Poverty in Texas - Research Paper Example

Poverty in Texas Poverty defines a state of economic hardship; poverty defined is a state in which an individual income cannot meet the basic requirements needed to live comfortably, a state in which one faces difficulty in meeting the daily basic needs. Many of the support programs in Texas usually use technical measures to determine eligibility. In Texas, poverty is pronounced more that in the whole nation, the poor in this state live in the largest city and in the region around the Texas-Mexico border. Poverty rates are higher in the Latino population and for the African Americans living in Texas. Also, child poverty is also higher than that of the nation as a whole Past research data on poverty shows that one in five Texans lives below the poverty level, the poverty level in this case being the families earning less than 22000 dollars in a year. In relation to child poverty research shows that one in four children in Texas lives in poverty, over the past years even with the attempts to reduce this levels, the number and the percentages keep on increasing. In rural areas, one in eight people in Texas is poor, this is even worse in the urban areas with the number being one in five. In United States, the poorest state to live in is Texas; in terms of region, the worst place to live in is mc-Allen-Edinburg-mission area also in Texas. Four of the five metropolitan areas in the United States are located in Texas (Clayson, 2010). As the poverty level and the ranks of the poor increase, so does the gap between the poor and the rich in Texas. In United States Texas has the 7th income gap between the poor and the rich, back in 2011 the number of the households that are wealthy increased, at the same time the increase saw a decrease in the income level in the same households. This shows that in Texas the only people that are doing okay in terms of wealth are the already wealthy, the ranks of the poor keep on increasing while the middle class is hemorrhaging. Texas holds the largest number of children living in poverty, with this then the nation as w whole cannot develop, with high children poverty levels then there is low academic attainment, cognitive development, and low health outcomes. Poverty in Texas has been spreading widely across the whole state, Dallas has more than one million people living below poverty line, and this amount is the same to that of the Texans living in Houston, those in Dallas have a poverty rate of around 15 % while those in Houston have around 16%. In Santa Antonio more around 360000 Texans live below poverty line and a rate of 16%, this are the three major cities in Texas. The state still has smaller cities with people living below poverty line, also in the rural area; these areas include the area around the Texas-Mexico border (Clayson, 2010). This portrays that in order to fight poverty in Texas, and then the issue should be addressed federal and state levels. Currently, in Texas most of the poor families are working families, study shows that of the 513000 families living below poverty in the state, 85% (415000) of them are headed by a working and earning person. In this case, the family is considered worker headed, however, in the research this was considered if one of the spouses at some point was working. The research study on poverty in Texas also shows that 94300 children among the 1.7 million people live in w working, but a poor family, in this 48% of the families, the heads is full-time workers. The main reason for poverty in Texas even for the working population is the fact that many of the citizens receive low wages, also the lack of public assistance benefits. In most of the major cities in Texas, around 13 to 30 apartments are affordable to every 100 low-income households. This shows that Texas state has a lot of congestion in some areas as many people fight for the regions with the cheapest house. Congestion to some extent results to poverty, those living below the poverty line but get support from the Medicaid insurance coverage gap cannot also afford proper housing. Other factors also result in the poverty levels in the state, the Texas state has the lowest rates of spending on its citizens, in that the Texas governments spends very little money on Texans per capita. The state also has the highest share of citizens with no health insurance, because many of the citizens in the state cannot afford health care insurance (Clayson, 2010). The government only provides a few services to the citizens, for example, the government only provides few food stamps and according to the government only a few can afford food stamps. Poverty in the state does not only result from the poor income levels; it also results from a combination of both economic and demographic factors. In this case, many of the families in the state live in ramshackle housing, in houses that lack enough utilities and indoor plumbing as well. Some populations, like the Hispanics living in the state, have lower level education, mainly resulting from poor educational facilities and lack of the fee requires (Poverty in Texas: Our Responsibility). This makes them harder for the populations to escape poverty (the lack of education). Another factor is the fact that