Another explanation of poverty is the poverty cycle. The poverty cycle means that poverty is passed on through generations. In the poverty cycle, children who are born into poverty have a deprived childhood - they experience material and cultural deprivation, and as a result of this they are less likely to do well at school, gain qualifications and stay in education beyond the minimum school leaving age. This means that their future opportunities are limited because their lack of qualifications means that the jobs available to them are mostly unskilled and low-paid. Consequently, they are likely to live in poverty as adults.
The poor and homelessness is on the rise because of falling wages, lack of affordable housing , and people loosing their jobs. Homelessness persists because of falling incomes. Low wage workers have been left behind as the rich and poor has mushroomed. To compound the problem, “ the real value of the minimum wage in 2004 was 26% less, than in 1979”. ( The Economic Policy Institute ).
-Statistically, children from low income families are more likely to have poorer health resulting from poor housing conditions, poor diet, stress and/or depression. -Children from low income families statistically are more likely to be involved in crime. -Statistically, children from low income families are less likely to achieve at school due to lack of space to study/ do homework, low
The Depression was recorded to have decreased the marriage rate which helped lead to a decline in the birth rate. It is documented to be the first time in American history that the birth rate dropped below replacement level (Mintz & McNeil, 2014). An increase in illness and disease occurred from poor living conditions and lack of income. Unemployment rates skyrocketed which led to an increase in eviction rates and homelessness. Men were
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.
Peter Townsend is a Sociologist and is one of the founders of CPAS’s, in 1979 Townsend defined poverty as people and families who lack basic things in life such as food and types of diet, not good living conditions and facilities. In the UK poverty it is caused by a range of factors which work together and result in inadequate resources. We examined how people perceive child poverty and how growing up in poverty affects children. It also addresses some of the underlying causes of child poverty. Findings • More children experience poverty than previously thought.
Families living on the poverty line often work for lower paid wages. The result of this is that there is a lack of sick leave and holiday pay for employees. This has an impact on the family income if they get sick or want to take holidays they are unable due to loss of income and wages. This increases job insecurity as employers have the power to sack or retrench employees at short notice and families fall into a cycle
If at any point they failed, they would see this as a big mistake and give up and have a lack of motivation. It can also be argued that working class children do not get the support of their parents, this is because many of the parents believe that they survived without an education, so believe that there children can do the same. Working class families can also lack in support in terms of if the child fails a particular exam, they would not give them positive feed back on how they could improve they would improve. Whereas, it can be argued that higher class families have more motivation and the parents also give the support to the children that is needed. This would have a positive influence on the child’s education as it would give them hope and not give them an opportunity of giving up.
A study from Enzine Article shows that, “Children with a missing father are two times more likely to drop out of high school or obtain a higher education.” A college education can become problematic for a child without a father for two reasons. While many single parent moms do heroic work parenting their children, the first is the inability of the mother to afford the costs of a college education. In addition, it also common for absent fathers to decline to pay for a child's college or higher education, even if they have been providing the funds for the regular child support. The second reason is more relevant to daughters than to sons. Women tend to lose a sense of security when they lack a father figure at younger ages.
Teenage childbearing is associated with adverse consequences for young mothers and their children, many of which can be attributed to the economically and socially disadvantaged situations in which most adolescent mothers live before becoming pregnant. Often, the disadvantaged backgrounds of young women contribute to poor school performance, weak social skills and low earnings potential, and also increase the likelihood that a young woman will become pregnant as a teen. Teenage childbearing tends to exacerbate the problems of poverty and family instability many young women already face. Early childbearing contributes to lower levels of educational attainment for the adolescent mother and her child, high rates of single parenthood, larger family sizes and increased reliance on public assistance. Connections like these too often are overlooked in efforts to prevent teen pregnancy.