In 2010, one out of every five children were living at or under the poverty line. 15.3 million children live in a household with food insecurity. 22% of all children in the U.S. are considered to be poor. A single parents with two children is considered to be poor if they make $17,568 or less. These numbers truly show that child poverty is a pressing issue in the United States. Poor school funding does not allow children to reach their potential as a student due to lack of resources allocated by the state. Children can not possibly be as successful as their potential allows without the proper resources. Children of low income families are automatically born into poverty if their parents are poor. Children with poor parents do not have a say
Insular poverty has grown to be a leading factor of why kids and families stay at or below the poverty line. “Poverty is self-perpetuating partly because the poorest communities are poorest in the services which would eliminate it”(Galbraith, John). Galbraith has hit the nail head on. Galbraith has recognized that the only true way to bring these people out of poverty to supply the area with the municipal needs necessary. “To eliminate poverty efficiently, we must, indeed, invest more than proportionately in the children of the poor community”(Galbraith, John). Once again, Galbraith makes an outstanding point. If Americans would invest in the future, those children might not have to live in poverty. Galbraith describes insular poverty as an island of poor people. Those people have no way of leaving the island or getting on their feet because they have nothing to start with. Galbraith suggests that the American people must build a bridge of opportunity for those people to truly have a fair chance. Studies have actually shown that early childhood poverty can eventually lead to an early death. Poverty at a young age leads to social, emotional, and cognitive impairment, which leads to adoption of health risk behaviors, which leads to disease, disability, and social problems, which leads to an early death (Poverty and Premature Death Still Firmly Linked). If Americans acted on this issue now, this poverty crisis could eventually be
In recent years, the number of children whose families fall under the line of poverty has risen at an alarming rate. Crosson-Tower (2013) postulated a reason for this increase when she said, “The recent weakening economy, a higher unemployment rate, unprecedented numbers of home foreclosures and a decline in the safety net for children and their families have resulted in a gradual continuing increase in children living in extreme poverty” (p. 57). Apparently, nearly every aspect of the United States’ crumbling economy affects a family’s ability to meet basic needs. The rise in single parent, mother headed families has not helped poverty statistics because of the lower earning potential of women. A major reason so many children liv...
Homelessness in the United States has been an important subject that the government needs to turn its attention to. There has been announced in the news that the number of the homeless people in many major cities in the United States has been increasing enormously. According to United States Interagency Council on Homelessness reported that there was an estimation of 83,170 individuals have experienced chronic homelessness on the streets of the United States’ streets and shelters on only a single night of January 2015, which is a small decrease of only 1% from the previous year (People Experiencing Chronic Homelessness, n.d.). The United States must consider this subject that most of the people underestimate it and not pay attention
According to the Children's Defense Fund, 13.5 million children living in America today are poor, and 5.8 million of them are living in extreme poverty, with incomes below half the poverty line. The issues related to poverty -- from substandard housing and malnutrition, to inadequate health and child care services, to severe emotional stress and violence -- are complex and interconnected. Therefore, attempting to understand the problem and propose possible solutions appears to be an overwhelming task. Garbarino effectively provides a lens through which to view the social forces affecting childhood development. Aletha Huston, on the other hand, in her book Children in Poverty: Child Development and Public Policy, proposes a "child-centered" analysis, which focuses on the child's healthy development as "a goal in its own right," rather than as part of a larger social-economic context.
Poverty is quite an issue not only in third world countries but also here in the United States. Interviews were conducted with 74 families with school-age children, including 44 families living at or below 150% of the federal poverty level and 30 families living above 150% of poverty (Heymann 5). Over 14 million U.S. children lived in poverty in 1997 (Sherman and Sandfort 555).
According to the Children Defense Fund 1 in 13 children will live in extreme poverty in the United States and a family of four is extremely poor if their income is below 10,000 or half of the official poverty line. (http://www.childrensdefense.org/child-research-data-publications/data/state-data-repository/census/census-2007-child-poverty-data.pdf,). Despite being wealthy the U.S. . has the highest rate of child poverty among all the other countries. Poor children are more likely to go hungry and are less likely to be read to during their early years. They are less likely to have health insurance and needed care. Poor children are more likely to start school behind their affluent peers and are less likely to graduate high school. They are more likely to grow up as poor adults and become involved in the criminal justice system. A family of four's annual income must be lower than 23,000 to reach child poverty. (http://www.childrensdefense.org/child-research-data-publications/state-of-americas-children/documents/2014-SOAC_child-poverty.pdf(). Children in single parent homes were four times more likely to be poor than children in two adult families. Almost 70 percent of all children live with two parents.(http://www.childrensdefense.org/child-research-data-publications/data/state-data.) The south has the highest child poverty rate with 1 in 4 children compared to 1 in 5 children in the rest of the country. Growing up in child poverty can be a major effect on a healthy development for a child. Poverty and stress about finances can have an effect on children's cognitive development and their ability to learn. It can contribute to behavioral problems, social and emotional problems, and poor health. Living in poverty affects how a chil...
