US Poverty and Elderly Population



US Poverty and Elderly Population

Introduction

The paper will discuss the effects of poverty on the people of United States, especially on elderly. The citizens who live in poverty rose to 49.1 million people two years back, according to statistics by the Census Bureau. In total, the Census Bureau concluded a national poverty rate of 16 percent of the total population. It highlights a decline in the poverty rate among children and blacks, but an increase among whites, Asians and Hispanics as well as among the elderly population.

Discussion

Many of the people who live in poverty belong to the minorities are usually senior citizens who have worked throughout their lives in the sector of manufacturing, most of which have now collapsed. These people had also suffered from the injuries at work and other health related problems.

The most disappointing fact of the analysis of poverty in the United States was the fact that since 2000, poverty in the country is not decreasing but increasing. This is particularly worrying experts because in the midst of recovering from the recent recession in the economy, the poor people have gone more below the poverty line. However, in reality, in spite of two years (2003 and 2004) of economic growth, which brought 2.2 million working-age American jobs, the positive impact on poverty reduction in the country was not observed (Shi & Singh, 2009).

According to the analysis of the nonprofit Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, during all previous recessions, except for the economic downturn in the late 1990s, in the third year after the start of the recession; the poverty rate was higher or at the same level as in the year the recession began. On the other hand, in the year of 2004, the poor people in the United States have increased more than in 2001, before the last recession. In this regard, many economists and politicians fear that the policy of the White House, which was forcing to cut the federal budget because of the accumulated deficit in recent years, would reduce many social support programs that help the poor to make ends meet.

These programs include an allowance for food, public health insurance benefits for women with young children and babies, as well as free school breakfasts and lunches for children from poor families, and programs for the elderly citizens as well.

U.S. Poverty and its Impact on Patients

The people who ...