Poverty In America Research Paper

Poverty, the lack of money, goods, and support, has been a major problem for many people. There are millions of people in America living in poverty today. There are those that really need help, and there are those who can support themselves but choose not to. Where there is poverty, there is welfare. The financial help of people in need, welfare, has been around for quite some time. Some of the basic programs offered for those who apply for a welfare program in America are health care, food stamps, child care assistance, cash aid, and housing assistance. Many people living in poverty are on one, if not all, of those welfare programs. Welfare programs have a negative effect on America by sustaining the high poverty rate. “That is because the
There are millions of Americans living in poverty today, although not all of them need the governments help. “In fact, other government surveys show that most of the persons whom the government defines as “in poverty” are not poor in any ordinary sense of the term” (Rector). There are some people who are said to be living in poverty, but make enough money to live in a house and buy groceries. “The typical poor American family was also able to obtain medical care when needed. By its own report, the typical family was not hungry and had sufficient funds during the past year to meet all essential needs” (Rector). Then there are those who cannot do those two things without the governments help. Poverty is not as high today as it was when it first became an issue. There is still some work that needs to be done to get the poverty rate lower.
It all started with the welfare reform. The welfare reform was created and signed in 1996. The main purpose of the welfare reform was to change the welfare policies. The welfare reform did fix some problems. “Critics predicted that welfare reform would throw millions into greater poverty. Instead, it led to modest reductions in poverty, particularly for children, black children, and single-mother households” (Tanner). It was also intended to end poverty, but it did not
Jobs can offer more money than welfare assistance and come with benefits, like health insurance. Changing the way entry level jobs pick their employees can help. Offering jobs just for those who are on welfare would be a good start. Being that people on welfare do not have a high education they are not able to get high paying jobs. A minimum wage job today would not help a person who is coming off welfare. Therefore, the pay for them should be reasonable. It could also go by how many kids they have or do not have. “In addition, government regulations such as minimum wage laws and mandated benefits drive up the cost of employing additional workers. We call for the repeal of government regulations and taxes that are steadily cutting the bottom rungs off the economic ladder” (Poverty and Welfare). Jobs are the end to welfare. If there were enough jobs to cover everyone on welfare, then end to welfare could come faster. Being that not everyone on welfare will get to a job opening, there will still be half the people now still on welfare. However, it will cut both the number of people on welfare and the poverty