America's Social Problems
There are many social problems in America’s society, from poverty to crime and discrimination to education. Our society is a system with various components that fit together that will cause a chain reaction; you can not do one thing without it affecting another. Social problems are usually not the result of some malfunctioning part, but are the effects of a system as a whole. Social problems and change is a circle of causes and effects. For example you can not fully reform the education system without changing the dynamic of the family. You cannot reform politics without looking at out economy. The focus here will be urban poverty, homelessness and crime.
The almost complete restructuring of the American economy, from a predominantly manufacture-driven one to a service-driven one, in a very short time, had tremendous adverse consequences on the urban underclass. As this continues it will undoubtedly only exacerbate the joblessness that is at the heart of the continuation of the underclass. The phrase poverty in America conjures up all sorts of images for people; from the homeless guy on the street corner asking for change to communities in the inner city in shabby run down buildings (Brookings Institute, 2006). According to the U.S. Census Bureau the poverty level for a family of four, with two children, is 2012 was $23,283 before taxes. The poverty level being this low is unrealistic. People can not sustain life on that little amount of money, and if they make too much more than that they can not receive and social services to assist them. To paint a larger picture the Census shows that one in eight families are below (this already low) poverty line. Of that 12% of families in poverty 8.4% are white, 22% are black and 21.3% are Hispanic (U.S. Census Bureau, 2012). The myth and common belief in our society is that poor people are lazy and bleed the system for their entire lives, when in fact this is a myth. Of course there are a
The almost complete restructuring of the American economy, from a predominantly manufacture-driven one to a service-driven one, in a very short time, had tremendous adverse consequences on the urban underclass. As this continues it will undoubtedly only exacerbate the joblessness that is at the heart of the continuation of the underclass. The phrase poverty in America conjures up all sorts of images for people; from the homeless guy on the street corner asking for change to communities in the inner city in shabby run down buildings (Brookings Institute, 2006). According to the U.S. Census Bureau the poverty level for a family of four, with two children, is 2012 was $23,283 before taxes. The poverty level being this low is unrealistic. People can not sustain life on that little amount of money, and if they make too much more than that they can not receive and social services to assist them. To paint a larger picture the Census shows that one in eight families are below (this already low) poverty line. Of that 12% of families in poverty 8.4% are white, 22% are black and 21.3% are Hispanic (U.S. Census Bureau, 2012). The myth and common belief in our society is that poor people are lazy and bleed the system for their entire lives, when in fact this is a myth. Of course there are a