Abramovitz (2003) states, “To a large extent, the history of social services and social welfare policy consists of the evolving recognition of social needs and the organization of society to meet them” (p. 130). The United States has the highest rates of poverty in the Western world; surprisingly the United States is the richest nation in the world. In 1964, Lyndon B. Johnson introduced the War on Poverty. His approach was to expand the government’s role in the citizen’s education and health care, which in return would ensure that Americans had the most basic resources to meet their needs.
Although there has been a one third decline in poverty since 1967, America continues to struggle to maintain the most basic necessities to mankind. The Council of Economic Advisors (2014) states, “In 2012 there were 49.7 million Americans grappling with the economic and social hardship of living below the poverty line, including 13.4 million children” (pg. 2). How is this possible? Where have we gone wrong when so many American Citizens are struggling to survive in this great nation? Government plays a big part in the national deficit, which continues to leave American citizens with an uneasy feeling of helplessness in a dying economy.
There are four political ideology groups in the government. Political ideology is a group’s basic belief about power, political values and the role of government. This belief comes from educational, economical, society and experiences. For the purpose of this paper Conservative, Liberal and Radical ideologies will be discussed reviewing their take on welfare, poverty and the poor.
Political Ideology
Popple & Leighninger (1999) state, “Your view of what causes poverty is heavily influenced by your pol...
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Popple & Leighninger (1999). The nature and cause of poverty. Social work, social welfare, and American society. Chapter 7. (4th ed., pp.202-237). Allyn & Bacon.
Stoesz, D. (2003). Conservatism and social welfare policy. In Encyclopedia of Social Work. (19th ed.-supplement, pp.1-9).
The Council of Economic Advisors. (2014). The War on Poverty 50 Years Later: A Progress Report. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Vonnegut, K. (1969). Slaughterhouse-Five. New York: Delacorte.
Poverty in America is a very complex issue that can be looked at from many directions. There are a plethora of statistics and theories about poverty in America that can be confusing and at times contradicting. It is important to objectively view statistics to gain a better understanding of poverty and to wade through the stereotypes and the haze of cultural views that can misrepresent the situation.The official poverty line in America begins with a person making at or below $12,060. To calculate the poverty line for a family, an additional $4,180 is added to the base of $12,060 for each additional member(“Federal Poverty Level Guidelines”). According to the last U.S. census, over 45 million or 14.5% of Americans are at or below the poverty line(Worstall). At this level, the U.S. poverty level has not changed much from the 1970s when the government began a “War on Poverty.” However,
In January of 1964 Lyndon B. Johnson declared “war on poverty” in a state of the union speech. His dream for a better America came with the greatest prosperity of the post war years. The nations GNP was up, unemployment was down and disposable personal income was at an all-time high. As the baby boom generation aged more American’s than ever would enter the work force and it was imperative that the county develop some a plan for its growing nation. As part of Johnsons war on poverty he create the idea of a “great society” in which ground rules where laid out for programs that the president was sure would help the nation. Johnsons first ever reference to the great society came in a speech directed toward students at the Ohio University in Athens where he proudly boasted “and with your courage and with your compassion and your desire, we will build the great society where no child will go unfed, and no youngster will go unschooled”. Johnson was dedicated to this ideal of a new society, together with Sargent Shriver, he worked on developing a committee of civil rights activist. He also arraigned a team of sociologist, psychologist and pediatricians including pediatrician Dr. Robert Cooke of John Hopkins University. Johnson and his crew worked rigorously to develop a program to help America’s children overcome the obstacle of poverty. The name head start was chosen as a representation of the gap that is ever present between middle class and lower class children academically and the ideal that this program would give underprivileged children a much needed head start on education and over all wellbeing.
Poverty is a complex and growing problem in the United States. As of right now there is no solution. There are proposals and acts, such as Obama Care, that were enacted in an attempt to help people in poverty, and there are so many organizations, such as Habitat for Humanity and The Hunger Project, that try to aid people when they start to lack the necessities, like food and shelter. College students are graduating college with a large amount of student loans and no way of paying them off, people are being evicted from their homes, and employees are being laid off. The unemployment rate in the United States in 2015 was five percent, that’s about fifteen million people. It’s becoming difficult for people to find jobs, therefore making it hard for people to get back on their feet and start living a comfortable lifestyle. Poverty in the
Poverty is not just an issue reserved for third world countries. Instead, poverty is a multifaceted issue that even the most developed nations must battle
After substantial decreases in the 1990s, poverty rates stopped their decline in 2000 and have actually started to again creep upward. The great conundrum of how one simultaneously alleviates the multiple causes of poverty has become a central obstacle to poverty reduction. Into this debate comes author David Shipler, a former New York Times Pulitzer Prize winner, with an aptly titled look at the state of poverty in America today, The Working Poor. Shipler's book is more anecdotal and descriptive than analytical and prescriptive. Yet it is a valuable portrait of poverty in America, just as Michael Harrington's landmark book, The Other America, was in 1962. While he does not offer many concrete solutions, Shipler provides readers with an intimate glimpse of the plight of the working poor, whose lives are in sharp contrast to the images of excess w...
