Essay On Poverty In America

My chosen blog post deals with the increasing number of Americans who are facing extreme poverty, some subsisting on no more than $2 a day. The article touches on the typical American perception of this group, “usually portrayed as the plight of African American or Hispanic families headed by single mothers” (Edin & Shaefer). However, actual research shows that whites and married couples are also struggling in the face of economic recession. This stereotypical and racist view of poverty exemplifies the social construction of race and gender in that minority groups, especially women, are portrayed as the poorest. This reflects our society’s inherently biased views on certain sociological concepts like poverty.

It was noted though that “cash-strapped households headed by African American and Hispanics has been far higher than the increase in such poverty among white households” (Edin & Shaefer). This demonstrates the fact that although the perception of poverty is largely tied to negative connotations associated with the social construction of race and gender, the negative views are not entirely unjustified. The fact that society already discriminates income based on race and gender, with women and minorities paid the least, makes poverty compounded by other factors as well. These factors likely both contribute to poverty and make escaping it incredibly difficult.

The article further touches on the fact that an upward trend in $2 a day poverty has occurred.

Fascinatingly, this poverty trend has continually grown for the past few decades, not just growing larger during this economic recession. This validates the fact that poverty is a serious problem in America, one that doesn’t just became apparent with extreme circumstances, but rather is always present. The solutions for this poverty have also existed for some decades, encountering many changes over the years. The continual increases in poverty demonstrates their effectiveness in treating it

properly.

The authors of the article also noted that “counting Food Stamps as income reduces – but does not eliminate – the upward trend in $2-a-day poverty” (Edin & Shaefer). The current state of economic aid for families in poverty in the US clearly is not significant enough to help entirely prevent the existence of $2 a day poverty, of which most Americans would consider extremely difficult to survive on.

Current debates on the minimum wage and racism in the workforce have highlighted the challenges that certain groups face in avoiding and escaping poverty. Clearly, the current solutions instated by the US government that are intended to reduce poverty have failed, as there is still an upward trend in poverty occurring. As efforts for feminism and equality movements occur, one wonders if the level of poverty will equalize between both genders and all races. While all poverty is to be innately avoided, inequality among poverty between social groups is unacceptable in a 21st century America.