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Poverty In Alabama

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The United States of America is the 13th richest country in the world, yet in 2016, it was reported that more than 13.5% of Americans are living in poverty. A country so prosperous and so abundant has more suffering than possibly imaginable. Whether it be surprising or not, throughout history, the state of Alabama has always suffered with lower incomes and an overall poorer lifestyle. As the next generation comes into power and makes their mark on the world, they will prepare a way for poverty to be demolished once and for all.
Over all, the United States is one of the richest countries in the world, but within the United States, the state of Alabama is the fourth poorest state, holding a median household income of less than $45 thousand per …show more content…

This idea was also seen by Eric Rahimian and Fesseha Gebremikael in their article “Poverty Amid Affluence in Alabama” from Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science. “High poverty rates persist in many inner cities, counties and rural areas, and particularly in areas inhabited by minorities…. In our view, the main causes of poverty are poor education, low income and lack of opportunity.” This idea may have been true during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, but the higher rates of poverty now are seen between different age groups rather than the demographic groups. According to the United States Census Bureau, the poverty rate for children under the age of 18 is currently at 19.7%, where the rate for those aged 18 to 64 is 12.4% and those aged 65 and older is only at 8.8%. The largest part of those living in poverty in the state of Alabama is represented by none other than the children living …show more content…

There are currently 324,423,011 people living in America. Of those 324 million people, 4,866,346 people live in the state of Alabama – 1.5% of Americans live in Alabama. Of the 4 million Alabamians, 18.5% live in poverty – that’s 900,274 people living in poverty in Alabama alone. Something a true Alabamian understands is football. The number of Alabamians living in poverty could fill the Jordan-Hare Stadium a total of 10.3 times or the Bryant-Denny Stadium 8.9 times. People who have ever attended a college football game realize how many people can fit in the stadium, and thinking about over 10 the size of a football stadium is a little overwhelming. With a number larger than 900 thousand people in the state of Alabama living in poverty, how can the next generation be working to decrease that number to a number that will hopefully one day be nonexistent? There are two things that the next generation can do to help abolish poverty in the United States as a whole. First, the knowledge of poverty needs to be shared. In a small town in Alabama, many people are unaware that poverty is in their own backyard, or, if people are aware of it, they do not realize hoe proximal it is to them. Secondly, if the number of jobs widened, the number of those living in poverty would decrease immensely. A large problem with the vast percentage living in poverty is that that means that there are that vast number of job shortages there are.

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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

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Economic inequality in the state of Alabama, not just Birmingham, was quite prevalent in 2005, and is still very prevalent today. According to Weinberg in an article published by the United States Census, Alabama was one of seven states that ranked highest in economic inequality. Birmingham, was also one of the highest ranked cities for economic inequality in metropolitan areas of over one million in the United States. On the Gini index scale, which ranks a score of 0 as perfect equality and 1 as inequality, in 2005, Alabama recorded a score of 0.471, while Birmingham ranked slightly higher at a rank of 0.472 (Weinberg). This shows within the median income in Alabama, which in 2005 was $44,759, while the median income of the United States was $56,122, a 20% difference.

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According to Hodgkinson et al, there are “disparities in poverty rates depending on age, race or ethnicity, family structure, and geographic location. Although the largest number of poor and low income children are white, minority children are disproportionately affected, particularly African American, American Indian, and Hispanic children. In 2013, Hispanic and African American children were ~3 times more likely than white and Asian children to be poor. Children raised by single parents and children raised in the South or West are also more likely to be poor or low income than children residing in the Northeast” (Hodgkinson et al, 2016). Children and youth are a vulnerable population because they have no control over their situation or environment;

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