Poverty in the United States

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Many reforms in the UnitedStates have been passed to help fight against the “War on Poverty”; but it has not been effective in eradicating poverty in the U.S. There are about 46 million people who are living in impoverished conditions and poverty continues to be a social issue in this country (Heritage Foundation, 2011) In the beginning, our country was formed under the belief that “this land is the land of opportunity and if we worked hard enough the American Dream can be gained” (Schwarz, 1997). People immigrate to this country today in hopes of becoming rich so they could gain a better life. In spite of coming to this country for a better life, many are faced with the lack of skills and money to succeed. In the end, most will end up in unskilled labor jobs that can barely support their families. Poverty continues to be a growing social issue because people have the “ inability to provide necessities like clothes, healthcare, and shelter” (Heritage Foundation, 2011) to help themselves and their family; therefore, many sacrifices have to be made to insure their survival. Yet many reforms made to help people living in poverty are based “off of outdated statistics” (Henslin, 2014, p.276) and are not enough to help the lower class maintain a sufficient standard of living. Poverty relates to conflict theory since the poor are struggling just to get by. Government programs such as Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), housing assistance, and food stamps provided by the government are not enough to help the poor gain social mobility.

In the 1960s, the government drew a poverty line which determined how the lower class may benefit from government aid. Since t “2008, th...

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...lusions.html Stewart, A. (2009, 23). NPR : National Public Radio : News & Analysis, World, US, Music & Arts : NPR. The Culture Of Poverty : NPR. Retrieved January 23, 2014, from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102246990

Sullivan, M. (2007, 7). Home / UCLA Newsroom. Working Families Rely Heavily on Retrieved February 6, 2014, from

http://www.newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/Working-Families-Rely-Heavily-on-8083.aspx?RelNum=8083

Weiss, L. (2009, 10). Center for American Progress. Unmarried Women Hit Hard by Poverty | Center for American Progress. Retrieved January 19, 2014, from http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/women/news/2009/09/10/6683/unmarried-women-hit-hard-by-poverty/

Welcome to CHSBS! | Central Michigan University. Karl Marx. Retrieved January 27, 2014, from http://www.chsbs.cmich.edu/fattah/COURSES/modernthought/marx.htm

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