The novel, The American Way of Poverty: How the Other Half Still Lives by Sasha Abramsky is about how he traveled the United States meeting the poor. The stories he introduces in novel are articles among data-driven studies and critical investigations of government programs. Abramsky has composed an impressive book that both defines and advocates. He reaches across a varied range of concerns, involving education, housing and criminal justice, in a wide-ranging view of poverty 's sections. In considering results, it 's essential to understand how the different problems of poor families intermingle in mutual reinforcement. Sasha Abramsky brings the results of economic disparity out of the shadows and recommends ways for moving toward a …show more content…
The parts that stood out to me in this book were that the rate of neonatal deaths is higher in the United States than in any other developed country. I found this interesting because the idea that the old-fashioned theory has created some of the modern political beliefs of why a person may end up in a disadvantaged situation. Another part that stood out to me was when Abramsky hypothesized that if funds were spent on programs supporting individuals from the selected groups then less money would be spent on other government funded programs. Lastly, when Abramsky discussed the statistics about Bill Clinton lowering poverty rates from 15.1% to a little over 11% and then when Bush took over, the poverty rates rose again. The book The American Way of Poverty: How the Other Half Still Lives enhanced my understanding by reading on Abramsky explore poverty in the United States over a fifty year period. His detailed perspective on how poverty, social attitudes, and public policy have changed over the years. It was also helpful that Abramsky studied all over the United States and didn’t only research a few states. He looked at inner cities to rural areas, as well as, families suffering from intergenerational poverty. All in all, this is a good read if you are concerned about the current state of our
Rank explains, “households in poverty can be found throughout a variety of unban and suburb landscapes, as well as in small towns and communities across rural America,” (Rank 2 of 3). One may conclude that many destitute families are confined to certain places, which divide them between the rest of the population. This creates barrier that prevents these families from improving their living conditions. There are many small regions where poverty is common. Jade Walker, the author of “Number Of Homeless Children In America Surges To All-Time: Report”, is a veteran journalist with twenty-five years of experience covering international/national affairs, crime, the publishing industry, new media, and obituaries.
In preparation for this paper I chose to read Fire in the ashes: twenty five years among the poorest children in America by Jonathan Kozol. In this book Kozol has followed these children and their family’s lives for the past twenty five years. In his writing Kozol portrays a point of view most from his background and standing would not be capable of having. He portrays what life is like for those who have been let down by the system that was meant to protect them. Kozols writing style can be very blunt at times, not for shock value, but for the sake of portraying these children’s realities, and not sugarcoating the inequalities that they are faced with.
Is being poor truly so much worse than what it seems from the outside? Homelessness and poverty are all over the world, not only in America, and in most cases much worse than what we have seen. In two essays about poverty, two writers present descriptive depictions of a real-world problem in society. Their use of grief persuades the audience to make them feel upset for the poor and homeless. Throughout “Flavio's Home” by Gordon Parks, Parks takes us on an adventure and shows us was it truly is like for a family to be in poverty.
In the article “How I Discovered the Truth about Poverty” Barbara Ehrenreich gives her view in poverty and explains why she think Michael Harington’s book “The Other American” gives a wrong view on poverty. She explained that Harrington believes that the poor thought and felt differently and what divides the poor was their different “culture of poverty.” Ehrenreich goes on to explain on how the book that became a best seller caused so many bad stereotypes on the poor that by the Reagan era poverty was seen as “bad attitudes” and “faulty lifestyles” and not by the lack of jobs or low paying jobs. And they also viewed the poor as “Dissolute, promiscuous, prone to addiction and crime, unable to “defer gratification,” or possibly even set an alarm clock.”
