect: What We Know and What We Need to Do"). When a parent exhibits negligent and careless behavior towards a child, poverty is a frequent issue that arises. Poverty is especially caused by parent who fall victims of addiction or resort to violence or abuse. The children of these caregivers are completely dependent on the financial support of the adults, but are frequently not provided for when the parent is an addict. Consistent to the idea that drug and alcohol abuse causes poverty, Seacliff Recovery Center.org states that, "All the money they do have goes toward buying more drugs. When someone is so controlled by drug addiction, nothing else matters and the person can easily slip into poverty" ("The Connection Between Poverty and Drug Abuse"). Poverty is easily obtained when an individual gets hooked on and abuses illegal or mind altering substances. In short, poverty is partially caused by the irresponsibility of the adults who are expected to provide for the children and the families, but either chooses not to do so, or is troubled with violent tendencies and

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