Poverty In North America Essay

POVERTY IN NORTH AMERICA AND THE LIMITED ACCESS TO EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES, HEALTH CARE AND EDUCATION

The topic I will be focusing on for my paper is poverty in North America and how it affects individuals in their ability to obtain employment as well as health care and education opportunities. I chose this topic because it interests me how obtaining a job affects your entire life. Living in poverty is not usually a choice that a person makes on purpose. The world is very unequal in terms of distribution of resources and opportunities. The people that are less fortunate with money are the ones that get the lower end jobs, which lead to less health
care and educational options. In the United States, people must pay for their health care, which they cannot do if they are living in poverty. In Canada, there are different forms of coverage for health and education, however it all depends on your job. The primary themes I will be addressing in my paper are the lack of employment, health, and education opportunities for those living in poverty.

STEP TWO:
The amount of people living in poverty in North America is uprising and shocking.
Poverty can be defined in many ways but for the purpose of this essay, living in poverty is defined as any North American who is unable to provide financial stability for themselves or their families. These individuals are often homeless or living in an insecure situation. This of course impacts their ability to obtain employment. Access to a secure job is extremely limited and often, people living in poverty end up with very low class jobs working for minimum wage. Society looks upon the poor in a very apathetic way. They are also affected by the limited educational and health care options. People living in poverty often have less of an opportunity to pursue an education. As children, they can go to school and receive minimum education, however, there are fewer options for them in terms of post-secondary education and that of course affects their future employment opportunities. Without an education, it is highly unlikely that they will obtain a secure job for a lifetime to support them. The poor are also affected by the health care system. In the United States, it is mandatory to pay for health care, which people living in poverty simply cannot afford to do. In Canada, health care is free, however, certain things require coverage that come from being
employed.
Living in poverty in North America directly affects the ability of the individual to live comfortably in society by limiting their employment, health care and education opportunities.

STEP THREE:

Kangas, Olli. E and Ritakallio Velli-Matti. May 2007. “Relative To What?: Cross National Picture of European Poverty Measured by Regional, National and European Standards.” Pp. 119-145 in European Societies. This chapter discusses European poverty in comparison to poverty all over the world. It compares the standards of poverty in Europe to poverty everywhere else around the world and what the differences are. It begins with stating that the poor are those whose income remains below 60% of the national disposable income. This chapter will be very useful in defining poverty in North America, as it is very different from poverty in Europe or any third world countries.
Hajnal, Zoltan L. 2008. “The Nature of Concentrated Urban Poverty in Canada and the United States.” Pp. 497-528 in The Canadian Journal of Sociology. Canada, Canadian Journal of Sociology. This chapter contains information strictly about urban poverty in Canada and the United states. It discusses the dramatic growth in poverty in North America and how there are high welfare dependencies and educational deficiencies. It will be useful in discussing the high rate of poverty and people living in impoverished neighbourhood’s.
Don, Kerr and Roderic Beaujot. 2003. “Child Poverty and Family Structure in Canada.” Journal of Compartive Family Studies. 34(3): 321-335 The main focus of this article is poverty in families and the affects on children. It discusses child poverty and examines the relationship between family structure and poverty in Canada. This article will be useful in looking at the determinants of child poverty due to family circumstances. It will also show how that affects education in children and the opportunities for them.
Redden, Joanna. 2011. “Poverty in the News.” Information, Communication and Society. 14(6): 820-849 This article discusses the media aspect and exposure of poverty. It includes information on how the poor are treated by society and how they are portrayed in the media. There is the debate about the “deserving and the undeserving” poor. This will be useful in understanding and describing how people living in poverty are treated by society and why it is so hard for them to find employment opportunities because of a social stigma.
Connell, R.W. 2010. “Poverty and Education.” Harvard Education Publishing Group. 64(2)

This article focuses specifically on poverty and education. It discusses the affects of being poor and attending school. Children are forced to compete in the education system using their own resources, however, resources are very unequal. A student of higher class will have many more resources than someone living in poverty. This affects their education completely and eventually goes into employment issues. This article is useful in looking at the inequality of resource distribution.
Tumbull, Jeff and Tina Podymow. 2002. “The Health Consequences of Poverty in Canada.” The Canadian Journal of Public Health. 93(6): 405-410

This Article is all about the health aspects of living in poverty. It talks about the mortality rates of the poor, mental, chronic, and fatal illnesses as well as addiction. People living in poverty do not receive help with medical problems the same way middle to upper class people do and this is a problem to be looked at. This article will be useful in determining all the negative health related aspects of living in poverty and how there is a lack of aid for the poor.

STEP FOUR:
References
Kangas, Olli. E and Ritakallio Velli-Matti. May 2007. “Relative To What?: Cross National Picture of European Poverty Measured by Regional, National and European Standards.” Pp. 119-145 in European Societies

Hajnal, Zoltan L. 2008. “The Nature of Concentrated Urban Poverty in Canada and the United States.” Pp. 497-528 in The Canadian Journal of Sociology. Canada, Canadian Journal of Sociology.

Don, Kerr and Roderic Beaujot. 2003. “Child Poverty and Family Structure in Canada.” Journal of Compartive Family Studies. 34(3): 321-335

Redden, Joanna. 2011. “Poverty in the News.” Information, Communication and Society. 14(6): 820-849

Connell, R.W. 2010. “Poverty and Education.” Harvard Education Publishing Group. 64(2)

Tumbull, Jeff and Tina Podymow. 2002. “The Health Consequences of Poverty in Canada.” The Canadian Journal of Public Health. 93(6): 405-410