Have you ever wondered how some athletes have gotten so good at a certain sport? Have you ever thought about what they did in order for them to get this good? For some the answer is simple; workout and train. But for others the answer is different; the use of performance enhancing drugs such as steroids. There are some people that argue that steroids should be legalized and allowed in professional sports. Other people argue that steroids should not be allowed. Today I am going to state my opinion and justify my reason. Steroids should not be allowed in professional sports because it can be very dangerous to the athlete’s health, it is a way to gain and un-fair advantage and it can be dangerous in both social and physical aspects.
Some people abuse kids, some people abuse drugs, but the worst kind of people abuse welfare. The definition of welfare is the statutory procedure or social effort designed to promote the basic physical and material well being of people in need. Meaning the government gives this money to people in need for their daily basic necessities. The idea of welfare started during the great depression, then Franklin D. Roosevelt passed the social security act, which established a number of programs designed to provide aid to various segments of the population (“Welfare Information”). Welfare was made to help people in a poor, physical, and/or mental state because they cannot work. Although the economy and country improved, people got used to being unemployed.
We as Americans are extremely lucky. We live in a big country with many resources and almost all the luxuries we ever wanted. On the flip side, in America there are also many people who do not have these privileges. The lower class is a struggling class. For many years, people have been trying to pull themselves up from the lower class and the majority does not succeed. Childhood poverty is a large problem in the U.S. It is said that the poorest people in the United States are the children of the lower class. Childhood poverty could lead to a number of problems such as hunger, violence, physical and mental disabilities, educational problems, homelessness, family stress, sickness, and too-early parenthood. The sad truth is that living in poverty lowers a child’s chance to grow into a healthy, well-adjusted adult who will contribute to society.
the help they receive from the government. The idea of the Social Security Act was not a perpetual help to the poor, but a push to help them get out of poverty. Statistics show the economy has been growing and getting better. However the amount of people using welfare has grown more that 50%. (Brooks)
Poverty itself is a controversial and widely debated issue with a variety of opposing viewpoints. Despite differences in opinions on how poverty should be treated, the vast majority agrees that poverty is a problem plagues the nation on both economic and social levels. Economically, poverty affects everyone. As taxes are paid by the entire nation, poverty influences where our money goes and how it is spent. Socially, poverty affects families and individuals on an emotional level. Impoverishment affects happiness and health, the decisions people make, and most importantly the development of children. To best understand poverty, one must look at the issue economically and socially, and contextualize the numbers surrounding poverty as well as
Homelessness is a subject that has inspired many to write poems, speeches, and even songs. However, there is more depth to homelessness than just a source for inspiration; this is an ongoing problem for many all over the world. The 40th president to the United States, Ronald Reagan, once said that "what we have found in this country, and maybe we're more aware of it now, is one problem that we've had, even in the best of times, and that is the people who are sleeping on the grates, the homeless, you might say, by choice."(Reagan). The president's expression is very powerful even today, implying that even in the best of times homelessness is one of the top issues in society. Notice how President Regan cleverly used the wording "by choice" at the end of the sentence, what did he mean to convey by this? Was he implying that those who are homeless are so by choice? Or that many individuals perceived homelessness to be a choice? Perhaps it was a way to raise awareness of the impending problems that can lead an individual to homelessness. According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness and the National Coalition for the Homeless, there are three triggering factors that lead to homelessness, lack of affordable housing, unemployment, and health care ("Why Are People Homeless?"). Therefore, when exploring into more depth the determining reasons, considering the key roles that a home, money, and employment play in an individual’s life will facilitate a better understanding of the downward spiral towards homelessness.
Homelessness is a condition of people without a regular residence. People who are homeless are usually unable to acquire and maintain regular, safe, secure, and adequate housing. Homeless people constitute a demographically diverse population, and the situation is a critical problem in United States. The homeless are known as “the wondering poor”, “sturdy beggars”, and “vagrants”. This condition often occurs due to poverty, but this is only one of many reasons a person can be homeless. In addition to poverty, homelessness occurs as a result of drugs, mental illness, disasters such as hurricanes, or even domestic abuse. It is not a criminal activity.
I am the type of person who likes to get involved within my community. I engaged myself into this particular program where we mentor young woman and sometimes young men on empowering their youth on making change in their community for the better. Twice out the year we go out and feed the homeless and spread wisdom among them. Every day I would give a homeless person money or change I may have. I came across the gentlemen one day, who told me how I would give him money and a reason to live. He also told me how I would tell him to keep his head up, things will get better. As of today he has his own car, home and a nice paying job. He told me even though he liked Spiderman, I was his superhero. Growing up, how I did makes me realize I could have
Public assistance is a fair and non-discriminating form of assistance offered to whom qualifies for it. The open support is for those who need it, or those who pay taxes for others to apply it to what the individual is in need of. Social Welfare is a disposal program that gives cash, medical insurance, beneficial consideration, provisions, housing, and different things that individuals require so as to endure life disadvantages. Individuals who can get assistance from these welfare projects are children, older folks, disable, and other people who can 't help their families on their current salary. At first it worked primarily to provide federal grants to the states to maintain mothers with dependent children. The program works with individuals
Poverty is in our own backyard. Poverty isn’t turning around a globe and looking toward third world countries for an example. Poverty is everywhere. Poverty is the children down the street who go to bed hungry each night filled only with emptiness. Poverty is my neighbor who had her heat shut off this past winter. However I believe that poverty is preventable.