The Causes and Effects of Poverty - Essay
The Causes and Effects of Poverty
Sociology 402
“What is poverty? Poverty is hunger. Poverty is lack of shelter. Poverty is being sick and not being able to see a doctor. Poverty is not having access to school and not knowing how to read. Poverty is not having a job, is fear for the future, living one day at a time. Poverty is losing a child to illness brought about by unclean water. Poverty is powerlessness, lack of representation and freedom” (The World Bank, 2009).
People are deemed poor if their incomes are insufficient to obtain the basic necessitates for themselves or their families. The most common and stereotypic explanation of poverty is the poor cause their own poverty because in America anything is possible if you want it. This “blame the poor” point of view is does not apply to all poverty stricken; a big misperception is that the poor do not work. Not only are most poor people able and more than willing to work hard and they do so when given the chance. The fact is nearly half of the poor populations of working age do work even if it is minimal and millions of them work full-time. The decline in wages is very hard on families with dependent children. Because of changes in our economic structure availability of well-paying blue collar jobs in manufacturing companies is limited. Most industries are outsourcing to other countries to minimize labor costs and using machines to replace workers. Therefore younger adults, particularly those who have very little education are forced to work in service oriented jobs for lower pay, no benefits and no chance for promotion. Because minimum wage does not keep up with inflation, it is nearly impossible to earn enough to keep families out of poverty.
As a result of the minimal and part-time work performed most often health care benefits either through the employer or government paid health-care is not available. Although many
Sociology 402
“What is poverty? Poverty is hunger. Poverty is lack of shelter. Poverty is being sick and not being able to see a doctor. Poverty is not having access to school and not knowing how to read. Poverty is not having a job, is fear for the future, living one day at a time. Poverty is losing a child to illness brought about by unclean water. Poverty is powerlessness, lack of representation and freedom” (The World Bank, 2009).
People are deemed poor if their incomes are insufficient to obtain the basic necessitates for themselves or their families. The most common and stereotypic explanation of poverty is the poor cause their own poverty because in America anything is possible if you want it. This “blame the poor” point of view is does not apply to all poverty stricken; a big misperception is that the poor do not work. Not only are most poor people able and more than willing to work hard and they do so when given the chance. The fact is nearly half of the poor populations of working age do work even if it is minimal and millions of them work full-time. The decline in wages is very hard on families with dependent children. Because of changes in our economic structure availability of well-paying blue collar jobs in manufacturing companies is limited. Most industries are outsourcing to other countries to minimize labor costs and using machines to replace workers. Therefore younger adults, particularly those who have very little education are forced to work in service oriented jobs for lower pay, no benefits and no chance for promotion. Because minimum wage does not keep up with inflation, it is nearly impossible to earn enough to keep families out of poverty.
As a result of the minimal and part-time work performed most often health care benefits either through the employer or government paid health-care is not available. Although many
References: Signorile, C. (2007). Identifying the Root Causes of Poverty. Retrieved March 10, 2009 from Constitutionally Right: http://constitutionallyright.com/2007/07/13/identifying-the-root-causes-of-poverty/. Web, P. (2009). Understanding Poverty. Retrieved March 09, 2009 from The World Bank, Poverty: http://go.worldbank.org/rqbdctuxw0 CliffsNotes.com. Causes and Effects of Poverty. 15 Mar 2009 . Nilsen, S. R. (2007). GAO. Retrieved March 15, 2009 from POVERTY IN AMERICA Consequences for Individuals and the Economy: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d07343t.pdf.