Luckie 1

Lovie Luckie
Professor Vyvial
English 1302
April 17, 2017
Poverty in America

If you would like to better understand the U.S. economy, try looking deeper into our

poverty rate. According to recent data and statistics posted by the U.S. Census Bureau,

approximately 43.1 million which translates to 13.5% of Americans live in poverty. (Proctor, et

al) When posed with the question of what exactly is poverty, you will get a few explanations.

Some individuals describe poverty as the state of being extremely poor, while others feel it is the

inability to maintain the basic necessities in life such as food, clothing, and shelter. Either way

you view poverty, there has been several debates about the opportunity gap, the direct effects on

children, and whether raising the minimum wage would ease the burden.

There are great disparities between income levels of the rich and poor. While the rich are

continuously advancing, the poor has become poorer, all while the middle-class carries the

weight of stabilizing the economy. Understanding the causes and effects could be the first step in

offering solutions to significantly minimize the number of individuals affected by poverty, but

this is something that many believe will never happen. This claim may be the case, but do those

individuals stricken by poverty deserve anything less than what America, the land of opportunity

offers?

Robert Putnam, a Harvard political scientist, warns of several reasons why poverty exists

in an article, The Terrible Loneliness of Growing Up Poor In Robert Putnams America. The

basis for this article originated from his two books Our Kids and Bowling Alone, where he
 Luckie 2

discusses the opportunity gap[s] and the long-term effects on our society. It starts off speaking

of the opportunities that exists between educated people with something as simple as hearing a

nighttime story versus children growing up in poverty never having that experience. Putnams

research revealed when individuals grow up in single parent households, they decided not to

pursue any formal education beyond high school. Further, he noticed a decline of involved

individuals like those volunteering in the PTA, and spoke of Americans withdrawing from each

other and civil life. As a result of the withdrawal, children have less mentors or positive role

models to follow. He mentioned that children were able to count on their teachers in the past, but

this is no longer the case. Sadly, that more and more children are navigating through life

without coaches, pastors, tutors, friends parents, counselors, neighbors, community groups,

parents co-works and family friends (Badger) causing them to feel lonely and abandoned.

Fig. 1

Another discussion that is ongoing is how

poverty affects children. Because poverty

parents go without medical insurance due to

the high rates, sick children are either unable

to seek medical care or receive substandard care. The effects of not getting proper medical

treatment causes children to sometimes miss more school because of their illnesses. Further,

lack of medical treatment causes infants to be born with problems such as low birth weights

which is linked to several mental and physical disabilities. Mental illness is another area of

concern when understanding how poverty affects children. Parents of these children suffer more
 Luckie 3

stress from everyday issues such as depression, joblessness and eviction. Having more stress

because of financial uncertainties, children suffer more physical and mental abuse at the hands of

their parents. Not only is physical and mental illness a concern, think of the increasing amounts

of homeless children. Poor nutrition is their focus compared to those living in homes.

Lastly, some experts believe that the solution to poverty is to raise the minimum wage

rate. On the other hand, some people actual show that their research evidences no difference or

reflects an increase in the levels of poverty.

President Obama was making this an area of discussion and even made the statement that

we should all be concerned. He said, But the idea that a child may never be able to escape that

poverty because she lacks a decent education or health care, or a community that views her

future as their own, that should offend all of us.

 Luckie 4

Works Cited

Badger, Emily. "The Terrible Loneliness of Growing up Poor in Robert Putnams America." The

Washington Post. WP Company, 06 Mar. 2015. Web. 22 Apr. 2017.

Bernadette D. Proctor, Jessica L. Semega, Melissa A. Kollar. "Library." Income and Poverty in

the United States: 2015. U. S. Census Bureau, 13 Sept. 2016. Web. 22 Apr. 2017.