Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Causes and effects of poverty
Causes and effects of poverty
Causes and effects of poverty
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Causes and effects of poverty
This week our class discussion turned to poverty and poverty alleviation. The songs we’ve heard all talk about the life of someone living in poverty or in a low-income situation. Poverty is defined at the family level and a family is recognized as poor when the total family’s income is less than the appropriate family threshold. Bruce Springsteen’s song Ghost of Tom Jones gives imagery to poor person’s living without adequate shelter, and one of his lines says, “no home, no job, no peace, no rest”. Woody Guthrie’s song Pastures of Plenty tells of migrant workers that have spent plenty of time working on people’s farms bettering their quality of life, while their own lives remain stagnant or steadily diminishing. Tennessee Ernie Ford’s song
People living in poverty can be thought of as a “them” who can be easily ignored and forgotten; when, in reality, poverty can affect anyone. When people are living in poverty, sometimes it is not their fault. Often, unfortunate events that are out of someone’s control can set them up for failure. For example, the poverty rate for disabled adults from the age of 18-64 is 28.5%, while disabled 18-64 year olds only make up 7.7% of America’s population (Proctor, Semega, and Kollar 16). Therefore, poverty disproportionately affects disabled adults. The stories of those living in poverty are incredibly diverse, as Sasha Abramsky points out in The American Way of Poverty:
1. Poverty affects people even when they are unaware. The lack of possession or even money can become a tremendous burden on individuals as well as communities and societies. Sadly, many states within America are impoverished based simply upon the race and ethnicity makeup of the area. I feel that poverty in the United States is similar to many of the countries featured in Half the Sky because of the lack of information people seem to have when it comes to their housing and even how to handle money in terms of “smart” spending. Many countries, including the United States, need better education for how to end or combat poverty. The short chapter “Study Abroad,” specifically in the Congo, deals with poverty and the youth’s recommendations for
Poverty rates have increased more in recent years due to the economic recession. In fact, it has been within the United States for innumerable years with Texas being among the states with the highest poverty rates in the country. But what causes poverty? What are the factors that contribute to Texas’ financial stance in comparison to other States? The main causes of poverty in Texas are unemployment, unevenly distributed poverty rates, and cuts regarding government programs.
Poverty as we know it is not a new issue at all, but none the less it’s a crucial problem that plagues much of the world. So much so, that it’s been stated that three billion people live off of less than $2.50 each day (dosomething). Poverty is a debilitating state to be stuck in, it takes so much more from people than just from a financial aspect. Someone who’s suffering from poverty have higher chances of experiencing a medical problem. People in this economic state also have much lower odds at succeeding in important areas such as school or finding a job. Poverty does not use a narrow view, instead it plays effects on people in much wider variety than just financially.
The notion of poverty has a very expanded meaning. Although all three stories use poverty as their theme, each interprets it differently. Consequently, it does not necessarily mean the state of extreme misery that has been described in ?Everyday Use?. As Carver points out, poverty may refer to poverty of one?s mind, which is caused primarily by the lack of education and stereotyped personality. Finally, poverty may reflect the hopelessness of one?s mind. Realizing that no bright future awaits them, Harlem kids find no sense in their lives. Unfortunately, the satisfaction of realizing their full potential does not derive from achieving standards that are unachievable by others. Instead, it arises uniquely from denigrating others, as the only way to be higher than someone is to put this person lower than you.
Poverty has been a growing problem in America, and it most likely will never stop being one. Someone who is identified as being in poverty lives beneath the poverty line determined by the Federal government. The poverty line in 2015 for a family of four was $24,250. These are the people who are really considered poor. Poverty isn’t just a problem in the United States; in fact, other countries struggle just as much, if not more, than the United States does. Many people struggle to keep themselves above the government’s poverty line, shown by the fact that the percent of poor people in America hasn’t drastically changed over the years. However, it is possible to get out of, and ultimately stay out of, poverty.
