The Problem Of Poverty In The United States

Poverty is something that many people face in their everyday lives, more people than one might think. Those who are impoverished aren’t just the ones you see living on Skid Row, or those who stand by traffic lights with signs begging for money. Sometimes it is not that obvious. Poverty can be hiding behind the closed doors of a home. Kids sitting at the dinner table, wondering if they will have a meal that night, because even though Mom works full time, the bills need to be paid. Poverty can be found anywhere, and we need to keep our eyes open for it.
Poverty does not affect populations equally. For example, minority group receive the short hand of the stick when it comes to poverty. It is also more difficult for them to get out of poverty compared to the majority. Women, African Americans, and people with disabilities are just some of the different populations who are more likely to experience poverty than others.
The poverty line is also a tricky subject.
I believe in the United States, the household income needed to be considered below the poverty line for a family of four is somewhere near $30,000 a year. That amount, is nowhere near enough money for four people to survive on. In addition to that, if a family is even slightly above that number, they cannot be labeled as below the poverty line. This prevents them from having access to certain welfare programs that could help them get by. It is even more of a worry now, when we are seeing funding for these programs being threatened by the
government.
A lot of people assume that those in poverty did something to get them there. That they are in full control of their own lives, and they ruined it for themselves. What they don’t understand is that a divorce from an unhealthy marriage, a death, a natural disaster, or many other uncontrollable factors can cause people to live in poverty. Even being born a certain gender or with a certain skin color can predict how your financials will be when you are older.