Causes of poverty in the United States

Document Type:Essay

Subject Area:Computer Science

Document 1

In the current American society, more than 35 million citizens, with this being around 14% of the entire population, live below poverty line (Laird et al. Depending on individual political lean, poverty in U. S range between 10% and 21% of the total population. This range comprises of both those who live in absolute poverty and also those who live in relative poverty. Relative poverty differs from absolute poverty in that citizens in this category lack what is needed by the majority of members of the society to live a decent life. The culture of poverty is then passed from one generation to another. In this state, the poor have the feeling of negativity, hopelessness, inferior and powerless, with all these contributing to social evil.

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The blame of the poor having a comfort zone at their economic status is not applicable to all poor people. Some of the poor people are willing and able to work hard to change their situation, especially when given an opportunity. The main cause of poverty to this group is the minimum wage rates and the limited chances of getting the relevant education needed to obtain a well-paying job. There are also high chances of such infants passing away immediately after their birth. Also, children brought up in such families tend to miss school frequently due to illness. These children also suffer from malnutrition diseases more regularly than those born in families that are financially stable. There is also a positive correlation between the level of stress and economic circumstances.

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Loss of a job, especially by a member of a family living below poverty line leads to domestic violence together with child abuse (Marris 2018). It has caused a division of American society depending on social classes. Poverty has also made some social classes oppressive of the others. The main cause of poverty in this society is the wage structure. It is difficult for anyone to get out of the poverty line because in most cases, future generations of a low-income family tend to inherit poverty from their parents. This is because children from low-income families have limited chances of securing a job in the job market because most of the times they lack education that can make them fit in such employment.

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