POVERTY IN AMERICA

Poverti in America

Table of Contents

Introduction3

Discussion3

Poverty in the United States3

Causes of poverty in America4

Social Life in U.S.A7

Geographic Locale8

Race/Ethnicity8

Social welfare11

Conclusion11

References13

Introduction

Poverty is defined as a condition in which one lacks the basic necessities of life. These include food shelter, water, lack of education and dignity. The uneven distribution of poverty at various scales, from the global to the household, via the national, regional, and local, suggests the importance of geographic factors in explaining its prevalence and understanding its nature. Poverty in United States of America is unique in nature with 13-17% Americans live below the poverty line in America. Of course, significant variations exist within regions and nations. Similarly, in USA too poverty rates are usually higher in rural areas, a large and a growing number of poor people live in urbanized areas, with a significant degree of concentration and clustering in distinct neighborhoods and informal settlements. Throughout the world, racial, ethnic, and religious minorities; indigenous populations; and women and children are more likely to suffer from poverty. Although extreme poverty is virtually nonexistent in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, domestic measures indicate the presence of economic deprivation. For instance, in 2006 38.8 million people (13.3% of the population) fell below the poverty line. The objective of this research paper is to evaluate the poverty in United States and to identify the causes behind.

Discussion

Poverty in the United States

Poverty, however, is not a phenomenon unique to the developing world. According to the Census Bureau, the poverty rate in the United States rose to 13.2 percent in 2008, the highest level since 1997, and a significant increase from 12.5 percent in 2007. This translates to 40 million people living below the poverty line, which is defined as an income of $22,205 for a family of four. The benchmark for ascertaining poverty levels is currently set at three times the annual cost of groceries. This does not take into account the rising medical, transportation, child care, and housing expenses or geographical variations in living costs. Neither does it consider noncash aid.

During the recession (2008-09), the poor got poorer and the middle class lost ground. The poverty rate among Americans aged 65 years and older is nearly twice as high (18.6 percent) as the traditional 10 percent. Alarmingly, for the first time in history, 1.2 million more of America's poor are living in the suburbs than in the cities. The Center for American Progress further estimates that approximately 17 percent of children in the United States live in or near poverty, and the annual cost to the country's economy of children growing up poor, resulting in their eventual lower productivity and earnings and higher crime rates and health costs, is over half a trillion dollars. (U.S Census Bureau, 2006-2010)

Causes of poverty in America

Poverty is a big subject and an area of policy which affects every part of the USA. It is not much known about but impossible to hide. The poor suffer it, the middle class and the rich pay taxes to ...