Introduction
It is not possible to discuss the matters related to mobility and social class without a discussion concerning poverty. In simple words, poverty can be described as the insufficient provision of shelter and food that is essential for life maintenance. According to an estimate, there are more or less thirty five million American citizens are living in poverty in the present times (Hart, 2002). Poverty is one of those grave social phenomenon that are extremely complicated. For the same reason, it is also a complicated task to try to discover the causes of poverty. There are a number of stereotypic explanations regarding poverty that persist today. According to such simplistic explanations, poverty is the result of the actions of poor people. Many theorists assert that poor are responsible for their circumstances considering the lack of concern for their own future, engagement in self-defeating conduct, and the portrayal of ‘living-for-the-moment’ attitude (Mencher, 1967).
On the other hand, a number of theorists consider poor people to be fatalists. They assume so because people living in poverty resign themselves to poverty culture. Such a culture does not allow them to do anything for changing their financial standing in the society. As a consequence, the passage of the stated culture from one generation to another makes the poor feel pessimistic, low-grade, flaccid, fruitless, and incapable (Harrison & Dye, 2014).
The perspective of blaming the poor sounds stereotypic and cannot be applied to all underclass people. It is because a lot of poor people possess the abilities and willingness for making endeavors for changing their circumstances. It is not an untold secret that the provision of opportunities allows them to live with pride and without anyone’s help. The real problem is that poor have to deal with other societal troubles including inaccessibility to education, minimum wages, lack of family income etc. Such problems make it more difficult for them to obtain better-paying jobs and ultimately change their economic circumstances.
Poverty in the United States of America
Poverty Effects on Peoples’ Health
There are a number of reasons poverty is considered a continuing grave societal problem in the United States of America. First, the adversity and destitution that frequently accompany poverty have direct unfavorable consequences on the psychological and physical wellbeing of the individuals. Many studies and researches demonstrate that children who spend their childhood in poverty are physically weak. Moreover, their cognitive development is also hampered due to unfortunate and inopportune circumstances (Maholmes & King, 2012). As a consequence, they tend to develop antisocial behaviors in their later years leading them to delinquency. Individuals with a poor background are also at a high risk of developing problems related to health. In many cases, they cannot recover due to the lack or inaccessibility to food and medical services. Thus, a lot of them die a young death. There are several other effects that are inflicted by poverty. These include low income, instability in the family, and inadequate or no education. It is considered true that poverty usually brings about more poverty. This is because individuals who are raised in a poor family have a higher possibility of remain poor after entering adulthood. It is also widely acknowledged that many in poverty are morally troubled as they continue to suffer in a plentiful American society (Rank, 2004).
Poverty and its Economic Consequences for Americans
Second, the economic consequences of poverty are also widespread. A middle class that is vibrant is the major reason societies thrive and boom economically. In the twentieth century, the consumer markets’ expansion fueled most of the economic development and growth in the country. The soaring of new products and their demand also catalyzed the pervasiveness and demand for wages and benefits, advancement of technology, and productivity. When there is a decline in poverty, there is a crystal clear effect on economy as more people become economically sound to purchase desired goods and services. This increase in affluent people gives rise to living standards by stimulating economic growth (Iceland, 2006).
Poverty Effects on Society
Third, high poverty levels produce grave political and social outcomes. The feeling of alienation in poor people increases as they feel disconnected from maintream American society. It is also not an untold secret that poverty has provoked crime and social disorder in the United States. It has also reduced public trust in the so-called institutions of democracy. This is because the sontemporary system has failed in addressing the needs of the people. The best example in this regard is that of 1960s ghetto riots that mirror the African-American marginalization in economy, society, and politics in the United States (Lawson & Lawson, 2008). Still, the prevalence of racism and prejudice has caused many marginalized groups to remain poor in a thriving and abundant American society. It is saddening that the societal fragmentation in the present times has contributed in the unfair resource distribution among American citizens (Iceland, 2006).
There is no doubt in the fact that poverty in American nation is hitting people in the psyche and in the wallet as well. In a majority of cases, broken people feel mentally broken. There is a popular belief that anyone who is working hard can survive in the American land. However, this belief is a stinging idea for those who do not have sufficient finances to even pay their bills. Poverty in America has made life unfair for many. For such people, there are not enough chips for winning the poverty game (Contrada, 2010).
Poverty Distribution in the United States of America
Usually, the measurement of poverty is obtained by making use of a formula based on the individual or family income levels. The simplest definition of poor is not having enough income to meet even the life’s most basic needs. To put it more simply, an individual is considered poor when he does not own money or resources to surface out of the poverty line. It is significant to note that there is a difference in the basic needs of people. There are always continuous variations in needs of people, depending on time and space. For this reason, every country uses poverty lines that are in accordance with its developmental level, social standards, and values etc. Poverty lines in every country vary according to place and time (Edmonds, 2003).
