Overcoming The Silence of Generational Poverty

1794 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Overcoming poverty

Today's news is full of speculation and debate about the national debt, taxes and potential cuts to vital programs that serve those in need. However, the conversation often seems overly caught up in the finer points of politics and media coverage rather than the real people that these decisions affect. I think it's fair to say that American attitudes toward the poor are more often than not, disdain and fear. There's a common myth that people are forced into poverty because they are simply lazy or inferior, the truth is it is harder to feed and clothe your family than ever before. Poverty in this country is not accidental, it is a direct result of funneling wealth upstream; the rich get richer and the poor suffer. " The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want " Mark 14:7.
In America, you are considered to be in poverty if you have to grow your own food, or you have a job making minimum wage, or live on government assistance. The U.S. Census uses the same poverty thresholds throughout the U.S. without deference for geographic location, but they are updated for inflation using Consumer Price Index (Commerce). Wage increases have not kept up with the increases in the cost of living, Americans 65 and older had the largest increases in poverty under the revised formula, from 9.1 percent to 14.8 percent, mostly because of medical expenses such as increases in Medicare supplement premiums. Statistical evidence about poverty is a topic that tends to come up in discussions about economic hardship, yet the issue has all but disappeared from the legislative agenda as lawmakers focus on deficit reduction.
The number of poor people in 2012 was 49.7 million, or 16 percent. That exceeds the record 46.5 million,...

... middle of paper ...

...s And Explanations." Journal Of Economic Perspectives 20.1 (2006): 47-68. Business Source Elite. Web. 4 Oct. 2013.
Jensen, Eric. How Poverty affects Classroom Engagement. Educational Leadership 70.8 (2013): 24. Web 6 Oct. 2013.
Mortenson, T. (Ed.). (1993). Postsecondary education opportunity: The Mortenson report on public policy analysis of opportunity for postsecondary education. Iowa City: American College Testing Program. Web. 13 Oct 2013

Rasheed, Mehreen. A Brief Look at Poverty in America. Journal of Housing & Community Development 70.2 (2013): 6-7. Business Source Elite. Web 6 Oct 2013.
Shipler, David K. The Working Poor : Invisible In America /n.p.: New York : Vintage Books, 2005. Print.
The Colbert Report. www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/368914/december-16-2010. Web. 11 Nov. 2013. www.compassion.com. Psalm 12:5. 2013. Web. 15 November 2013.

Show More
Related

  • The Glass Castle Stereotypes

    1391 Words  | 3 Pages

    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,

    Read More

  • The Working Poor: Invisible in America by David K. Shipler

    741 Words  | 2 Pages

    Shipler, David K. The Working Poor: Invisible in America (Vintage). Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. Kindle Edition, 2008.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Working Poor By David Shipler

    1565 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the Working Poor, David Shipler shows the different levels of poverty in the United States. Although many people work every day, they still do not have enough money to live their lives comfortably or contently. In chapter 1, Money and Its Opposite, we discuss the different people that worked hard their entire lives only to remain in or below the poverty line. For instance, in the book Shipler speaks of the disadvantages that the working poor are susceptible to. Often being taken advantage of by employers that do not give access that they are entitled to, the working poor are more likely to be audited than the wealthy, and become victims of cons that point toward money for a small payment, first.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Working Poor By David K. Shipler

    881 Words  | 2 Pages

    In The Working Poor: Invisible in America, David K. Shipler describes about the lives of United States citizens who live within poverty. He highlights the U.S.’s disregard for its working poor, the nature of poverty, and the causes of poverty faced by low-wage earners. Shipler performs an amazing job with describing the factors that play their parts into the lives of U.S. citizens who live are poor and within poverty.

    Read More

  • The Different with America

    663 Words  | 2 Pages

    In addition, the poor are overburdened they always have been, especially in 2014. This is owing to the fact that the middle class is close to disappearing, which is forming a large gap between the poor and the rich. Furthermore, banking can be more expensive for nearly all poor people, whom are usually put in extreme circumstances where they are required to pay more taxes. And the poor are usually shut out from society and are left on the street as if they were a piece of garbage, which is why it is particularly difficult to attain a job as a poor person. Not many people in the world care for the poor. It is surprising to think that the poor had not been oppressed in 1791. Someone would think the poor have always had a heavy burden. The majority of America’s population is poor and they are ignored and portrayed as aliens whom we should have no contact with.

    Read More

  • The Working Poor in America

    1400 Words  | 3 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Evicted By Matthew Desmond Analysis

    1076 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Declaration of Independence Impact in American Society

    1865 Words  | 4 Pages

    "The Poverty Of Equality." American Spectator 45.3 (2012): 26-30. Academic Search Complete. Web. 16 Dec. 2013.

    Read More

  • Poverty in America

    1213 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Federal Government defines poverty as income that falls below the United States Poverty threshold. (Begun 95). If a person is below or right at the poverty line they are considered poor. It also refers to the lowest level of income a person can make and afford the minimum necessities. (Bender and Leone 23). The poverty line was adopted by the government in the mid 1960's. Not included in the income figure are cash benefits such as food stamps and Medicaid.(Le Vert 50). The poverty rate is adjusted for different sexes, races, ages, and family structures. The government adjusts the poverty line each year according to the cost of living.

    Read More

  • The Working Poor in America

    1165 Words  | 3 Pages

    Shipler, David K. “The Working Poor: Invisible In America”. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2004.

    Read More

  • Causes of Poverty in the United States

    2299 Words  | 5 Pages

    The United States defines poverty for a family of four as being less than $16,036 per year, or $4,009 per person (Leone 12). People find themselves under this line for an innumerable amount of reasons. Some of these causes are under one's control and others are greater factors beyond an individual's power. Each family or individual person has unique and separate reasons for living in a state poverty. There is no way to try and define them all. Focusing in, three main topics arise that encompass the most predominant reasons for a person to fall into poverty. Education, family life and influence, along with the business cycle may work individually or together to cause poverty. These three leading causes are presented and discussed along with facts prevalent to the issue in the section below.

    Read More

  • Hunger in East Tenessee: The Unnecessary Plague

    1681 Words  | 4 Pages

    "A Profile of the Working Poor". Center for Poverty Research, 24 July 2013. Web. 6

    Read More

  • The Cycle of Poverty

    1204 Words  | 3 Pages

    “For most Americans, the word ‘poverty’ suggests destitution: an inability to provide a family with nutritious food, clothing, and reasonable shelter” (Rector, 2007). Poverty can be socially defined through severe deprivation of education, food, safe water, sanitation, and health care regardless of one’s income. The U.S. Department of Health and human Services periodically updates poverty guidelines and depending on what state you live in the guidelines range.

    Read More

  • Effects of being Economically Disadvantaged

    1513 Words  | 4 Pages

    "Progress On Poverty, But 1.2 Billion Still Live On The Extremes." America 209.12 (2013): 8. MAS Ultra - School Edition. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.

    Read More

  • The Negative Effects Of Poverty

    1313 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

More about Overcoming The Silence of Generational Poverty

Open Document