Poverty in the United States Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Poverty in the United States - Research Paper Example Individuals born in the United States usually have better prospects and access to resources than people born in poor societies (Chappell 2010, 45). Thus, they benefit from a better quality of life and bigger earnings. Similarly, impoverished children who reside and go to school in communities with more affluent families will likely have greater opportunities than children who reside in communities where they intermingle only with other impoverished children (Aliprantis & Zenker 2011, 1). This essay tries to discuss the current condition of poverty in the United States by taking into account several factors, particularly the impact of welfare programs on poverty. The American Dilemma The Census Bureau in the United States specifies a group of income thresholds that rely on household composition and size, and members of a household are regarded poor if the overall income of their household is below the correct threshold (Iceland 2003, 20). However, it is important to point out that thi s description computes income before transfers and taxes, and thus there is much disagreement about whether it might be more useful for future assessments to classify poverty as regards to consumption (p. 20). Rates of poverty have fluctuated between 11% and 15% of the population over the recent decades (Aliprantis & Zenker 2011, 1). Statistics from 2010 exhibit a noticeable increase in the rate of poverty during the most recent economic depression (Bishaw 2011, 2-3). Even though the rise was distributed across racial groups, the eventual patterns in poverty differ when divided by race. Figure 1. Percentage of the People Living in Poverty Areas by State: 2006-2010 *graph taken from Bishaw (2011, 3) Prevalence of poverty among the white population have somewhat remained the same over the recent decades. Prevalence of poverty among the Asian population dropped in the latter part of the 1990s and has been the same as that of whites over the recent decades. For instance, the rate of pov erty for the Asian population in 2010 was 12% (U.S. Census Bureau 2010, 694). Poverty rates for the Hispanic and Black populations have differed; although the prevalence of poverty for these populations dropped significantly all over the 1990s, they are situated at a noticeably higher point than other populations (U.S. Census Bureau 2010, 694). As revealing as figures of individual-level poverty are for identifying the earnings accessible to individual members of a household, they fail to generate data about the resources accessible to individuals through their community. This is significant since it is not difficult to think of numerous explanations that the poverty in a specific community might be similarly significant to the poverty of an individual’s household (Aliprantis & Zenker 2011, 2). An impoverished household residing in an affluent community could have greater opportunities for it might have access to more quality education, more accurate and updated information a bout employment availability, or better access to public services than an impoverished family residing in a poor community. Figure 2. Distribution of People by Race and Ethnicity and by Poverty Level of Tracts: 2010 *taken from Bishaw (2011, 7) The United States put into effect in the 1960s one of the most aggressive social policy programs of the 20th century by declaring an all-out ‘