Essay on Poverty and Personal Choice - 1378 Words

Do the poor in this country have a choice not to be poor? Do the less fortunate have the same access to opportunities as the middle and upper classes? Do government programs designed to help the impoverished actually keep them in the lower ranks? These are all difficult and controversial questions. Conservatives and Liberals constantly battle over these issues in our state and federal governments. Local and national news media provide limited insight to the root causes and effects of the nation’s poor. There is obviously no simple solution to resolve the plight of these often forgotten citizens. Most of us associate poor as being in a class below the poverty line. In fact there are many levels of poverty ranging from those with†¦show more content†¦I feel safe to assume these families are also choosing not to use birth control. Again, this would seem to be an unwise personal choice considering the lack of family planning can and does result in unexpected preg nancies and births. Combine the staggering rate of divorce that leave many families with a single head of household, and it becomes clear the poor are contributing to their own problem. How does one who can barely afford their own living expense justify adding more burden to an already heavy load? Growing up in a poor family from a low income neighborhood does place immediate challenges on our nation’s youth. Being born into this class is not the choice of the child, but they are none the less faced with an uphill battle. These children must compete in an environment that suburban and higher social class children often don’t. Lower income and poor neighborhood families face nutrition issues, sub-standard education, crime and pollution. All of which their distant middle and upper class peers seldom see. With limited resources, these underprivileged children must work harder and strive more to succeed. Stories from Rereading America echo this in a number of sampl es. Anyon’s â€Å"Social Class† exposed education problems based on income levels. Rodriguez’ â€Å"The Achievement of Desire† showed how he rose above hisShow MoreRelatedThe Poverty Of The United States955 Words   |  4 PagesInterview 1 When questioned what poverty is V. Martin defined poverty as â€Å"The inability to financially meet the daily basic needs of oneself or ones family† (personal communication, June 17, 2015). V. Martin added to her definition of poverty stating that people who are living in poverty have a difficult time meeting their basic needs for food, shelter, and clothing due to the amount of income that person has (personal communication, June 17, 2015). â€Å"Overall poverty means the same for each communityRead MorePoverty, An Explanation For Poverty883 Words   |  4 PagesAs poverty continued to spread throughout the United States, an explanation for poverty was to be expected. Generally, poverty is the lack of resources to supply basic needs. However, there are various competing ways to determine the reason for poverty. One view is individual-focused explanations which targets the personal responsibility of the individual in determined their place in a poverty-stricken life. While the opposite view is a structure-focused explanation that primarily blames the society’sRead MoreExposing the Plight of the Mapuche954 Words   |  4 Pageshow we make peace. These are the words of Maria Teresa, a Mapuche woman from the Nalche region in Chile. The words are deceptively positive in the light of the situation faced by the people Maria Teresa represents. They face a frightening loop of poverty controlled by government and business forces. It is a chain that appears unbreakable from an external perspective. Indeed, the community faces challenges on a number of divergent scales, including the political and social arenas. The needs of theRead MorePlanning Leisure Activities for Disadvantaged Groups Essay1688 Words   |  7 Pagespsychological benefits of leisure, young people with a disability face multiple sociological barriers to leisure choices and participation. When looking at leisure from a sociological perspective it is apparent that poverty restricts invo lvement in leisure choice and participation, which goes beyond the impacts of disability alone. The high cost of travel experiences can limit leisure choices, and the inability to participate in leisure consumption can result in social stigma and shame. At the same timeRead MoreLevel 3 Diploma998 Words   |  4 Pagesgoals and aspirations * Disability; unable to access certain services or activities * Poverty; poor health and hygiene, lack of activities and experiences being accessed * Housing; poor health, unable to develop fully. * Offending behaviour; convictions, effecting social ties and job opportunities * Health status; effect social ties, education, job opportunities * Personal choice; effect social ties, education, job opportunities, crime * Family expectations; effect socialRead MorePersuasive Essay On Poverty1454 Words   |  6 PagesThe definition and viewing of poverty is a topic that many find highly debatable and close to the heart. Poverty is what most people see as not having enough to live on, and struggling to get anything more. Race and location are often looked at in conjunction to poverty. 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The inevitable result of poverty is insufficiency and deprivation of life: †¢ Unable to provide the basic necessities of life †¢ Illness and an early death †¢ Education levels that limit one’s comprehension of the world and oneself, literacy less than functioning †¢ Living conditions that decay physical and mental health †¢ Dead-end jobs and atRead MoreWhat Should A Billionaire Give?1212 Words   |  5 Pagesshould be their choice, not for the purposes of easing a guilty conscience or for public notoriety. If wealthy Americans were mandated to make contributions to relieve poverty, that should be optional and secondary to eliminating poverty in the United States. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, nearly 565,000 people were homeless in the United States in 2015! I am not suggesting that we shouldn’t assist or contribute to global efforts to end poverty. We can contributeRead MoreCurrent Poverty Of The Uk1490 Words   |  6 PagesCurrent poverty in the UK is measured in terms of relative poverty. Townsend who is known for his work on relative poverty describes it as â€Å"Their resources are so seriously below those commanded by the average individual or family that they are, in effect, excluded from ordinary living patterns, customs and activities† (Townsend, 1979) To measure if someone is living in relative poverty they have to be earning under 60% of the average household income, it was estimated that in 2013/14 13.2 millionRead MorePoverty Of America And Ireland1630 Words   |  7 Pagespopulation lives on less than $1.25 daily. Poverty can be displayed and treated in different ways, like the way it is measured or the way assistance is delivered. To provide evidence of this, the poverty in the countries of America and Ireland will be compared. From the Merriam-Webster dictionary, poverty is defined as â€Å"the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions.† In most communities, people who suffer in poverty are those that go without water, food