Causes and Effects of Poverty Essay Example

Introduction

America is one of the most poignant areas where poverty cripples in and affects the surplus of food, finances and shelter. Lack of money, in this case, is the absence of the necessary human needs such as shelter, food and other primary resources. America has over 35 million citizens that are impoverished (living in poverty), and the trend keeps on increasing depending on the definition of poverty (Harry n.p). Relatively, according to statistics, more than 20 per cent citizens that are above 40 years are still living in poverty. Of the 20 per cent, approximately 60 per cent have low-income jobs (Harry n.p). The relationship between dignity and poverty is something real. This poses a question; what are the causes and effects of poverty?

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Causes of Poverty

Poverty is a social phenomenon complicated situation that has always brought debates when people try to discover its origins. The simplest way to explain this based on the American Dream is that the poor created the poverty. It can also be described as the ability ones make by despising the dubious circumstances of life and not making a change. It is also believed that the subsets have a disconnection between an individual and their ability to do something, but with a defeatist attitude (Langille 103). This means that they believe that nothing can be done to improve their economic status thus makes them disregard the future.

Similar to the stereotypes, blaming poor people for their situation may not be fair because many impoverished Americans have the will to work, but because of lack of education and unreasonable wages, they are unable to bypass the poverty bracket. Moreover, most of them prefer to receive a welfare check than work in companies that have demeaned or unfair working conditions. One primary reason that has affected many people is suburbanization. This is the movement of people from urban to the suburbs centres that dire consequences to the metropolitan area because people go back on a daily basis to work

The Effects of Poverty

In every society, poverty causes severe effects and the most affected are children. Not only does the health of kids affected, but also leads to low birth ways, causes physical and mental disability due to lack of nutrition in the womb. Their ability to thrive, is, therefore, diminished due to poor living standards (Majeed 4). Poverty also makes kids to miss school and as a result end up working either due to lack of interest to fend for their families. Most of them also carry a lot of stress compacted with the family stresses. As a result, most families become violent, abuse alcohol and drugs, lose jobs, get evicted and sometimes lead to death. Extreme poverty and total homelessness are some of the factors that make it fatal due to lack of immunisation, improper nutrition, and lack of medicine or complications brought by addiction. A homeless woman, for instance, has high risks of infant mortality and miscarriage because lack of a place to live denies them the access to proper, adequate prenatal care.

Without adequate sanitation in homes, kids that come from poor homes become vulnerable to life-threatening illness such as intestinal infections and diarrhoea. A house that lacks sufficient ventilation makes people susceptible to respiratory diseases. Warm and clean houses protect people from ailments by improving their health status. When low-income families require properly constructed homes, and don't have a way of doing so, they usually fall prey to diseases, less equipped, and contract many types of infections. Globally, millions of people suffer from poverty-related health issues and infectious diseases that ravage people's living standards (Majeed 9). Most of them end up contracting diseases because of lack of proper water and sanitisation, contaminated water, and lack of adequate healthcare. One example is malaria. Usually, this sickness is known as the poor man's disease and every year, millions of people that live in poverty die. A parasite that thrives in mosquitoes cause the illness and when infect malaria bites a man is transferred. In sub-Saharan Africa, the condition is known to affect more than 97 countries (Majeed 11).

Besides the health issue, poverty is the most significant contributor to crime. There is a saying that states that 'if someone does not work they are not supposed to eat.' This message cannot apply to people that live in poverty because of their economic status. As a result, and as a way of surviving, most of them end up engaging themselves in crime. In a study done in the Caribbean, it was discovered that the youth involved in criminal activities due lack of employment. The study also added that those aged between 15 to 24 years were struggling in the job market and as a result, crime was their only way out (Majeed 13). The crime rate in Carrebian affects about 6.8 per cent because most of them lived below the poverty line. Since most don't have access to sufficient economic opportunity, they end up engaging themselves in dangerous activities to make ends meet.

Conclusion

Poverty, as elaborated, has many adverse effects both socially and economically. The causes of poverty are vast, but the most commonly known is when an individual lacks basic needs such as food, shelter and water. Poverty causes lousy health, makes kids to miss school, and sometimes leads to death due to lack of immunisation, improper nutrition, lack of medicine or complications brought by addiction. Besides the health issue, poverty is the most significant contributor to crime. Mostly, due to lack of jobs, people living in harsh conditions end up stealing to allow them to get food on the table.

Works Cited

Harry. The Deficit Model of Poverty (and NCLB). - Crooked Timber. crookedtimber.org/2008/04/23/the-deficit-model-of-poverty-and-nclb/.

Langille, Lynn. "The Role of Public Health in Poverty Reduction and Re-Framing Causes and Consequences of Poverty." PsycEXTRA Dataset, 2010, pp. 101-122., doi:10.1037/e514902013-001.

Majeed, Muhammad Tariq. "Poverty Effects of Remittances: a Comparative Analysis." Journal of International Development, vol. 27, no. 1, 2014, pp. 1-14., doi:10.1002/jid.3055.