Poverty in America

Poverty in America is not a new phenomenon at all, and there have been numerous attempts to solve the problem, albeit most attempts have not accomplished what they set out to do. However, before pursuing strategies about how to solve problems of poverty it is worthwhile to review the available literature on the subject. There is a treasure trove of valuable information in the recent peer-reviewed literature. The high mortality of black youth in poverty areas is a concern to policymakers, and the media, the literature reveals, has presented the idea of "poor people" as mostly African American, which is not accurate? Moreover, the fact that healthcare, education, and other necessities are not as easily located in poor neighborhoods has not always been a negative, the literature reveals. What does it mean to be poor in America? There is no single description of American poverty. But for many, perhaps most, it means homes with inadequate heating, unstable plumbing, and uncertain electricity. Poverty is a condition in which a person or family does not have the means to satisfy basic needs for food, clothing, shelter, and transportation. Poverty often means a home where some go to bed hungry and malnutrition is very frequent. For almost all poverty stricken families it means that life is a constant struggle to obtain the merest necessities of existence, the things most of us take for granted.

One's race does not matter every race has people who are in poverty. Poverty is not something that affects only those people who are out of work, there are many people who are working and are still faced with poverty. Poverty does not seem logical and it, does happen more often than we may realize. (C Warner, 2005). So many people are under-paid and over-worked but have no other choice but to keep working. More families are becoming single income families. This means that only one person in the household is employed and still supports the same amount of people in the household. To understand poverty in America, it is important to look behind these numbers and to look at the actual living conditions of the individuals the government deems to be poor.

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