Poverty In North America Essay

POVERTY IN NORTH AMERICA AND THE LIMITED ACCESS TO EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES, HEALTH CARE AND EDUCATION

The topic I will be focusing on for my paper is poverty in North America and how it affects individuals in their ability to obtain employment as well as health care and education opportunities. I chose this topic because it interests me how obtaining a job affects your entire life. Living in poverty is not usually a choice that a person makes on purpose. The world is very unequal in terms of distribution of resources and opportunities. The people that are less fortunate with money are the ones that get the lower end jobs, which lead to less health
Poverty can be defined in many ways but for the purpose of this essay, living in poverty is defined as any North American who is unable to provide financial stability for themselves or their families. These individuals are often homeless or living in an insecure situation. This of course impacts their ability to obtain employment. Access to a secure job is extremely limited and often, people living in poverty end up with very low class jobs working for minimum wage. Society looks upon the poor in a very apathetic way. They are also affected by the limited educational and health care options. People living in poverty often have less of an opportunity to pursue an education. As children, they can go to school and receive minimum education, however, there are fewer options for them in terms of post-secondary education and that of course affects their future employment opportunities. Without an education, it is highly unlikely that they will obtain a secure job for a lifetime to support them. The poor are also affected by the health care system. In the United States, it is mandatory to pay for health care, which people living in poverty simply cannot afford to do. In Canada, health care is free, however, certain things require coverage that come from being