Programs for Solving Poverty in America - Essay Example

School Poverty in America Dubbed as the most powerful and one of the wealthiest nations in the world, the United s (US) continues to enjoy the benefits of being classified as a first world country. In this regard, it boasts of higher standards of living than most countries. However, despite its economic status, poverty is a reality that persistently haunts the US. This fact is evidenced by the poverty guidelines published by the US Department of Health and Human Services which reports that the official poverty rate in the country has consistently increased in the past four years, from 11.3% in 2000 to 12.7% in 2004. These figures imply that there are about 37 million people well below the poverty threshold as at end-2004. In view of the above, steps on how to alleviate poverty in the country must be efficiently programmed. In order to address the heart of this matter, legislators and private sector should have an understanding of key issues regarding poverty and the poor people in the US. The lives of those people bordering or below the poverty line are controlled by myriad factors which should be taken into consideration. This paper provides an overview of the profile of poor people and discusses how economic and social factors such as availability of job opportunities, prevailing wage levels, single parenthood, level of education, housing, health, mental illness and substance abuse among others affect the poor in America. The Poor in America - An Overview The poverty line is defined by the Census Bureau as a threshold level of total money income, which includes wages and salaries, self-employment income, interest income, social security and welfare benefits, alimony and unemployment compensation, received by all family members on an annual basis. The threshold set varies depending on the number of adults and children in the family. As at end-2004, a family with two parents and two children required $19,157 to be above poverty line. A family headed by a single parent with two children needed $15,219 to elude poverty. On the other hand, a single elderly person needed $9,060 to answer day-to-day needs. Those who fall within the said levels are deemed poor. (Cadena & Sallee) As mentioned, poverty rate rose to 12.7% in 2004 from 12.5% in 2003. The increase in poverty is attributed to the decrease in real earnings. This means that, although relatively more people who wanted to work had jobs in 2004 than in the previous year, many have earned less after their earnings are adjusted for inflation. (Cadena & Sallee) The median earnings fell by 1.0% and 2.3%, for women and men working full time, respectively. The increase in poverty level is also considered to be concentrated among native-born non-Hispanic white Americans between the ages of 18 and 64. (Cadena & Sallee) Job Opportunities One of the primary factors affecting poor people is the availability of suitable employment. This is vital since it is mainly from the earnings gained from working that people are able to meet their needs and required sustenance. It is observed though that limited job opportunities as well as the prevailing low wages contribute to the persistence of poverty in America ("Hunger and Poverty in the United States"). The minimal wage for unskilled workers and some employment barriers for poor job seekers are deemed to perpetuate poverty (Mangum, Mangum & Sum). Albeit as much as 50% of all those considered living in poverty are actually working, their jobs pay minimal wages barely enough to cover their basic needs and that do not keep up with the rising inflation. In this regard, these people still fall under the poverty line. These conditions are aggravated by the fact that the working people in poverty are not able to receive social welfare benefits from the government as their earnings make them ineligible for government assistance. (Giddens) In order to make ends meet, some people are forced to get an extra job. Given the rising cost of living, one job may not be ample for the poor working class to obtain the bare necessities. Given these challenging times, even blue collar occupations require arduous mental and physical efforts. With these employment conditions, the future outlook of the poor is worsened as they lack the opportunity to accumulate savings and other assets ("Hunger and Poverty in the United States"). In addition, they may allocate less time with their families which adversely affects their children's overall development. It is critical to note that issues on employment relative to poverty have ramifications that extend to the level and quality of education. This is because in the US, employment level is generally determined by education level obtained by job applicants. Furthermore, this factor is also closely related to issues on single parenthood, particularly the gender of the sole head of the family. Education Some studies show that there is a high probability that people who were born into poor families remain poor (Bradsher). This vicious cycle of remaining in poverty may be attributed to the fact that those who are destitute have limited resources allocated for education which could have been their key to better-paying jobs. It is commonly held that those with low levels of education are likely to land low-paying jobs. Children in poor families are normally stuck with and concentrated in high-poverty schools. These schools are characterized by irregular student bodies with high dropout rate and fewer teachers who are qualified to teach in their subject area (Schemo). With this, the quality of education obtained by poor children remains questionable. Findings show that there is an expanding gap between schools in low-poverty and high-poverty areas in terms of expenditure per students, teacher qualifications and student-teacher ratios. This is indicative of the education quality children in public schools are subjected to. The said conditions lead to the plummeting of the quality of education provided by high-poverty public schools. This is evidenced by the apparent difference in test scores of well-to-do and poor students, wherein the former got a substantially higher score than the latter. (Applebome) On the contrary, some studies suggest that, on top of material resources provided in schools, family environment, neighborhood and peer group support are more influential factors in honing children's academic performance. This implies that educational performance and success in work is primarily determined by family background and non-school factors (Giddens). However, for poor families, these non-school factors remain difficult to address. Single Parenthood There are some studies which claim that poverty may be one of the causes of divorce or family separation. This is supported by the findings exhibiting that a poor two-parent family is twice as likely to break up during a two-year period