Because this is a race-centered issue that affects certain economic demographics more than others, racism, ethnocentrisms, and classism become an important part of the issue. According to Ken Barger, “ethnocentrism can be defined as: making false assumptions about others' ways based on our own limited experience” (2004). People assume that black families choose to live in poor neighborhoods because they are uneducated and lazy. When in actuality they are doing the best they can for their families, but it comes at a price. Classim comes into play when we are talking about the “class” being affect by the poisoning.
“Racism in U.S. Welfare Policy: A Human Rights Issue” (75)  “poverty is regarded as a result of individual choices, behaviors, and failing- “personal responsibility”- not as a structural social dynamic.” (76) “Criminalizing Trends in the Welfare System” (85)  “At the same time that a rising number of women of color were being convicted on drug-related felony charges, the welfare rules in many states changed to exclude individuals with felony convictions from receiving various government benefits.” (86)  “These stereotypes hold not only that black women are to blame for failing to socialize their children and run their communities properly, but also that they are to blame for giving birth to the young men, and increasingly the young women, who often wind up in the criminal justice system. According to these views low income women of color embody and breed criminality.” (86)  “Finally, recent developments in welfare administration conflate poverty and crime, and manifest a widespread assumption that welfare recipients are latent criminals.”
Brittney Little Mr. Rogan English 111 7 November 2013 Honduras: The Murder Capital of the World In Honduras over 60% of the population live in poverty. It is one of the poorest countries in the American continent (“This is Honduras”). This economic stagnation has had far-reaching effects on the Honduran population, from poor education, healthcare, and joblessness to increased theft, and more severe criminal acts such as illegal drug trade, sexual assault, human trafficking, and murder. The impacts of foreign mission activity are noticeable and much needed, but they alone are not enough to change the direction of the Honduran economic and social situation. Sporadic foreign aid also does little to help Honduras on the scale necessary to
Generational poverty usually passes on the lack of motivation, money and education from one generation to the other. Children affect by poverty usually don’t receive quality education as well as healthcare. There are many families solely but incorrectly depended on welfare for their source of income. We can think of several ways to break this cycle. One way is to get something to do for income.
The Poverty in the United States goes unnoticed. Vandan Shiv writes, “The poor are not those who have been ‘left behind’; they are the ones who have been robbed.” There are a lot of ethnic groups who are titled as ‘left behind’. We are familiar with living conditions of the third world countries but we have similar conditions here in the United States. Since my people have been discovered by the white men we have been living in poverty for so long and now the United States make us feel like without their help we all would have been dead. Native Americans in the United States are living a poverty life most without modern amenities, having to live both in the traditional and the modern world, and governmental cuts causing inadequate
Poverty is the most visible consequences of homelessness (Newman, 2012). Current economy recession and poor employment opportunities people loss their job. It leads to foreclosure of house’s and problem in maintaining households for reasons that they can’t afford paying mortgage or rent. Affordable housing according to federal government costs 30% of family’s income and the poorest fifth of the population spend 78% of their wages in housing (Newman,
Reducing Poverty In America Delmar A Bennett Buffalo State College Abstract In this essay I will briefly demonstrate how poverty impacts the United States. My main focus is to discuss the reasons behind poverty in the States. After gathering research I came to the conclusion that poverty arises due to the lack of education. The United States is in an era were poverty is becoming a big epic. We live in the richest nation yet nearly 49 million of Americans struggle to put food on their table.
According to Townsend (1979) individuals or families can be said to be in poverty when they lack the resources to obtain the type of diet, participation in the activities that are at least widely encouraged in society. This is termed relative poverty. Absolute poverty occurs when a person’s life falls below a fixed standard, experiences complete destitution and can not meet minimum needs of food and shelter (Townsend, 1979). Gender difference is a significant factor that has caused social exclusion and it could be argued that this exclusion is socially constructed. Firstly although much has improved there still is discrimination and inequalities in the labour market.
Poor people, however, tend to be more friendly and helpful despite not having much to give. This shows that money has negative effects on people, as even when the rich have the means to help people, it’s their greed for their own money that prevents them from helping the poor. The poor however, do not have much money, and hence, are not corrupted by it. This gives them more of a bond with the needy, as they are going through the same thing. In the Grapes of Wrath, I understand why Ma Joad said this, as they met plenty of poor, helpful Oklahomans going through the same things they were, but the wealthy Californians did not welcome them and were hostile to them.
For many living in poverty, some of these are not an option. For one, inequality among those in different socioeconomic groups is evident when observing social interaction between groups. In most cases, the rich associate with the rich, the middle class with the middle class, and likewise for the lower classes. Many people hold the attitude that others on welfare or living below or at poverty level are lazy and abusive to the system. Some even believe that because some do not work, that they actually live better than an individual who does have to work (Lauer and Lauer, pp 169, 170).