My Essay

Poverty and its Effects on Children As an instinct, we tend to look away at the problems we face. It is as if we feel we are in too deep and are now forced to accept life as it is, with an end not in sight. Poverty has become a severe problem that seems to worsen with the passing of time. Those who choose to look away get peace only in their minds, never thinking about the outcome it has on others. The effects of poverty on families in America create not only an unstable environment, but also put children in risk to have serious illness and health problems. What qualifies as poverty? Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines poverty as the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions. As of 2011, the United States Census Bureau presented data that showed 46.2 million Americans were living in poverty. Out of those people, 16.1 million of them were children [ (Staff) ]. Although poverty itself seems simple to understand, the underlying causes are both complicated and hard to determine. A simple explanation as to what causes poverty cannot be found; opinions range from person to person. Some believe that those in poverty caused it themselves [ (Sociology: Causes and Effects of Poverty) ]. They argue that in America, anything is possible. Other theorists suppose there are those who would rather “live in the moment,” than take a step back and look at the future [ (Sociology: Causes and Effects of Poverty) ]. Another cause being considered is that those who live in poverty for so long eventually lose hope, in which they believe nothing is ever going to change; accepting the fact that living in poverty is the lifestyle they have [ (Sociology: Causes and Effects of Poverty) ].
Although all are valid causes, holding all Americans responsible for living in poverty is not acceptable to others. As time passes, more and more people are beginning to think the economy is to blame. They theorize that the rise of the middle