in many families in Texas, the population of the young and the number of families are larger; this exposes the population to the risk of poverty. These factors result in a high risk of poverty in the state, when the young generation is higher then there are higher percentages of many Texans ending up unemployed. Between 2001 and 2014 the rate of poverty levels in Texas has gone up, study shows that the poverty level has risen from 15.7% to 16.8%. Even with the increase in poverty in the whole of United state Texas, still struggles as it rates are higher than in other states Even with the high rate of poverty, politics and the government still race to fight poverty in Texas, the United States government works on a daily basis to address the issue of poverty and inequality. Through this, the government came up with a few strategies to help address all this issues of poverty and inequality. Some of these strategies put in place to combat the issue of poverty and inequality include progressive income tax, economic development programs, public assistance program, and a strategy that involves managing the environment. The progressive income tax strategy involves taxing people according to their level of wealth, in that the wealthy pay are to pay a higher rate of tax than the poor do. Over the past years from 2001, the tax rose from 15% to 39%, this resulted in an increase in poverty in many states in the United States. Through this, all the citizens in the United States receive the services in terms of law enforcement, drug and food, and defense, at the same time currently the wealthier pay more for the services than the poor (Poverty in Texas: Our Responsibility). This strategy is effective for the poor are not oppressed, and they pay according to what they are worth. Another strategy the government uses is the use of economic development programs; in this, the government uses the federal programs. These federal programs help in financing the minority, which are the women all over the state. The program encourages the citizens to start up small businesses which help the citizens develop themselves. This is a win-win situation for the government and the citizen in that the country develops economically and at the same time, people are able to fight poverty and inequality (Poverty in Texas: Our Responsibility). The government also uses the public assistance programs; this are the programs that involve the government providing Medicare, unemployment insurance, and the federal welfare programs. These welfare programs include food stumps to the poor; this helps the poor to make temporally ends meet in terms of basic needs. Social security also falls into this category as it helps financial assistance to the retirees and those that are unable to work (Watt). This program is beneficial as some of the poor in Texas cannot afford a meal and medical care, when the government provides this then it helps fight poverty. Another strategy the United government adopted to fight poverty is by managing the general economy; in this the government implements some policies with the aim of generating full employment to the citizens. This helps control the unemployment case in the country and the states which in turn reduces the poverty levels all over the nation. One cause of inequality and poverty is the lack of employment; the government ensures that employment levels are high and at the same time ensures that the jobs pay well. The government has also ensured better facilities such ach educational facilities, with schools, then the educated have a higher chance of securing better-paying jobs (Poverty in Texas: Our Responsibility). In order to reduce the poverty levels in Texas then the citizens and the non-citizens of the state can help. The neighborhood around Texas help eradicates some of the citizens eradicate poverty in Texas. The citizens should pressure the government with the aim of ensuring that the services reach them, many of the services and funds supposed to reach the citizens of Texas disappear within the government mainly through corruption. The government should ensure that these funds are not squandered at any point of transmission and that they reach the intended Texans on time. Also, the government as a whole should stop providing Medicaid programs to only the disabled, the services should stretch to the non-disabled person. As the study shows that only a few of the Texan citizen are eligible for food stamps, the government should also stretch these services to all the poor citizens in the state. Work cited "Poverty in Texas: Our Responsibility." TFBN Poverty in Texas Our Responsibility Comments. Web. 15 Apr. 2015. . Clayson, William S. Freedom Is Not Enough the War on Poverty and the Civil Rights Movement in Texas. Austin: U of Texas, 2010. Print. NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Texas Governor Rick Perry Likes to Brag That His State Is an Economic Powerhouse. "Poverty Grows in Rick Perry's Texas." CNNMoney. Cable News Network. Web. 15 Apr. 2015. . Watt, Alan J. "William S. Clayson . Freedom Is Not Enough: The War on Poverty and the Civil Rights Movement in Texas . Austin: University of Texas Press. 2010. Pp. X, 210. $55.00." The American Historical Review: 239-40. Print. Read More