Poverty is nothing new in the eyes of the United States. The homeless ravish the streets of New York City in simple cardboard homes, the trailer park down the street from me in Birmingham, Alabama is filled with people struggling to make ends meet, and multitudes of Americans flood the sides of streets begging for an extra dollar or a scrap of something to eat. We see it everyday, and we wonder why these people do not just get up and get a job. We wonder why the homeless do not get up and find a spot in a homeless shelter. We wonder all these things without considering how the poverty truly and deeply affects a person’s life. Sherman Alexie addresses this affect on his on life in his article, “Why Chicken Means So Much to Me”, as he briefly describes how growing up as a poor Native American raised on the Spokane Indian Reservation allows him to be …show more content…
Alexie points out that “poverty only teaches you to be poor” (553). In this statement he logically concludes that his family has not been able to advance because all they know is the poverty they live in. In contrast, Alexie, once again, only considers his viewpoint. Although his statement is the case for his situation, it does not address situations where people have risen out of poverty, whether it is himself or other people within the reservation. His situation is not the same situation for all. Another example of this appears when he writes, “Poverty doesn’t give you strength or teach you lessons about perseverance” (553). He again leaves out the masses. Alexie argues that his parents “never got the chance to be anything because nobody paid attention to their dreams” (551). The argument that being poor makes you a nobody is not well developed because Alexie’s only source is his own family. Other people in the reservation are not in the same situation, and can have the potential and mindset to come out of their
In “It is Expensive to Be Poor”, Barbara Ehrenreich claims that it is time for us to take a stand against poverty and help the people suffering. The author notes that the war on poverty was started by president Lyndon B. Johnson about five decades ago. The government started giving money to support groups. (para. 1-2).
Poverty is a genuine issue in some parts of the world and social classes do influence poverty. However, Compos believes the old saying “the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.” In the article "White Economic Privileged Is Alive and Well" by Paul
Paint a picture of poverty. What do you see and where does it take place? Is it in a city like New York? Maybe it takes place at the dried, barren lands in the continent of Africa. Now, imagine it a hundred times worse, with no proper housing, limited water and sewage system, and lacking food and other general necessities.
#2 David K. Shipler also goes on how those attempting to escape poverty also face psychological problems such as hopelessness, helplessness, depression, trauma, and lack of motivation to even attempt to fix their own lives. Shipler includes one Los Angeles man’s remark after being asked to define poverty in his book that states that poverty is: Not hopelessness-helplessness. Why should I get up? Nobody’s ever gonna ever hire me because look at the way I’m dressed, and look at the fact that I never finished high school, look at the fact that I’m black, I’m brown, I’m yellow, or I grew up in
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.
The community living conditions have created an attitude where it is acceptable not to amount to anything in life. This is not just an effect in this community, but most poverty stricken communities which agrees with both Leventhal and Gorman-Smith statements. Most people living in poverty stricken communities grasp a mindset where there is no escaping poverty. In the book Alexie shows us through, the main character sister Mary, that a negative viewpoint of life can spread. She had dreams to leave the reservation, but they slowly faded away.
The Truth About Poverty “Poverty is like punishment for a crime you didn't commit” this quote was said by Mahatma Gandhi and it relates so well with this article “It is Expensive To Be Poor”, answer the question yourself, Is it expensive to be poor? This article is titled like that to get the audience's attention early and have them thinking ahead of reading. The author Barbara Ehrenreich is building a pre thought when she does this which helps support her claim. “It is Expensive To Be Poor” by Barbara Ehrenreich is an article posted on “The atlantic” “which is where you can find your current news and analysis on politics, business, culture, and technology”. Knowing what “The Atlantic” offers for readers this gives Ehrenreich a detailed look at who she is writing to.
But it’s important not to judge the people who are living in conditions that seem terrifying to you because you don’t know what they’ve been through, nor you know what caused them to be in this situation. Poverty is not always a personal choice, but a reflection of society. Difficult circumstances causes people to end up being poor, even if it’s not in their control. People are in poverty because they find themselves in holes in the economic system that deliver the inadequate income.
Society is a dangerous and ruthless beast. A person’s wish to belong in society can ultimately be their demise to not only their financial stability but as well as their social status which is ironic, for the actions they take to belong only further separate them from society. These actions are particularly common amongst poor folks as they wish to be a part of society, but their poor financial decisions to spend all their earnings on exquisite items only drags them further away from society’s acceptance. In Tressie McMillan Cottom’s Reading, “The Logic of Stupid Poor People”, She describes her life as an African-American child born into a poor family who were able to manage their funds wisely and live comfortably while families similar to her’s, but to only manage to dig themselves into deep and unforgiving caverns of financial debt. I agree, for I have witnessed many cases of poverty stricken people drag themselves further into financial debt all for useless status symbols.
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.
Harvard political philosopher Michael J. Sandel, in his book Justice, refers to the “pain of sympathy” felt by many “tenderhearted souls” when they are faced with poverty, on the streets and elsewhere, and how they wish that there was something being done to stop it (35-36). He also speaks about the reaction of “hardhearted folk” who feel “the pain of disgust” upon seeing homelessness in their own communities and have no sense of pity for them (Sandel 36). In pondering human welfare, it is easiest to solve widespread problems by thinking of overall, hypothetical solutions. The issue of poverty in America (in many cases) comes from the socioeconomic class system that traps people in the class from which their parents came. A just society does everything it can to level the metaphorical scales that create this trap so that its people’s accomplishments and welfare reflect their talent and effort in the field.
1984 Synthesis Essay Poverty negatively influences how the minds of people work in the world. The fact that poverty exists itself, obstructs people from changing their circumstances in what is known as “the cycle of poverty.” The lower class is incredibly disadvantaged in that it lacks the necessary social and economic resources needed to increase chances of social mobility. In return, the absence of these resources may increase poverty. Therefore, the lower class is unable to change its situation because the majority believes that any efforts to climb the social ladder is highly inefficient.
Poverty and deprivation of many kinds is a very serious problem, not only in the United States, but also around the world. In a study in 2014, forty-seven million people living in the U.S. were considered to be in poverty; that is fifteen percent of its population . Poverty and deprivation is a serious topic that everyone should be aware of; if you are not aware of a problem,how are you going to fix it? You can find examples of this topic in almost every where; From books and movies to your everyday life. The most common known definition of poverty is economic poverty, but there is also social, emotional, and spiritual poverty and deprivation.
Despite the great wealth the United States possesses, it has for long struggled with poverty which is said to be inherited from one generation to another. The culture of poverty hinders those affected from economic betterment however much assistance they obtain from social programs put in place. The term Culture of poverty is believed to have been coined by Oscar Lewis, who suggested that children who grow up in poverty-stricken families are highly likely to adopt the norms and practices that encourage poverty. Thus, these children, he believed, would replicate the adapted values in their lives which would in turn generate a cycle of intergenerational poverty in the long run (Bell et al, 2013). Thus the culture of poverty is a topic which creates heated debates in both the public and political arenas.
Poverty is not only just in the U.S. its all over world. Poverty is lacking as such needs as cash, meals, water, clothing, or a home/saf place to stay. Accoding to The American economist Mollie Orshansky (1915–2006) poverty was known as the deprivation of "those goods and services and pleasures which others around us take for granted. " Poverty is a global problem, but there is much debate regarding how to define poverty and how to remedy