Causes and Effects of Poverty
Causes and Effects of Poverty
In the U.S., there have been statistics that show that 15 to 25% of the population is living in poverty. Poverty is known as not being able to provide bare minimum requirements to survive, such as food and shelter. There are many causes that associate with poverty, that could include unemployment rates or people believe that some people are just lazy. The effects of poverty can be substantial. It effects people’s health, environment, and causes deprivations. The unemployment rate is still high today, which means there are people who still live in poverty. Some people are not just lazy; it just seems that it is difficult to find employment right now. Many people that are in poverty are because they did not continue their education after high school and many jobs are requiring degrees. Another reason some people are in poverty, is because they made mistakes in their past and when they try to make their life right they have difficulty finding employment. There are many reasons for poverty, but most of the causes are the unemployment rate. An effect of poverty is malnutrition. Malnutrition during infancy and childhood years can cause many great complications with development. Many children that suffer from malnutrition could have poor immune systems, developmental problems with their nervous system, or even brain damage. Compared to children that are not poor, children in poverty are two to three times more likely to have some sort of mental or physical disability from malnutrition. Children who grow up in poverty are also usually unlikely to finish their education. Many children in poverty are about 75 percent less likely to graduate high school than a child that is not poor. Even if a child that grows up in poverty does graduate high school, they are less likely to continue their education with college. As a matter of fact, less than four percent of children in the lowest quartile of family’s income do not graduate college.
In the U.S., there have been statistics that show that 15 to 25% of the population is living in poverty. Poverty is known as not being able to provide bare minimum requirements to survive, such as food and shelter. There are many causes that associate with poverty, that could include unemployment rates or people believe that some people are just lazy. The effects of poverty can be substantial. It effects people’s health, environment, and causes deprivations. The unemployment rate is still high today, which means there are people who still live in poverty. Some people are not just lazy; it just seems that it is difficult to find employment right now. Many people that are in poverty are because they did not continue their education after high school and many jobs are requiring degrees. Another reason some people are in poverty, is because they made mistakes in their past and when they try to make their life right they have difficulty finding employment. There are many reasons for poverty, but most of the causes are the unemployment rate. An effect of poverty is malnutrition. Malnutrition during infancy and childhood years can cause many great complications with development. Many children that suffer from malnutrition could have poor immune systems, developmental problems with their nervous system, or even brain damage. Compared to children that are not poor, children in poverty are two to three times more likely to have some sort of mental or physical disability from malnutrition. Children who grow up in poverty are also usually unlikely to finish their education. Many children in poverty are about 75 percent less likely to graduate high school than a child that is not poor. Even if a child that grows up in poverty does graduate high school, they are less likely to continue their education with college. As a matter of fact, less than four percent of children in the lowest quartile of family’s income do not graduate college.
Cited: Chitranshi, Mansi. "Cause and Effects of Poverty." Articles Wave (2009). Hill, Lewis E. "The Institutional Economics of Poverty: An Inquiry into the Causes and Effects of Poverty." Journal of Economic Issues (1998): 279-285. Hunt, Matthew O. The Individual, Society, or Both? A Comparison of Black, Latino, and White Beliefs about the Causes of Poverty. September 1996. Lamson, John. "Exploring the Ecology of Poverty." Human Ecology (2009): 4-9.