Poverty is said to exist when people lack the means to satisfy their basic needs. People living in poverty do not have enough funds for elementary requirements such as food and shelter. Poverty has an adverse impact on the public in many aspects like lack of food often transforms an innocent person vindictive and criminal. This social issue of the community has incorporated many countries with each other yet few remaining still intact and unraveled being a victim.
Countries like America, Australia, New Zealand etc. which are counted among superpowers of the world have similar issues related to poverty. Other developing countries like Nepal, Afghanistan are the core sufferers where the population of poor fellows is in bulk. Reasons for such social disaster vary on a few condition factors like natural calamities, lack of employment, literacy ratio and many others.
Although the US is a relatively well-off country by international morals and ethics, poverty has consistently been existing throughout the region, along with efforts to palliate it. America claims to be “the world’s most dominant economic and military power” yet poverty being the curse that the country is struggling. The present state of epidemic crisis and COVID outrage at the end of 2020 brought the sharpest rise in the U.S. poverty rate since the 1960s, according to a study.
In 2019, the poverty rate for the United States was 10.5%, the lowest since estimates were first released for 1959. For Black Americans the situation was even worse: the poverty rate for blacks was 18.8%. The share of Blacks in poverty is 1.8 times greater than the general population of America.
About 14 percent of Americans lost their jobs between February 2020 and May 2020 due to economic fallout from Covid-19 Pandemic. (Ref.- The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ establishment survey)
Besides present reckonings there follows other features influencing poverty in United States such as personal traits like laziness of citizens, educational levels.
The Effects of Poverty in America
Impoverished families tend to have less education, health problems and they are more likely to live in high-crime areas. These people have higher mortality rates with more emotional and behavioral issues. Millions of American families are food uncertain, meaning they normally have to struggle to put food on the table. Americans and Alaskan natives are at an even higher risk as more than one in four live in poverty. Also, there is a high school dropout rate and incidence of drug use that later lead to poverty as a miss of elementary schooling. Blacks and Hispanics were two and a half times more probable to survive food deficiency than whites.
Guidelines and regulation have been issued in order to monitor students’ school dropout ratio along with measures taken for other troubles like unemployment, unskilled population, single parents with monetary challenges.
The US government has established some programs to eradicate poverty also providing aid for citizens of America. Below are a few strategies implemented by the US federation.
- Community Service Black Grant
The agenda of this program is to diminish poverty through revitalization of low revenue groups and empowering the low grade families along with individual help to attain self-sufficiency. Focus of this program is to amend quality of living for low income people, secure employment, adequate education and housing, advance the convention of restricted income.
- Low-Income Home Energy Assistance
Providing aid to the families for heating and cooling energy cost, bill payment support, other energy related assistance.
- Medicare prescription drug coverage
Medicare in America covers service related to health like hospitalization, doctor visits and prescription drugs. Though it doesn’t cover the whole arena for instance medical service outside the United States, dental check-ups, hearing and vision allied expenses, also routine physical exams.
- Family planning services
Family planning services have a sheer contribution in fighting poverty. The services are indulged in activities like birth control methods, preconception counseling. Enabling the federal government to estimate the relief for poor fellows.
- National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs
The program revolves around children in public and non-profit private schools. It provides nutritionally balanced meals like lunch & breakfast and low cost lunches to kids associated with these schools. The assistant rendered by NSLP is a significant step towards child development.
- Job Corps
The Job Corps program is what every country should look up to help the unemployed population making the deft for high profile jobs. The plan comprises no cost education and vocational training initiated by the department of labor US, stimulating young individuals to improve quality of their lives through expert jobs.
- State Food Programs
Concentration on alleviating food insecurities in the country. As 11.1 percent of U.S. population were food insecure during course of 2018 wherein households have to brawl for an ordinary meal.
- High-quality child care and early education
Children being the foundation of the society therefore investing in affordable high quality child care and education systems is a great way for a prolific future of the country. Childcare is an asset for the society as well as early education shortens the possibility of high school drop out ratio.
- Increase the earned Income Tax Credit for childless workers
An initiative by President Biden and the House Way & Means Committee have planned cumulating the earned income tax credit for workers with children at home.
“There is nothing inevitable about poverty. We just need to build the political will to enact the policies that will increase economic security, expand opportunities, and grow the middle class.”
(Ref- americanprogress.org/issues/poverty/news/2014/09)
Therefore, abundance of poor individuals has risen due to current resentful circumstances of Covid 19 along other key features that persist in American environment.
Aspects of poverty in America being the most pressurizing phenomena that gave birth to diversity of plans and programs to escape this social issue yet implementation in an efficient manner is yet another challenge federal have been facing.
Strengthening of roots- meaning young kids and youngsters of American should be the core part of planes related to diminishing poverty. Child development is the pivotal factor which can contribute in cutting short poverty in America along with political reforms like employment.
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