There is no doubt that here in America we are dealing with one of the greatest economic downfalls. It is said that 46.2 million Americans are now living in poverty. This is due to the shrinking number of jobs, the rise of the working poor, the dependency on the government is raising, health cost (the biggest threat of all) are crippling American families, and more and more children, our nations future, are living in poverty or close to poverty. Due to the recession in America people are forced to do what is necessary in order to survive. For many businesses and companies one of the easiest ways to save money has been by reducing the number of employees.
With the economy in the shape it is, it makes those full-time jobs seem like only part-time jobs. “We are spending more money fighting poverty than ever before, yet poverty is up,” said Michael D. Tanner, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute. “Clearly we are doing something wrong.”( Poverty Stats Show the Damage) Specialists say the government needs to rethink their calculations of poverty. According to Carol Morello’s article, “Poverty Stats Show the Damage,” about 44 million Americans (one in seven) lived in homes at the poverty level. For a family of four that level is $22,000 annually or less.
Many families in the United States suffer from lack of job stability. This affects their ability to provide nutritious food and stable environment for their children. Many adults living in poverty
Individuals/Families below the Poverty Line Angela Valentine PSY 490- Social Science Capstones Instructor: Raqota Berger 5 March 2012 Poverty is an urgent problem that has existed for a very long time in the United States and many other countries. It undermines the dignity of men, women and children, and deprives them of human rights and leads to their marginalization. According to statistics, there are 15.1% of Americans living below the poverty line (Census Bureau, 2011). This percentage is the highest it’s been since 1993. Low-income families usually include three or more children, family members with low education levels, the unemployed, young people, students in universities that have not found work, and residents of small towns and rural settlements.
Why should we care about child poverty in the UK? Britain is considered to be a rich country with a high level of wealth, yet millions of people live in households where they suffer from economic and social deprivation, with millions of children living in poverty. According to information on [www.cpag.org.uk], there are 3.6 million children living in poverty, which is 27% of children, or one in four. Localised poverty statistics are even worse as between 50 and 70% of children are growing up in poverty in some areas of the UK. Evidence suggests that there are 5 main groups of people who are more at risk from poverty than others.
Therefore they have limited rights when it comes to employment and their desperate nature to support themselves or their families leads them to hazardous working conditions and wages much lower then the minimum wage. In Mexico city some workers earn 20% less then the minimum wage. The poorest workers are the pepenadores or the rubbish collectors. They earn a living from selling salvaged bits of metal and plastic. There is also a huge discrepancy in the distribution of income as the poorest 40% of the population control less then 12% of the country's personal income.
There are two views of unemployment known as the classical and Keynesian view. Unemployment rates (which are the percentage of the working population unemployed) vary significantly from country to country with some as low as Belarus’ at 1.0% (2009 est. )(CIA World Factbook) and some as high as Zimbabwe’s at 97% (2009 est. )(CIA World Factbook). The UK’s current level of unemployment is at 2.62 million (BBC News Business, 16th Nov 2011) which has remained high since the global downturn at the end of 2008.
People who have material problems that don’t have medical insurance, so they cannot go to the doctor are in poverty. These are just a few things that are part of who is poverty stricken. In conclusion I think that the government and the general public have two different ways of what is defined as what being poor really is. Being poor don’t necessarily mean that someone doesn’t have food,
Low income families and high income families consist of an extensive income difference. However, the share of households in the mid-income span has descended to fewer than half. “Nationwide, the average income rose 9.0 percent for the top fifth of families, edged up 1.3 percent for those in the middle fifth, and fell 2.5 percent for those in the bottom fifth of the income scale.” (PBN.com). Turner 2 Due to the inconsistency related to income brackets, many families fall into a category known as poverty. Poverty has plagued mankind all through history, generating numerous excuses for its presence.
With the economy faltering, the homeless epidemic has risen amid a lack of funding and resources. Providing information and outlets to the poverty-stricken and homeless are imperative to the reform of these individuals and society as a whole. Oftentimes, we view a person’s predicament with “colored lenses”, not fully analyzing the causes and circumstances that have led to their current state of homelessness. Because a large number of Americans have never been downtrodden or lived below the poverty-line, it is somewhat inconceivable for them to understand how one can fall into such a beleaguered state. This is where the mental health provider or counselor is needed most, providing an empathetic view as well as offering assistance in recovery and re-acclimation into society.