In society today poverty is measured to ways either absolute poverty, or relative poverty. Lets start with Absolute poverty, Absolute poverty measures the number of people living below a certain income threshold or the number of households unable to afford certain basic goods and services like food water and shelter. This is the level of poverty you most likely picture when you hear the word poverty. Usually commercials of foreign children, with bloated bellies who suffer from malnutrition and lack of clean water. Absolut poverty is mostly prevalent in developing countries like India or Haiti, but the United States is not immune from it.
The 'working poor,' as they are approvingly termed, are in fact the major philanthropists of our society. They neglect their own children so that the children of others will be cared for; they live in substandard housing so that other homes will be shiny and perfect; they endure deprivation so that inflation will be low and stock prices high. To be
Poverty is the state of being extremely poor which is the result of low income. Chances are, those in poverty have not a dime to live on. After poverty attacks, it may leave you homeless and in critical health condition. You should consider yourself lucky if you’re not living through poverty’s harsh effects. Why exactly should you learn about poverty?
Children growing up in poverty face many disadvantages such as unhealthy levels of stress making it near impossible to successfully complete college, thus making it harder to escape their surroundings. The poverty rates in some European countries are much lower than in the United States because of programs they have put into place to help the poor and unlucky, leading one to think the government should once again re-declare the war on poverty. Krugman’s article not only shows percentages he also lets his readers know what the findings were from scientific studies. Living in the conditions of poverty is stressful for anyone, much less children. I see the effects that poverty has on many people every day, and always think one day that could be me.
In American society today there is a wide range of desolating case and insular poverty, and society’s bias opinion about these issues have not changed much over the years. Case poverty is a very pernicious situation for its victims. Galbraith states, “Case poverty is commonly and properly related to some characteristics
Census Bureau data, as of September 13, 2011, the nation's poverty rate rose to 15.1% which means that we have about 46.2 million people living below the poverty line. In the United States people that earn less than $23,050 and they have a family of 4, these people are considered to be living in poverty. Society has constructed this group in such a way that portrays them as a burden on the entire economic system. Poverty is looked upon as a social issue, but this group is made up with people, that has in most cases, been classified as lazy and unwilling to put in the necessary work to get them out of that situation. Even though financial assistance is supposed to be a means of temporary aid, many aren't looking at it that way Many people are taking advantage of the fact that they can get it and not on the fact of if they need it or not.
The thresholds are used mainly for statistical purposes for instance, preparing estimates of the number of Americans in poverty each year. As per a report in the NY times, “The bureau’s findings were worse than many economists expected, and brought into sharp relief the toll the past decade — including the painful
Low income parents are in a culture of poverty. According to the Culture of Poverty theory, the conditions of poverty create its own subculture with its own attitudes, behaviors, and socialization. This culture then passes on across generations, which accounts for most of the poor kids to remain poor. Low income neighborhoods usually lead to bad schools. Why?
So what is this reality of life called poverty? Poverty is defined by Merriam-Webster as the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions. When people hear of poverty, most people think of the people who don’t have anything; the last, the lost and the least. But contrary to what most people believe, there are actually two types of poverty. These are the income and non-income poverty.
Many people think that since we are naturally given certain opportunities in this country we should all live well and prosper somewhat equally. In ignorance, I too have been socialized to think that the homeless and poor create their own problems and if they wanted to do better, they could. In the past, I thought that the lower class and very poor were lazy and that they do nothing but drain the money out of the hard working pockets of people who have done what they could to take advantage of the opportunities of this country. Through education and life experience, I realize poverty is an epidemic that affects many people in our society. I believe it is an unfortunate fact that most people stricken by poor conditions will remain in those conditions throughout their lives.