To parallel the course and open with one of my favorite quotes pertaining to poverty by Bryan Stevenson –lawyer and social justice activist, “The opposite of poverty is not wealth. The opposite of poverty is justice.” When discussing the insights that I have gained from this class, I find it crucial to mention that the greatest insight gained from this class were the misconceptions about poverty and those who live in it. For example, that those in poverty are lazy or that people believe that the deck is not stacked in favor of the wealthy and that America really is the land of equal opportunity or worse, that government funded assistance programs create entitlement and a sense of dependency among those who live in poverty. It is critical to appreciate the utterance of Stevenson and many others like him to serve as a reminder that daily thousands of people make it their life work to combat poverty and speak out for the under-heard.
By examining ways to bridge the gap between poverty and society, one identifies that the solution is not easy. There are a plethora of structural issues including economics and identity that play a part in the culture. Generation after generation seem to fall prey to a culture of poverty and thus, the onlooker must determine how to help these people out of an abyss. In addition, the assumptions that onlookers place on poverty deface the culture’s sense of
Poor People struggles to confront poverty in all its hopelessness and brutality, its pride and abject fear, its fierce misery and quiet resignation, allowing the poor to explain the causes and consequences of their impoverishment in their own cultural, social, and religious terms. With intense compassion and a scrupulously unpatronizing eye, Vollmann invites his readers to recognize in our fellow human beings their full dignity, fallibility, pride, and pain, and the power of their hard-fought resilience.William T. Vollmann goes to different parts around the world to interview different people and to ask about poverty. With the help of interpreters he holds the interview with randomly selected individuals.
There are many views on poverty and how we can prevent it. One in particular I found both intriguing and controversial is the idea presented by Donna Beegle in her writing “All Kids Should Take ‘Poverty 101’”. She puts out the thought of having a class for students geared solely towards making students aware of the tragedies behind poverty, how people live in poverty and their lifestyle, how they perceive learning, and how to prevent it. Teaching students about poverty is a wonderful idea as long as it is not mandatory or done at a time in school where the students are mature enough to take it as a learning and not fuel to tease less fortunate students living in poverty.
There is a misunderstanding of the poor among Americans due to the separation of classes. Society has an assumption that the people in poverty are worthless or less-valued. Popular culture should eliminate these stigmas by working with the poor to provide a better understanding of what benefits them because these stigmas can lead to negative stereotypes.
To what extent would a parent go to keep their child protected, safe, and happy? The movie “The Pursuit of Happiness,” a biographical drama based on a true story, portrays the hardships that an African American man (played by Will Smith) and his son face together. This movie reveals the striking reality of poverty and emphasizes that most Americans are not living the ‘American Dream.’ Hollywood generally portrays an unrealistic image of the average American and leads people to believe that everyone is meeting financial requirements on time, purchasing nice vehicles, enjoying life in fancy homes, and not dealing with constant money shortages. Director Gabriele Muccino does an amazing job at reversing this image by exposing viewers a different side. He reveals how some people in America are struggling
However, that is not always the case. Poverty gives an individual a sense of life and an acknowledgement not to take moments for granted. Seeing someone experience an intense level of poorness is heart wrenching, but observing how one copes with the situation is one of the most beautiful sensations a person can endure. Even though people don’t have much, it doesn’t seem to bother them. They do not grieve for what they do not have, they celebrate and treasure the belongings they own and take pride in the now. For example, in Peru most of the country lives in extreme poverty; especially in the mountain villages for the lack of roads and increasing altitude proves to be difficult to navigate. The natives in the mountain regions do not have the delicacy of proper building structures, clean water, and appropriate medical procedures. Despite their lack of necessities, they are able to find bliss in the people they meet and the memories they make. Poverty doesn’t seem to bother them because their focus isn’t aimed on what they could have, and they direct their attention to what is at hand. Poverty helps people understand that trinkets don’t complete a life, but it’s the time spent with loved ones and making the most out of a sticky situation are the true ingredients needed for a fulfilled
The documentary, Poor Us: An Animated History of Poverty, takes viewers through a detailed history of poverty on Earth. From hunter-gatherers to modern times, poverty in the world is demonstrated in the documentary. One can ask many questions while watching the documentary such as, “What is poverty?” and “Why does poverty exist today?” These questions are partially answered and speculated on in the documentary, although it may be hard to completely answer the questions as it can be argued that there is no one single answer. Poverty, according to the documentary, is the struggle to obtain resources in order to continue living. These resources are basic needs such as clean water, food, shelter and health care. The documentary, however, argues
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