The Myth Of Poverty In Rural America

How is poverty defined? It is difficult to answer this question because poverty in America is exaggerated compared to Third World countries. People in America tend to say they are in poverty, but in reality, they are not. If a person lives in true poverty, he/she is suffering, meaning no food, no roofs or just homeless. Anyone can think he/she is in the state of poverty, such as not having the money his or she consider by having an image of being rich or being unemployed. Poverty in rural America is indescribable without the knowledge, of what poverty truly means. Poverty in rural America is greatly exaggerated and creates the myth that people are actually starving or even dying. Poverty in rural America can be greatly described as a false

His family, however, is suffering in poverty due to the state of their living without any income earned from employment. His mother Sheila McGlothlin, 57, is a hard smoker that wastes her money on cigarettes and receives monthly checks from Social Security (“Disdained”). Smoking is a well-known treatment around the world to relieve stress but has consequences. She can result in getting sick or lead to death by lung cancer. The father Dale is a former coal miner living on disability checks, but the checks stopped because of his sentence of selling drugs (“Disdained”). Tyler is the only one in the family that does not have any disabilities in the family meaning, nothing can stop him from getting a job. Nonetheless, Tyler got a job at McDonald’s but is fired for not coming to work because of a snowstorm (“Disdained”). After the disruption, Dale told him “to hold a sign, he could have refused” (“Disdained”). Afterwards, he is seen “along the side of the road, where he knew he was likely to encounter acts of generosity as well as outbursts of resentment” (“Disdained”). This shows how meaningless decisions are in rural America. They have the opportunities to have a better life, but they decide not

Poverty in America is not exaggerated and most do suffer in poverty. It is interpreted they do suffer, but individuals in rural America endure medical conditions, which makes their lives harder to deal with. They are challenged by disabilities, resulting in unemployment and emotional problems throughout their life. However, not as worse in other nations. The meaning of poverty is to suffer without food and water. For example, families in rural America have the power to obtain food and water, in “Generation’s Disabled,” they can earn food stamps to have food and water to eat and drink (McCoy). This does not give any evidence to be in the state of poverty. Ethiopia suffers dearly compared to rural America. They get their resources by doing agriculture and livestock, while rural Americans get their resources from markets and stores. In addition, Ethiopians are suffering exceedingly without having any types of disabilities to affect them. Most of the population in Ethiopia do not have the necessities that rural Americans