that their middle class counterpart (Flanders). The separation of couples leaves the family with a single parent to earn a living. This is considered as another major cause of poverty particularly in children. Children in single-parent families living in poor states are most likely to live in poverty. It is found that nearly two-thirds of poor children reside in single-parent homes. (Rector & Johnson) The level of poverty is more marked for poor single-parent families with a woman as the head of the family. The demographic shift toward single-female headed families is considered a factor contributing to female poverty (Lichtenwalter). This may be explained by the gender perspective in the difference in wage levels earned by men and women hitherto. Based on studies, women's earnings account for only about 70% of men's earnings (Pollitt). Given these, the women heading a family would need to work harder or acquire more jobs so as to compensate for the lower income level. Moreover, according to the Institute for Women's Policy, they commonly land low-paying jobs such as maids, cashiers, nursing aides, childcare workers and waitresses. A great number of these women are working on a part-time basis and do not even have pension plans. These factors add to the uncertainty of their future. Housing Finding a dwelling place is another issue which is confronted by the poor of America. Poor people may not have access to this basic need since they do not have sufficient income to obtain mortgage or pay monthly rent. Banks and landlords may deny mortgage or rent applications of these people upon reviewing their credit profile. Given the above, the poor, particularly African-Americans, settle in hazardous communities with abandoned toxic waste sites (Bullard). Furthermore, with their limited income, they become stuck in unsafe neighborhoods where rental is affordable. Others, who do not really have the money, become homeless and live on the streets or on make-shift settlements. Health Based on studies, there is a strong correlation between household income and health. Social standing, as indicated by income and education, is one of the major factors affecting health. It is also deemed as a more powerful factor than genetic make-up and exposure to cancer-causing agents. (Goode) The above entails that those who are wealthy are less probable to suffer poor health. On the other hand, the poor people are deemed to be more likely to get sick and suffer from the worst illnesses (Henwood). Studies show that the chances a person would suffer from cardiovascular disease, diabetes, arthritis, some types of cancer and other illnesses is directly related to his/her income level (Goode). These findings may not only be applicable in the US. On a global scale, variation in life expectancies are primarily explained through income differences (Henwood). For the children born in poverty, there is a great probability that they are to be born with low birth weight and be hospitalized during childhood. Due to the lack of income allocated for medical needs, children in poor families have high mortality rates, thus, they are highly likely to die in infancy or early childhood since they receive medical care of inferior quality. Furthermore, they are more likely to experience hunger and suffer from malnutrition resulting in the delay in their physical, cognitive, language and emotional development (Herbert). Mental Illness and Substance Abuse These factors are also directly related to poverty such that the ability of the mentally-challenged and those addicted to illegal drugs or alcohol to make a decent living to support their needs is impaired. With this, they substantially constitute the total number of homeless in the US (Giddens). Conclusion It is common for people in America to believe that the lack of effort by the poor is the main reason for their destitute state (Giddens). However, the above discussion proves that, despite efforts by the poor to find work and be employed, some still fall below the poverty line. In this regard, the root of the matter may be institutional in nature. The poverty programs implemented by the government may be deemed inadequate to combat poverty considering the continued escalation of the poverty rate year after year. The government hand-in-hand with the private sector involved in aiding the poor should undertake programs that would effectively address the factors affecting poverty to enhance the welfare of the poor. With this, greater public investment in enhancing the quality of education should be considered in order to improve poor people's chances of getting better jobs. Apart from this, some also advocate the promotion of "going back to the basics" where food is home grown and other basic necessities are created by the people for themselves and for others. Such would make the poor less dependent on money to survive and answer basic need (Seabrook). Furthermore, the government and non-governmental organizations should regularly evaluate their programs for the poor. They should ensure that these programs are designed in line with the changing social structures and demographic factors. Works Cited Applebome, P. "Minorities Falling Behind in Student Achievement." The New York Times. 29 December 1996. Bradsher, K. "America's Opportunity Gap." The New York Times. 04 June 1995. Cadena, Brian C. and James M. Salle. "Why did the poverty rise in 2004 A preliminary analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau's poverty report." Poverty Research Insights Fall 2005. Ehrenreich, Barbara. Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America. Owl Books. 2001. Flanders, L. Real Majority, Media Minority. The Cost of Sidelining Women in Reporting. Common Courage Press. 1997. Giddens, A. Introduction to Sociology 2nd ed. W.W. Norton and Co. 1996. Goode, E. "For Good Health, It Helps to be Rich and Important." The New York Times. 01 June 1999. Health and Human Services Poverty Guidelines 2005. 09 February 2006 Henwood, D. "Kids Today." The Nation. 08 March 2000 Herbert, B. "One in Four." The New York Times. 16 December 1996 "Hunger and Poverty in the United States." Results. 09 February 2006 Lichtenwalter, Sara. "Gender poverty disparity in US cities: evidence exonerating female-headed families." Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare. June 2005. Mangum, Garth L., Stephen L. Mangum and Andrew M. Sun. The Persistence of Poverty in the United States. The John Hopkins University Press. 2003. Pollitt, K. "Go Figure." The Nation. 14 April 1997. Rector, Robert E. and Kirk A. Johnson. "Understanding Poverty in America." The Heritage Foundation 1713. Schemo, D. "U.S. Schools Turn More Segregated, a Study Finds." The New York Times. 20 July 2001. Seabrook, Jeremy. "The poverty of America: the disaster in New Orleans sheds new light on the nature of poverty in the rich world." New Internationalist Magazine. October 2005. Read More