What Does It Mean To Be Poor In America
What does it mean to be “poor” in America? For the average person, the word poverty implies significant physical hardship. For example, the lack of a warm, adequate home, nutritious food or reasonable clothing for one’s children is a hardship for the average person. By that measure, very few of the 30 million plus individuals defined as “living in poverty” by the government are actually poor. Therefore, I have to agree with Segal, “What is poverty to one person may not seem so bad to another” (Segal, 2010, p.173). The United States government definite poverty by “absolute power” (Segal, 2010, p.173), which they use to determine if an individual or family is poor. Absolute power is a fixed predetermined annual pretax cash income of individuals or families. The Census Bureau deems a household poor if its income falls below federally specified levels (US Census Bureau).It is referred to as the threshold and guidelines for poverty. The thresholds are used mainly for statistical purposes- for instance, preparing the estimates of the number of Americans in poverty for each year’s report. For example, for a four-person family unit with two children, the poverty threshold is $21,834.00 and for a one-or two-person family units, the poverty threshold differs by age (Census
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Bureau).
The poverty guidelines are simplification of the poverty thresholds which is issue by Department of Health and Human Services, it is use for administrative purposes- for instance, determining financial eligibility for certain federal program(Census
Bureau). They are adjusted for families of different sizes.
Despite America being the world's dominant economy and the only remaining world superpower, it is surprising to note that poverty still exists in the United States. The US Census Bureau places the official poverty rate at 12.7 percent, an increase from the 2003 figures. This translates to 37 million people living in poverty in the United States. More disturbing, the median poverty rate rises to 17.8 percent for children under the age of 18 (US Census Bureau) The poverty rate for African American children is on the rise according to the analysts at the Economic Policy Institute and could reach a heart-stopping 50% in a couple of years (New York Times). In household with children, the poverty rates are lower for married couple’s families, and higher for single females’ householders. Hispanic children follow closely between Blacks children who are poor. Senior citizens who live on a fix income are also likely to be poor due to rising medical expenses. Race also contribute to poverty, African American or a Hispanic will earn significantly less than a white person doing the same job, this problem can be traced back in part to historical racism and discrimination(Segal,2010).
It is shameful that such poverty continues to increase in the United States and with the onset of the recession poverty will only increase. We are familiar with the people who are defined as” the poor”-those with income below the given level by the federal government, or “the working poor”-those who live in poverty despite employment. Now, there is a new group of individuals who are defined as, “the new poor”; these are people who are accustomed to the comforts of the middle-class who are now relying on public assistance for the first in their lives potentially for a long time (New York Times).
Poverty in the United States is getting worse each day and not enough is getting done about it. There are people who want to help the poor, but no one knows exactly how to help them. Those who are against poverty agree that something needs to be done, but they do not know how to go about getting things done. A primary reason for people not taking action is because of lack of information that is provided about issues on poverty. There is no limited amount of information about poverty. People only need to know where to go to obtain such information. Issues about poverty are not stressed enough by the media to keep America informed on what the country is going through with this problem. With the lack of education, and intelligence, individuals are putting themselves at risk of finding jobs to help support their families. Instead of the government aiding other countries who can solve their own poverty problems, firstly, they should stop overlooking its own citizens and give more attention to the poverty problem within its own country. It challenges us in many political areas and will continue to challenges us mentally, in my opinion.
Bureau).
The poverty guidelines are simplification of the poverty thresholds which is issue by Department of Health and Human Services, it is use for administrative purposes- for instance, determining financial eligibility for certain federal program(Census
Bureau). They are adjusted for families of different sizes.
Despite America being the world's dominant economy and the only remaining world superpower, it is surprising to note that poverty still exists in the United States. The US Census Bureau places the official poverty rate at 12.7 percent, an increase from the 2003 figures. This translates to 37 million people living in poverty in the United States. More disturbing, the median poverty rate rises to 17.8 percent for children under the age of 18 (US Census Bureau) The poverty rate for African American children is on the rise according to the analysts at the Economic Policy Institute and could reach a heart-stopping 50% in a couple of years (New York Times). In household with children, the poverty rates are lower for married couple’s families, and higher for single females’ householders. Hispanic children follow closely between Blacks children who are poor. Senior citizens who live on a fix income are also likely to be poor due to rising medical expenses. Race also contribute to poverty, African American or a Hispanic will earn significantly less than a white person doing the same job, this problem can be traced back in part to historical racism and discrimination(Segal,2010).
It is shameful that such poverty continues to increase in the United States and with the onset of the recession poverty will only increase. We are familiar with the people who are defined as” the poor”-those with income below the given level by the federal government, or “the working poor”-those who live in poverty despite employment. Now, there is a new group of individuals who are defined as, “the new poor”; these are people who are accustomed to the comforts of the middle-class who are now relying on public assistance for the first in their lives potentially for a long time (New York Times).
Poverty in the United States is getting worse each day and not enough is getting done about it. There are people who want to help the poor, but no one knows exactly how to help them. Those who are against poverty agree that something needs to be done, but they do not know how to go about getting things done. A primary reason for people not taking action is because of lack of information that is provided about issues on poverty. There is no limited amount of information about poverty. People only need to know where to go to obtain such information. Issues about poverty are not stressed enough by the media to keep America informed on what the country is going through with this problem. With the lack of education, and intelligence, individuals are putting themselves at risk of finding jobs to help support their families. Instead of the government aiding other countries who can solve their own poverty problems, firstly, they should stop overlooking its own citizens and give more attention to the poverty problem within its own country. It challenges us in many political areas and will continue to challenges us mentally, in my opinion.