Assignment 1: Poverty In The United States

Running head: POVERTY IN THE UNITED STATES 1

Poverty in the United States
Matthew P. DeRemer
Mount San Jacinto College

Running head: POVERTY IN THE UNITED STATES 2 Today, "the number of people in the U.S. who are in poverty is increasing to record levels with the ranks of working-age poor approaching 1960s levels that led to the national war on poverty" ("Poverty in the United States," 2012). When looking at the increasingly important issue of poverty in the United States, one cannot help but wonder how this will affect future generations and the stability of the nation as a whole. In order to fully understand the problem at hand, poverty must first be defined,
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, "the median earnings of household headed by individuals with less than a 9th grade education was $20,805 while households headed by high school graduates earned $40,456, households headed by holders of a bachelor 's degree earned $77,605, and families headed by individuals with professional degrees earned $100,00" ("Poverty in the United States," 2012). In 2009, households headed by individuals age 15-24 averaged an income of $30,750 annually, while households headed by individuals age 25-34 averaged $50,188, and households with a head age 35-44 averaged $61,083 ("Poverty in the United States," 2012). Along with this study, there were no indicators as to what the primary cause of this was; however, it 's possible that work experience and additional education may be factors. While this is more of a combination of a social and economic factor to poverty, it is more of a social one because it deals directly with the head of household. The factor related to poverty to look at is race. In 2003, the poverty rate amongst African Americans in the United States was 24.4%, almost double the national poverty rate of 12.5% (Iceland, 2006, p. 81). This could be due to the oppressions of society through racial discrimination or profiling, or simply the effects of the oppression that once was- slavery and the racist discrimination of the early 20th century. "Poverty increases the risk of homelessness" ("Poverty," 2012), and children who grow up in low income families have less of a chance to get a good education and attempt to better themselves and their income ("Poverty," 2012). With this in mind, it makes sense that the African American community makes up a large majority of the poor in the United States. Their beginnings in this nation were the lowest, poorest conditions of anyone in that day. Many believe that they simply have not been able