Poverty in America
Poverty in America
A Social Problem
3/22/2013
Rebecca McNamara
Abstract Poverty has been around as long as there has been an America. Programs have been set in place to help offset the issue, such as Food Stamps and housing. The government’s implementation of some of these programs is to ensure that the poor have a place to sleep and adequate meals to eat. There are issues with these programs that contribute to the furthering of poverty, but for the most part are more helpful than harmful. While there is a chance that there will always be a poverty line that Americans will be under, there are solutions that can be implemented towards getting many of these people above it. Some options might include keeping jobs within the United States.
Introduction
Walking down the streets of New York, one may see someone who looks like they could use a bath, a meal, and most likely, a place to sleep. We recognize these people as homeless and know that they are on the bottom rung of the poverty ladder. While these are the most obvious group at the bottom, many people don’t realize that the neighbor they live next to could be below the poverty level also. They may have a place to live but they cannot afford to put food on the table. The child that a person’s son or daughter sits next to in class may not have had breakfast that morning because their mom and dad paycheck had to go to keeping the electricity on and paying the rent that month. Without assistance from the government, these families would not survive. Poverty affects more than 43.6 million people in the United States. (Kendall, 2013, 34) There are more commercials about supporting children in third world countries then feeding our own children at home in the U.S. We send millions to Somlia, yet the children living on our streets continue to suffer. Most Americans believe that we need to fix the poverty issues here before we attempt to try and fix other countries.
Abstract
Poverty has been
A Social Problem
3/22/2013
Rebecca McNamara
Abstract Poverty has been around as long as there has been an America. Programs have been set in place to help offset the issue, such as Food Stamps and housing. The government’s implementation of some of these programs is to ensure that the poor have a place to sleep and adequate meals to eat. There are issues with these programs that contribute to the furthering of poverty, but for the most part are more helpful than harmful. While there is a chance that there will always be a poverty line that Americans will be under, there are solutions that can be implemented towards getting many of these people above it. Some options might include keeping jobs within the United States.
Introduction
Walking down the streets of New York, one may see someone who looks like they could use a bath, a meal, and most likely, a place to sleep. We recognize these people as homeless and know that they are on the bottom rung of the poverty ladder. While these are the most obvious group at the bottom, many people don’t realize that the neighbor they live next to could be below the poverty level also. They may have a place to live but they cannot afford to put food on the table. The child that a person’s son or daughter sits next to in class may not have had breakfast that morning because their mom and dad paycheck had to go to keeping the electricity on and paying the rent that month. Without assistance from the government, these families would not survive. Poverty affects more than 43.6 million people in the United States. (Kendall, 2013, 34) There are more commercials about supporting children in third world countries then feeding our own children at home in the U.S. We send millions to Somlia, yet the children living on our streets continue to suffer. Most Americans believe that we need to fix the poverty issues here before we attempt to try and fix other countries.
Abstract
Poverty has been
References: Edelman, P (2012). So Rich, So Poor. New York, New York: Perseus Distribution Gordon, M (1965). Poverty in America. San Francisco, California: Chandler Publishing Company Harrington, M. (1981) The Other America: Poverty in the United States. Pennsylvania: Paperback Mfrs. Humphrey, H. (1964) War on Poverty. New York, New York: McGraw-Hill Company Kendall, D. (2013). Social Problems in a Diverse Society. New Jersey: Pearson Kristof, N. (2012, Dec 9). Profiting from a child’s illiteracy. New York Times. Retrieved from linccweb.org