Why are some people in America poor? How do people get poor?

Question

I want to hear other people's point of view.
Why are people ( some ) poor when we have the land of opportunities?
AMERICAN SOCIAL CLASSES:
Low class- under 16000 dollars a year
Working class- 16000 to 30000 a year
Lower Middle Class- 30000 to 75000 a year
Upper Middle Class- 75000 to 500000 a year
Upper Class- 500000 or more
I got those from my sociology book last year. So those are the American social classes.
So... how and why are people poor?
Here are some ideas of mine:
1. Not working hard enough
2. Even being BORN poor
3. Burn outs
4. The rich get richer and have connections.It is true that a rich kids has a better chance of succeeding than a poor kid even if the poor kid is a straight A student and is college bound
5. Some people do not have enough for college
6. The rich get richer and the poor poorer

What are some of your ideas? And I am talking about LOW CLASS people? People in projects. And most of us are not that!

Answer 1

There are lots of reasons why people are "poor". Let's start with education....the higher the education, the better the pay. If you have minimal or no education, there are limited jobs that are available and the the jobs that are availabe are low paying jobs. What about technology? Machines and Robots are doing work that used to available to humans. This decreases the jobs available to the publoic. What about disabilities? What about the man who is the bread winner for his family and he loses his legs in a car accident? He can't support his family and to add to his stress he has doctor bills. Now let's talk about the government......our wonderful government that is supposed to be for the american people is finding ways every day to take money away from veterans, from social security, from health care, from our pockets in the form of increase in taxes and new federal fees that are added to our bills every year. What about all of the money that is spent on drugs, alcohol, and gambling? People who have psychological problems and addictions lose thousands of dollars yearly to their habit. Yes, we may think that it is a stupid habit and we have no understanding of how they could spend so much money on these things, however, as a nurse, I have realized that addiction is a disease. Now lets talk about the increase in unprotected sex that ends up with STD's, unwanted pregnancy, and a financial burden of a new life that puts a strain on income. Every year there are millions of teen pregnancies that end up with the grandmothers (the mother of the pregnant girl or the father of the baby) who take over the financial strain of prenatal care as well as post-partum care of those teenage mothers who are still trying to get through school and are unable to hold a full time job that would enable her to take care of herself as well as her child. I could go on and on about increasing prices on food, clothing, homes, and even simple things such as cable and telephone bills. There are poor people in the world because the cost of living is increasing yearly, the number of jobs are decreasing yearly, and the American dream of being successful sometimes overwhelmes people and accually throws them into the jaws of debt. Please be cautious when talking about LOW CLASS people and "The Projects...........There are talented and successful people that have sprung from low class and the projects. Success stems from the opportunity that is handed to an inividual. If we, as a whole, deny opportunity to those that we consider to be in a lower class than ourselves, how can they better themselves and move up in the ladder of success?

Answer 2

It looks like you answered your own question. #4 in particular is a good answer. Rich people have the means to put thier kids through college regardless of what the kid's grades were in high school. Poor kids have to do exceptionally well in high school in order to get a scholarship so that they can attend college, but this doesn't happen often enough beause of several reasons:

-Kids in poor areas go to porr schools. Poor schools generally have teachers that are not as skilled because the skilled teachers have options, and why would they want to teach in a school they don't feel safe in?

-Kids don't understand. Most high school kids don't really understand that the choices they make now impact the rest of thier lives. The difference is that if you have rich parents, they can send you to college anyway, where they reach the age that they begin to understand...

-They're poor. Many of these "lower class" kids drop out and start working because thiermother/father/guardian can't pay the bills.

I could keep going, but your probably bored by now. Anyway, your answer number 4, 5 and 6 are correct. And yes some are lazy, but just as many rich people are lazy. Maybe more - they can afford to be.

Answer 3

Well the reason may be lack of interest, initiative or objective. But on the whole one should understand that poor people are also an integral part of economy and will always remain so. A section of poor people in the economy provides a scope of development. If everyone is rich, there is no need for further development and the whole cycle of socio economic progress will come to a standstill. Although taking into consideration the apathy of the deprived class everyone tries to minimize this % but it is never expected to completely remove it. America has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the world, which signifies its stronger standing in the world (Land of opportunities). It is a vicious cycle and in a way required for every economy.

Answer 4

I believe that the rich get richer.
Money trickles up, not down, everybody buys what they can't really or hardly afford. Or the lastest thing. Money flows up!

1)Yes, some ppl don't try hard enough to better themselves.
I blame rap music in part also for this, which glamorise talking what you want, fast money (even by murder and such)

2)Being born poor definitely effects things, what are kids supposed to learn from their broke parents?

3)Burn outs? (I'm not clear on this one)

4)Yes, I agree with you here.
Except I believe a straight a student, has great potential as long as the don't let their grades slip.

5) That's what student loans are for, I think if someone really wanted to go to collage they'd find a way.

6) Yes, basically.

I think poverty is very sad.
I can't imagine not eating everyday. <---Not sure this goes on in America though, unless their drug addicts.

Answer 5

We are what we think. Things happen in our lives where we create messages that turn into reality. We block ballence without realizing it, because we created a perspective from incidents. The meanings we create from things that have happened in our past will affect our future, and that is not only money, but can affect all aspects including relationships. It's just people struggling within themselves. They have perfect opportunity to create abundance just like anyone else, but that they might not have that mind set, and their energy is set to being just what they are until they can recover what it is that is creating the lack of abundance.

Answer 6

LOW class?Well,little-miss-high-and-mighty,a lot of poverty is caused by greed,corruption,& prejudice.Companies transfering to cheap-labour countries,poor education,skin-colour,tax breaks for the rich,the list is endless.Also Capitalism NEEDS a percentage of people to be unemployed to keep down inflation.Just be happy you are doing ok,& be careful you don't fall off your high-horse.

Answer 7

Do you want to know one of the factors common Law of attractionmaterial doesn't work for numerous people?Consider it like a diet. If you wish to drop weight and you strive to lose it

Answer 8

I agree with Tyler H and amberc01.
You are obviously detached from reality, but it's not your fault that you were taught you "have the land of opportunities".

Answer 9

seems like u r rich..y not help all them poor guys? nice question

Answer 10

you are not for real obviously you are rich