Living in America means that you are living in one of the most prosperous countries in the world. Knowing that, why is poverty such a huge percentage of where we live? Poverty in America is not just the people we detect on the streets begging for anything possible. Poverty in America consists of families working minimum wage jobs just to keep clothing for their children and a roof over their head. Poverty in America consists of living in a community where education isn’t up to standards. Poverty in America consists of being reliant on welfare to afford rent. Many Americans do not realize the percentage of individuals and families that are barely surviving because of their class. Class based exploitation needs to be terminated prior to any other form of oppression simply because too many families are suffering and cannot seem to barricade the poverty line. …show more content…
America has a class system, meaning that there are chances of movement upward or downwards between strata. Since the United States offers opportunities of breaking out of poverty or out of the working class, some believe that people in those two stratas should utilize these opportunities. It is not that simple. A majority of the poor and working class are doing everything in their power to work enough to get a promotion or a higher paying job but there are boundaries. There are boundaries on upward mobility and there is only a “20% chance you will move out of poverty ever” (Butler-Sweet). There is minimal opportunity given to the poor in America, regardless of America being known as the country that provides equal opportunity for everyone to succeed. People from all over the world immigrate to America, specifically because they are given these opportunities. Immigrants often find out that there is little to no social movement if you are not educated or were born into a lesser