In the United States living in poverty is seen as a type of disappointment, mortification, and being underneath the individuals who live over the neediness line. Who are these individuals however, what pictures streak through your head when you consider individuals in need? There have been surveys led in the most recent couple of decades that have demonstrated that most Americans surmise that the minorities living in internal city ranges speak to the larger part of individuals living in poverty (McNeil 56). Numerous
The tragic reality is countless impoverished people are poor for no other reason than bad luck. Escaping from poverty and reaching the “American Dream” may seem feasible, but it is not. There is a prevailing cycle that links the life of one’s immediate family to the life of him or her and so on and so forth. It is not a hundred percent, of course, but out of the lowest twenty percent, seventy percent of them will not break through past the bottom forty percent (Demos 1). This is a far cry from the seemingly easily obtainable “American Dream” of a few decades ago.
In today’s society it is easy to judge a situation that you have never been in. For instance, it is easy to judge a poor child, whom you go to school with, based on their ten dollar shoes. However, it isn’t so easy to be put in a poverty experience. For example, one of your co-workers has gotten seriously ill. Because your company doesn’t offer sick days, everyone is contributing $20 to help her out.
Poverty is a big thing in the world and growing everyday ( poverty project 4). As most people know the common things that are associated with poverty such as domestic abuse, sex trafficking. They don’t know the dangers of poverty that put a risk on the public. Poverty is a growing risk to the citizens of America. When poverty rates get higher violence gets more common and is a threat to the citizens of America.
This documentary film explores the poverty issue in America. They follow three families who are struggling with financial difficulty due to the down fall of the economy. They interview the kids from each family while allowing them to freely express their feelings about being poor. These families do not come from the infamous welfare system. They are the victims of the market crash that led to the economic recession that started in late 2000’s.
Poverty is affecting billions of people around our world and the number is growing with each day. Many people think they can avoid the effects of poverty, but it is something that affects all of our daily lives. Many people see poverty as a person who lacks money, although this is true poverty is caused by many more things than being without money. Just the fact that one in two children live in poverty can help people see clearly the impact it has on our world. Poverty truly does influence the type of care and treatment a person will receive when they need it.
According to the PBS Frontline video “Poor Kids” 2012, more than 46 million Americans are living beneath the poverty line. The United States alone has one of the highest rates of child poverty in the industrialized world. It is stated that 1 out of 5 children are living in poverty. The video documented the lives of three families who are faced with extreme hardships and are battling to survive a life of being poor. All three families have more than one child and could barely afford to pay their bills and purchase food for their household.
Generational Poverty Poverty has been around for numerous years. Poverty can be a generational problem if people let it. James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues” and David Joy’s “Digging in the trash” both show that families in poverty do not have it easy, the children will live in poverty unless something is done, and people either find a way of escape or stand up against it. In the short story, “Sonny’s Blues” Baldwin shows how the lack of monetary resources affects many generations.
Bridges out of Poverty provided valuable insight on how to better understand the constructs of poverty, as well as offering strategies for how to help those living in poverty transition to middle class. The book was designed to help readers recognize and address issues contributing to poverty. There are many different hidden rules that exist within each socioeconomic class. Using the resources available in this book can help those living in poverty gain insight on what is trapping them in the poverty cycle. In addition, it can help those of us who are already living within the middle-class identify the reoccurring patterns of poverty and what we can do to assist in the development from poverty to middle-class.
The cycle of poverty is something discussed in political, medical, education and social circles. The children that are stuck in the cycle often becomes adults that remain in the living conditions and lifestyle of poverty. A few ways that they become trapped is through their poor health and educational opportunities. My thesis statement is, The cycle of poverty continues to plague American children and families, but with some changes focused on health care and education they may be able to escape from the cycle.
Poverty in America is a difficult topic to speak on; everyone has their own views and experiences on poverty. Certain social trends have impacted the society such as Family Dynamics; The way families are now are a lot different than families of the 1950’s-1960’s, In many cases both adult members of the family are working instead of the traditional husband working to support the family. Even with both members working full time it is still hard to support an average family due to working class wages not adjusting to inflation. Poverty has been increasing at a dramatic rate and the government is supporting more and more people with perverse incentives.