Why do you think poverty is increasing in the United States?

Answer 1

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4198668.stm
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0831/p02s01-usec.html
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/magazines/Business/html/20050830T210000-0500_87274_OBS_US_POVERTY_RATE_RISES_FOURTH_CONSECUTIVE_YEAR_TO______.asp

articles detailing unbiased fact that US poverty rate is on the rise

I think there is no simple answer. Briefly, I would say it has many causes; among them:

-poor quality of education in low-income areas
-rising out-of-pocket health costs (especially a factor for the rise in poverty among the elderly)
-wages not keeping up with cost of living increases
-misinformation
-changing social structures
-shift away from community oriented programs and activities towards individual ownership
-rising cost of oil products
-demand for mass-produced, cheap goods, and decline in skilled trade
-decreasing college affordability
-trend away from small business and family farm promotion
-the social issues surrounding poverty- drugs, violence, poor health, etc.


In order to get themselves OUT of poverty, people need a leg up. I grew up in poverty, but luckily had a large family willing to provide moral support (they could not afford to help me financially). I am still struggling financially, and it will be at least 5 years before I can be not living one paycheck away from bankruptcy. It is harder than people realize to start with nothing, and "make it". Those who believe poverty is a symptom of laziness have never tried to make ends meet, raise a family, or work through school, on minimum wage jobs with no external support.

Answer 2

Every statistic in the United States has to be qualified with a percapata basis. If your question has a base line of how it was 20 years ago and look what happening today, there is more poverty... Obviously.

Percapata, I would have to disagree. If 10 percent of the population was at the poverty line based on 2 million people, 200 thousand would be at the poverty level.

Not trying to make this difficult but, if 201 thousand people were at poverty level with a population of 3 million, the poverty level is more, than when it was based on 2 million but less, if you base it on the 3 million percapata.

I just grabbed the population figures out of the air, and hope you get the drift of what I am saying. It's similar to crime, we have more muggings today because we have more people walking the street.

Answer 3

I have two pet cats. One is the dominate cat who intimidates and picks on the smaller cat much of the time.
I feed the cats at the same time.
If I didn't - if I'd just leave food out all the time - the big cat would eat it all, and there would be nothing left for the little cat.
Poverty is increasing in the U.S. (and, yes, it really is, even among the so-called 'middle class') because the 'fat cats' don't share the wealth.
As this gluttonous mentality continues, America will become a two-tiered class society made up of a handful of the very, very rich and the rest of us - the very, very poor (you only have to look to Haiti or the Dominican Republic to see the tragic results of such poor economic policies).
This is caused by inane government policies that benefit the rich at the expenses of the poor; provide tax incentives for the rich that are unavailable to the poor; and allow manipulation of the 'system' so that the rich can take advantage of corporate welfare programs that the poor simply can't access. -RKO-

Answer 4

If you check:
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/poverty05/pov05fig04.pdf
it is unclear whether poverty is increasing. First of all increasing from when? There seem to have been more poor people in 1959. ALso, while the NUMBER of poor people has increased by about 7 million since 2000, the PERCENTAGE of poor people has remained fairly stable.

Answer 5

The poverty level in the U.S. is not increasing. The definition of poverty is changing regularly as the media and liberal interests need more fear motivation to get their points across, their Utopian legislation passed.

Answer 6

you're able to define poverty. Is it the situation close to to starvation or is it no longer having a cellular telephone? i'm in shape. to maintain and have a job in our company, it particularly is mandatory which you're taking a drug try. in case you get in an accident that motives $500 or extra in damages you get drug examined. in case you're grimy you're fired. How approximately until eventually now the folk in poverty get the month-to-month welfare verify, they could pee in a bottle. grimy, no verify. ninety days to get clean then you definitely can reapply. no longer a citizen of the rustic? No verify. Have childrens and anticipate a welfare verify. artwork in an afternoon care middle with different single mothers. no longer something for no longer something. We did no longer exchange right into a valuable u . s . a . by being compelled to shelter the poor. We gave the poor the possibility to prevail. no longer the splendid.

Answer 7

Minimum wage..the cost of living...The arrogance of some political parties never counting this in their economics...instead
excusing low income families of being lazy..forgetting many work two jobs and even that don't put them out of the poverty level..
Remember what we had witness in new Orleans?.Americans were in chock that we have such a large sub culture and we are blind to the fact that they're are 40 million on the poverty level !

Answer 8

Supply side economics's. When George Bush give that huge tax cut to the very wealthy he left out the poor and middle class, the money is suppose to go for investment in our country but instead it went for investment in other country's. Considering this is a war time economy we are on the verge of a huge recession and it is coming. The huge deficit, is another reason, just the interest on these loans alone could pay for the help that the poor and middle class need to help them succeed.

Answer 9

show supporting data...

The fact is, poverty is not increasing in America. It has remained pretty stable over the last six years.

Still, i love how people answer with no clue as to the data and simply agree with you because thats what they already believe...screw the facts right?

Answer 10

It's getting harder to afford a college education. Tuition has outpaced government sponsored loan programs and Pell Grants -- programs low and middle income familes traditionally depend on to fund education.