Reasons of Poverty

Reasons of Poverty “Almost half the world — over three billion people — live on less than $2.50 a day. According to UNICEF, 22,000 children die each day due to poverty. And they “die quietly in some of the poorest villages on earth, far removed from the scrutiny and the conscience of the world. Being meek and weak in life makes these dying multitudes even more invisible in death” (Shah). Poverty is one of the most serious issues in the world today. When thousands of people, including children, die every day from starvation, diseases, or drinking contaminated water, it cannot be unnoticed. The causes of poverty are simple: lack of education, unstable family situations, poor economic conditions and effects are health problems, violence, crime and death.
One of the reasons of poverty is not having education. When people go to school they learn and study there, and they can use that knowledge in the future. Also education develops your brain, makes you smarter, so you can make decisions that will improve your life and financial situation. Without education your oral and reading skills will be very low. You wouldn’t know how to express your opinion, read newspaper or even signs. Educated people earn a lot more money than people who are not. Nowadays employers prefer to hire workers who know how to read and write rather than hire somebody who doesn’t know how to fill out a job application. Uneducated people usually work at the jobs that other people won’t those jobs are also called “dirty”. Nowadays children who decide to drop out of school unable to read above elementary levels will have limited job choices as adults. “Education is not a panacea to eliminating poverty. It is a critical factor in helping people obtain gainful employment and earn a living wage” (p. 2). The other reason of poverty is family. Some children are raised in families with only one parent. Children should have role models in their life someone who can teach them how to live that life and eliminate some simple mistakes. Mother and father are a source of love, guidance and support. Children need the care of both parents. According to Ron Smith, those families who have female heads have 80% chances to live in poverty than families with both parents. In families where both parents are working there is a higher chance of living above the poverty line (p. 5). Almost half of American jobs earn less than $35000. That amount is not enough to support family. For example, if you live in your own house than you only need to pay some bills and property taxes, but what if you rent? Rent takes a lot of money out of the pay check. And for single parents it may be hard to provide for their families. The effects of poverty may be very sad. Children who grow up in poverty suffer more persistent health problems than children in families with better financial situation. Many infants born into poverty are most likely to have low birth weight, which can result in physical disabilities. Some of them die before the first birthday. Poverty is one of the reasons of violence in families. Parents are getting tired and angry of poor life, and they throw out the anger on their children and elder people. Bad neighborhoods with the highest crime rates are the only places where poor can afford to live. That results in people joining gangs, committing crimes which end up in jail or even death. “Poverty remains a root cause of crime” (Karmen). Many low-income families have a lot of kids. Parents believe that if they have more children their welfare check will be higher. But they don’t understand that having more children will raise family expenses.
As just been described, poverty has many causes: low level or no education, unfortunate family and economic conditions, instability in the country. But if so many people are aware of what causing the issue. Why the number of people who live below the poverty level increases every year? Why can’t we fix or, at least, improve the situation to prevent children from dying from hunger, diseases, or drinking contaminated water? Whatever the answer on these questions is we need to become less ignorant, pay more attention to people around us and help those in need.

Works Cited
Karmen Andrew. "Poverty Remains Root Cause." USA Today (01/07/2010).
Anup Shah. "Poverty Facts and Stats." Global Issues. 7 January 2013. Web. .
Hardman Chris, Mandela Nelson. Americas (Jul/Aug 2010 Vol. 62 Issue 4): p28-34. p7.
Long Richard. "Poverty and Educational Achievement: The Limitations of Instruction-Focused Funding Strategies." Legislation & Policy (Feb/Mar 2012 Vol. 29 Issue 4): p27-28. p2.
Smith Ron. "Preventing Poverty." Policy & Practice (Aug 2013, Vol. 71 Issue 4): p6-38, 3p.

Cited: Karmen Andrew. "Poverty Remains Root Cause." USA Today (01/07/2010). Anup Shah. "Poverty Facts and Stats." Global Issues. 7 January 2013. Web. . Hardman Chris, Mandela Nelson. Americas (Jul/Aug 2010 Vol. 62 Issue 4): p28-34. p7. Long Richard. "Poverty and Educational Achievement: The Limitations of Instruction-Focused Funding Strategies." Legislation & Policy (Feb/Mar 2012 Vol. 29 Issue 4): p27-28. p2. Smith Ron. "Preventing Poverty." Policy & Practice (Aug 2013, Vol. 71 Issue 4): p6-38, 3p.