Who?
I had never really given much though into the impact of your living region, so I was surprised to see this as our next area of concentration. If I had to have guessed, I would have said that the western coast or the north west were the areas of highest poverty. Because of my previous thoughts, I was especially surprised to see that the area I live in, the southern region was the most poverty stricken. I initially thought that these rates would be largely based on the cost of living. My interest was also peaked to see the percentages of poverty in the south actually drop (even if only by .02%) from 2005 to 2006. The midwest, west, and northeast are all relatively equal and measure in about 11% each.
It did not catch me off guard a bit to see the percentages of poverty being the highest in cities (16.1%) and the lowest in the suburbs (15.2%) while the rural areas were in the middle (11.8%)
Although I currently live in a suburb of Atlanta, my dad's family is from a very rural area of West Virginia. Because I visit them a few times every year, I am quite familiar with the economic routine that is described for us. My dad actually moved to Georgia because of the lack of work that was available to him in West Virginia and to this day, many of my family members that live there are either unemployed or are working out of state doing labor intensive duties due to a lack of higher education.
Why?
Some factors include:
Never finishing highschool. I had been taught both by my family and my educators that getting a good education is key and I couldn't agree more.
A large percentage of those unemployed.
A family size of 7 people or more. I didn't think or this reason in my originally post, but this definitely makes sense. More children means more mouths to feed.
A female run house hold. Without assistance, it's very difficult to get ahead.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Update!
I have an update to the true definition of 'poor.'
After reading, I now realize that the state of 'poor' can be described as people who do make an income, but it's such a small amount that it makes it difficult to live in a decent fashion.
On the other hand, the very poor can be described as those who have little to no income and have significantly insufficient funds for decent living or even mere survival.
I can also add that often those that are poorest are minority women and children. Another interesting thing I found out is that despite what many may think, laziness is a small reason to the large number of poverty stricken. I was supervised to find out that over half the population of poor people do work atleast part-time. It has even been reported that the middle class income has declined by almost 5% and as we know, the unemployment rate is also at a high.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Session 3
Who is really poor in the United States?
Despite race or age, we have seen an overall increase in the number of people affected by poverty. Since 2000, the number affected has more than sextupled from 5.4 million to 36.9 million.
Although I hadn't really stated any specifics on "who" in my original post, I had assumed that minorities and the elderly were among the nations poorest. I was astonished to find out that every 1 in 3 poor people (in 2005) were under the age of 18. In 2005, only 10.1 percent of those who were in poverty were 65 and over while 17.6 percent were under the age of 18. As far as poverty correlation related to race, I had imagined that the white or non-hispanic population is less affected by poverty, but I had no idea there was such an enormous difference. 24.9 percent of the poverty stricken are black, and 21.8 percent are hispanic, while whites only occupy 8.3 percent.
Despite race or age, we have seen an overall increase in the number of people affected by poverty. Since 2000, the number affected has more than sextupled from 5.4 million to 36.9 million.
I am especially curious to see the reasons given when concerning why the number has jumped so much.
Do you have any hypotheses? Did any of the statistics surprise you?
Monday, September 6, 2010
Original Views
1. Who you think is poor, both in the US and globally-
This question is difficult to answer because "poor" is a pretty subjective term. In the United States, the poverty threshold in 2008-2009 was $10,830. However, many Americans would find an income level much higher to be unsatisfactory and "poor" to them.
Globally, I imagine that the $10,830 threshold is about double. In many poverty stricken countries, a single family can live off of $1.25 in any single day.
2. Why you believe people are poor in the US and globally-
Many people in the US and globally are poor for various reasons. Being born into poverty is one of the largest contributing factors to adulthood poverty. Another large factor in the US can be attributed to the growing unemployment rate. As the economy in the US took a downturn, millions of jobs were lost. With the new found unemployment, we have seen a great increase in the number of families using government aid.
3. What you think is being done about poverty (e.g., current policies and programs in the US and globally)-
Currently, Obama is trying to encourage higher level schooling for adults and children alike. It has been statistically shown that higher level education leads to an increase in pay and better job security. There are also many other programs in place to aid those in need. Medicaid, food stamps, and welfare are just a few of those assistance programs.
4. How well you think poverty is being addressed currently in the US and globally
I think poverty is always something that could be better addressed in both the United States and worldwide. Nevertheless, I feel like the programs currently in place in the United States are aiding those in need, just not enough. Globally, I am largely unaware of programs in place and the amount of assistance they're actually posing.
5. What do you personally think should be done about poverty in the US and globally (e.g., policies, programs you would suggest)
I believe that the programs that are already in place should remain in place (WIC, medicaid, social security). I also think that there should be a greater emphasis on both pre-schooling prior to kindergarten and contraceptive use while in higher levels of schooling. I would also like to applaud services such as "hands on Atlanta" for their aid with those in need, and I think that other programs like this in other US cities would do a large amount of good.
This question is difficult to answer because "poor" is a pretty subjective term. In the United States, the poverty threshold in 2008-2009 was $10,830. However, many Americans would find an income level much higher to be unsatisfactory and "poor" to them.
Globally, I imagine that the $10,830 threshold is about double. In many poverty stricken countries, a single family can live off of $1.25 in any single day.
2. Why you believe people are poor in the US and globally-
Many people in the US and globally are poor for various reasons. Being born into poverty is one of the largest contributing factors to adulthood poverty. Another large factor in the US can be attributed to the growing unemployment rate. As the economy in the US took a downturn, millions of jobs were lost. With the new found unemployment, we have seen a great increase in the number of families using government aid.
3. What you think is being done about poverty (e.g., current policies and programs in the US and globally)-
Currently, Obama is trying to encourage higher level schooling for adults and children alike. It has been statistically shown that higher level education leads to an increase in pay and better job security. There are also many other programs in place to aid those in need. Medicaid, food stamps, and welfare are just a few of those assistance programs.
4. How well you think poverty is being addressed currently in the US and globally
I think poverty is always something that could be better addressed in both the United States and worldwide. Nevertheless, I feel like the programs currently in place in the United States are aiding those in need, just not enough. Globally, I am largely unaware of programs in place and the amount of assistance they're actually posing.
5. What do you personally think should be done about poverty in the US and globally (e.g., policies, programs you would suggest)
I believe that the programs that are already in place should remain in place (WIC, medicaid, social security). I also think that there should be a greater emphasis on both pre-schooling prior to kindergarten and contraceptive use while in higher levels of schooling. I would also like to applaud services such as "hands on Atlanta" for their aid with those in need, and I think that other programs like this in other US cities would do a large amount of good.
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