How To Promote Poverty In The United States

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The American Dream has been rooted in the culture of the United States for several centuries now. However, many people do not have access to this dream because of lack of opportunities. As the amount of people in poverty increases each year, the magnitude of the effects of poverty dramatically increases. A shocking 15% of people live in poverty in the United States (Poverty Rates). That means around 45 million people in this country lack basic necessities and economic security. For people of color in this country, this burden becomes heavier as racial discrimination rapidly eliminates the few opportunities that people in poverty currently have. The United States should adopt legislation to support and target poverty within various ethnic groups as racial discrimination plays a significant role in the way people of color continually stay in the cycle of poverty. In this way, people of color will not be left behind in the war against poverty. …show more content…

Within the class of those living in poverty, people of color face the largest ramifications of poverty. All the ethnic minorities in this country combined only make up 37% of the population yet constitute 60% of those living in poverty (Poverty Rates). One question must be answered before finding solutions to this problem: what causes the discrepancy of wealth between ethnic minorities and caucasians? The answer lies in the way social disadvantages become a cumulative process. Simply put, any form of disadvantage gives way more easily to other forms of disadvantages, causing a “magnifying” of effects (Lin, David). For people of color in poverty, the disadvantage of facing racial discrimination has an exponential effect upon poverty itself, making it much harder to escape