Economic Poverty

There is a question of whether human progress tends to reduce world poverty, tends to increase world poverty, or tends to leave world poverty unchanged; different economists have reached different conclusions. And their different conclusions have impacted strongly on how governments and others approach poverty, and on how poverty is dealt with or not dealt with.

Even after Hurricane Katrina and the devastation left in its wake exposed to public eye the shocking levels of poverty in the mostly African-American neighborhoods of New Orleans, there was a lot of talk about America’s hidden shame and about the need to pay more attention to the plight of the poor when there isn’t a natural disaster to put them in the headlines. Poor children in the United States are more likely to be White than Black or Latino and are more likely to live in a rural or suburban area than in an inner city (Poverty and Schooling in the U.S. , 2004).

There is also an economic case for reducing child poverty and any other form of it. When children grow up in poverty, they are somewhat more likely than non-poor children to have low earnings as adults, which in turn reflect lower workforce productivity. They are also somewhat more likely to engage in crime (though that’s not the case for the vast majority) and to have poor health later in life. Their reduced productive activity generates a direct loss of goods and services to the U. S. economy. Purpose of the Study

This paper takes a look into the fact that poverty is a matter of culture, not just money, is illustrated by the immigrant experience. Many immigrants start from scratch when they come to the United States, and succeed in rising out of poverty. For them, the American dream is not a myth. Data from the Urban Institute show that while recent immigrants in 1980 and 1990 were twice as likely as native-born Americans to live in poverty, this disparity disappeared for immigrants who had lived in this country for 10 years or more. In fact, in 2003, according to the Census Bureau, immigrants who were naturalized US citizens had a slightly higher median income than native-born citizens. )

To discuss the culture of poverty is to tread on dangerous ground. One can easily come across as patronizing and condescending, as preaching to the poor from one’s middle-class perch — or, worse yet, as bashing the poor for their lack of good character. Here, it’s important to remember that good cultural habits are usually not a matter of inherent virtue.

Most of us, if born into bad circumstances, would have likely ended up trapped in the same self-defeating patterns. Poverty is pronounced deprivation in well-being, and comprises many dimensions. It includes low incomes and the inability to acquire the basic goods and services necessary for survival with dignity. Poverty also encompasses low levels of health and education, poor access to clean water and sanitation, inadequate physical security, lack of voice, and insufficient capacity and opportunity to better one’s life.

Significance of the Study Over the last decade, the challenge of reducing levels of global poverty has rocketed up in the priorities of politicians, development organizations and the media, so that it now commands a dominant position among humanitarian aims for the new millennium. There is also an economic case for reducing child poverty. When children grow up in poverty, they are somewhat more likely than non-poor children to have low earnings as adults, which in turn reflect lower workforce productivity.

They are also somewhat more likely to engage in crime (though that’s not the case for the vast majority) and to have poor health later in life. Their reduced productive activity generates a direct loss of goods and services to the U. S. economy. Any crime in which they engage imposes large monetary and other personal costs on their victims, as well as the costs to the taxpayer of administering our huge criminal justice system. And their poor health generates illness and early mortality which not only require large healthcare expenditures, but also impede productivity and ultimately reduce their quality and quantity of life.

Overview Americans are proud of their economic system, believing it provides opportunities for all citizens to have good lives. Their faith is clouded, however, by the fact that poverty persists in many parts of the country. Government anti-poverty efforts have made some progress but have not eradicated the problem. Poverty can lead to high levels of stress that in turn may lead individuals to commit theft, robbery, or other violent acts.

Moreover, poverty may lead to an actual or perceived inferior education, hich would cause youth to count on less access to quality schools, jobs, and role models, decreasing the opportunity costs of crime and increasing the probability of youth spending time on the street associating with gangs, etc. Nutrition affects growth and available funds for food are important. Crowded living conditions increase the risk of diseases such as TB, flu, respiratory illnesses etc… Income will force some families to put several children to the same bed. Basic hygiene suffers if you have no running water, heat, or personal supplies.

Poverty ultimately affects how you feel about yourself. Self esteem suffers from lack of money, being out of work, not being able to be the dad or mom you wanted to be. Efforts to erase poverty needs to be addressed before it got to the serious situation it’s in. Any type of conflict needs to be resolved when it starts, as it only gets worse with time. Conflict is a fact of life, and can be an opportunity to strengthen relationships; you have a way of resolving conflict by turning it into something creative.