As stated by Franklin D. Roosevelt, “the test of our progression is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.” Many people may agree with this statement considering that the United States is such a wealthy country and in 2012, 46.5 million people were living in poverty in the United States and 15% of all Americans and 21.8% of children under age eighteen were in poverty.The honest truth is that many people do not know the conditions this group of people must live in on a daily basis because of the small number of people who realize the struggle there is not a great amount of service. In the article Too stressed for Success, the author Kevin Clarke asks the question “What is the cost of being poor in America?” and follows the question by explaining the great deals of problems the community of poverty goes through daily by saying, “Researchers have long known that because of a broad reduction in retail and other consumer choices experienced by America's poor, it is often simply more expensive to be poor in the United States.
The core of this problem is the low standard for minimum wage. Due to resistance put forth by businesses, the government has only enforced wages that produce lifestyles well below the line of poverty. This standard is leaving 9 million Americans living far under 18,850 a year! “Currently, full-time, full-year work at the federal minimum wage of 5.15$ and hour yields an annual income of 10,300$. If the minimum wage had kept pace with inflation since the late 1960s, as it had done in the previous two decades, its current level would be more than 7.50$ and hour, or 15,000$ a year” (The American Pros...
A survey can be defined as a gathering of a sample of data or opinions considered to be representative of a whole. Such as when the United States government polls a random selection of people throughout the country to get an accurate reading of the people's overall prospective of what the American people think is best for the country. As I almost reach the age of eighteen, not only do I have to start worrying about my career and college, I have to affliate myself with a party and prepare to vote. I have taken three online polls and they all came out with similar results; I am a republican. The three polls I took were The Political Affiliation Quiz, The Political Quiz, and Political Compass. I liked them all but all for various reasons.
Several citizens in America may not empathize with many social conflicts which transpire in America. Unfortunately, when poverty is mentioned people of diverse gender, race/ethnic, and age can relate to poverty in America. Although several societies have not experienced the undesirable measures of relative or absolute poverty; several people know poverty exist through many channels, such as the media, social networking, history and charities.
The article “As American As Apple Pie” is about, poverty and welfare and how they are looked down upon and treated with suspicion or outright antagonism, and how many associate those in poverty with negative stereotypes often seen as deviant such as homeless, lazy, and criminals. Mark R. Rank points out how poverty across the world is a lot more normal than we think it might be. Some people are at greater risk than others, depending on age, race, gender, family structure, community of residence, education, work skills, and physical disabilities. This article provides the readers with data and analysis of American poverty and welfare over the course of the past 25 years. Rank also talks about how we have framed the poverty issue, and how we should frame it.
The question “Why is there so much poverty in the United States?” has such a broad spectrum of issues. There is no simple cure or single cause of poverty. According to statistics from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, “the 2011 Poverty Guidelines are $10,890 for a single member household and $22,350 for a family of four” (par 13). In addition, “families’ incomes that fall below the threshold given, means that every individual in the household are considered to be in poverty” (par 13). Poverty is too complex an issue to be the result of just one problem, but we can narrow down the subject, to show the effects of how the lack of education can diminish our countries resources and how that has a ripple effect on future generations. Without an education, people receive lower pay; there is an increased rate of crime, and a higher reliance on state and federal aid, which is draining economically.
So how should be responsible for enhancing the quality of life of our impoverished Americans? The basic liberal argument was that only the federal government is capable of eliminating poverty. Under Johnson's administration government agencies multiplied like rabbits, handout programs were included in almost every bill sent to Congress, and the American work ethic flushed counter-cloc...
In conclusion, Poverty is drastically affecting the economy of America. It hits the children, the
Poverty is an undeniable problem in America. In 2014, 14.8 percent of the United States was in poverty (“Hunger and Poverty Fact Sheet”). There are more people in the United States than it seems that do not have their basic necessities. In an
"Causes and Effects of Poverty." Cliffs Notes. Cliffs Notes, n.d. Web. 27 Nov 2013. .