Poverty in the United States
A state of poverty is where people are not in position to possess basic necessities. This state is common in every country in various degrees, and it is not something that can disappear suddenly. Despite the fact that America is one of the wealthy countries in the world, millions of its population still lives in poverty. In a report by the census bureau, 15% of Americans are living in poverty. In America, there are many reasons why some people live poor. People are poor based on their skin color; the black population in America is made up of many poor compared to the white (In Mink & In O'Connor, 2004). Poverty is also caused by increased single headed families. In comparison to married-couple families, female-headed families face challenges as a result of single income, thus causing poverty. Increased medical care cost, people spend much money when they fall sick, and hence, they enter into a state of poverty after spending their incomes in medical care. Poverty has also risen due to the increased cost of living. Due to the increased cost of consumer products, people spend much on consumer products. There is also poverty as a result of the high cost of education and parents spend many dollars to cater for the education of their children (In Mink & In O'Connor, 2004). Other causes of poverty include; unemployment, inequality, and globalization.
More than 30% of those who live in poverty are children. 12% of them are senior citizens, 25% of them are those seeking for employment, 10% are disabled, and 8% are caregivers (Kowalski, 2003). Poverty affects a nation in various ways; poor people are associated to acquiring less education, malnutritional health problems and always live in a high crime area. A highly educated person is more likely to achieve a good economic future compared to a low or uneducated person. In America, there are low graduation rates for African-Americans and Hispanics compared to other ethnic groups. This is the reason why they are associated with a high level of poverty. Income is also a determinant of the quality of health (Kowalski, 2003). Higher mortality rates, prevalence of chronic diseases, and behavioral issues are found among the poor. This is also the reason why African-Americans have high mortality rates compared to the whites. As a result of poverty, some families are not able to get healthy food; hence they are more likely to suffer from malnutritional diseases. Black Americans suffer food insecurity as their ability to acquire nutritionally enough food is limited compared to the whites. Poverty is also associated with many crime factors (Kowalski, 2003). As a result of poverty, people suffer from high school dropout hence unemployment. This implies that the unemployed group of people will have nothing to do but to cause crimes in the society. They tend to get involved in drug use which leads to violent crimes.
It is a role of the government to put mechanisms in place so as to control the rate of poverty in any given nation. In America, there are various benefits that try to keep many out of poverty. These benefits cater for children, women, and the elderly. Such benefits include, expanded unemployment benefits, social security and other programs such as low-income assistance programs, Medicaid, family planning services (In Mink & In O'Connor, 2004). All these, help to keep many above the poverty line.
References
In Mink, G., & In O'Connor, A. (2004). Poverty in the United States: An encyclopedia of history, politics, and policy. Santa Barbara, Calif: B & t database management/cip.
Kowalski, K. M. (2003). Poverty in America: Causes and issues. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow P:ublishers.