There are many patterns that distinguish and differentiate the distribution of poverty in the United States of America. Towards the 20th century’s end, the spatial poverty distribution was one of the major features as a pattern of poverty change. During the early decades of the twenty-first century, it was widely acknowledged that the United States of America nurtures poverty as a natural phenomenon. In the contemporary times, the distribution pattern of poverty is not concentrated in a particular American region. Before the 1960s, the pastoral regions and small cities in the country were particularly poverty-stricken. Towards the end of 1960s, non-metropolitan areas in the United States had a 50% higher poverty rate. On the other hand, the larger cities demonstrated less scenarios of poverty prevalence. Nevertheless, this distribution pattern went through a change during the 1970s. The metropolitan cities have suffered an increase in poverty. In contrast, there has been a slight decline in poverty distribution in the rural areas. This situation has persisted for long. In recent times, the poverty rates in most of the central American cities are higher to a certain extent (Lawson & Lawson, 2008).
Another feature in this regard is concerned with race and ethnicity. The American society has nurtured racial differences since times not known. For this reason, it is not a surprising fact that there is also a noteworthy variation in poverty rates when different races are compared. For instance, ¾ of African American population and 1/5 of Hispanic-American population in 2005 lived under the poverty line as compared to 1/10 of whites (Wright & Rogers, 2011).
Poverty and its Association with Racism
Poverty and racism are closely associated with each other, especially in the United States of America. However, the race-related-poverty has declined in the recent years. It is worth-mentioning that the whites in the country are still the major group struck by poverty. This means that poverty is not the major problem of the minorities and marginal groups in the United States of America, but a menace for the whites on the larger part (Gilbert, 2008). To cut a long story short, poverty not only has an effect on African Americans and Hispanics as the American problem but thousands and thousands of white Americans are also severely affected by it (Wright & Rogers, 2011).
Child Poverty in the United States of America
Since the historical times, children have been the most unspecified and nonetheless most susceptible poor in the United States of America. Same is the case today although the United States is the most affluent country in the world. It is an overwhelming reality that about nineteen percent of the poor in America is composed of young adults (below 18). According to 1960 statistics, twenty five percent of poor population in America was made up of destitute children (Lawson & Lawson, 2008). Such numbers are even bleaker as far as children belonging to minority groups are concerned. These groups include Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, and African Americans. In the contemporary times too, poor children are at a high risk of physical and psychological health problems. Malnourishment, exposure to and defenselessness against disease, struggles at school, and poor background worsens their circumstances even more. It is a saddening reality that even though researchers, officials, sociologists, and behavioral scientists have been able to understand the causes and outcomes of child poverty; they have failed in reversing the persistent prevalence of child poverty in the modern-day America (Lawson & Lawson, 2008).
Child Poverty and its Effects
According to psychological research, it has been demonstrated that poverty inflicts wide-ranging negative effects as it has a direct influence on the physical and psychological wellbeing of American children. It is easy to observe the impacts of poverty on children within homes, schools, neighborhoods, and communities. Poverty has a direct association with negative circumstances. For instance, it is related with poor quality accommodation, homelessness, insufficient food sustenance and food insecurity, poor child health care, inaccessibility to health care, insecure environs, and under resourced educational institutions (Davis, 1969). All the mentioned consequences of poverty have an adverse impact on American children. Poverty-stricken children and adolescents are also vulnerable to a number of negative outcomes. Such outcomes include poor educational accomplishment, school dropout, ill-treatment and abandonment, problems related to behaviors, social interactions, and finances, health problems, and delays in physical and mental development. These effects become multifaceted when children and their families come across various barriers in their efforts to access health care facilities. According to estimation of economists, child poverty costs about $500 billion annually to the United State’s economy. Poverty also causes productivity reduction, crime increase as well as health expenditure increase (Holzer, Schanzenbach, Duncan & Ludwig, 2008).
Effects on Academic Achievement
As far as academic achievement is concerned, poverty adversely impacts it. Children experience significant negative academic outcomes. Living in poverty and chronic stress are strongly associated. Chronic stress has an adverse effect on the concentration of children. In addition, their learning abilities are impacted due to a significant impact on memory. In 2008, The National Center for Education Statistics reported that students living in poor families had a dropout rate of 8.7% compared to 2% dropout rate of children belonging to affluent families. The gap of academic achievement for poorer adolescents is principally well-defined for low-income children related to Hispanic and African American families. Schools in poorer communities that are deprived of resources make constant endeavors for meeting the students’ learning needs. They also struggle for aiding and facilitating pupils to fulfill their potential. However, it is a saddening fact that insufficient schooling and learning plays a major role in the cycle of poverty. This is because inadequate education makes it more difficult and challenging for low-income children to come out of poverty in the future (Garbarino, 1996).
Effects on Psychosocial Outcomes
In addition, poverty also inflicts psychosocial outcomes on poor children. Such kids are more vulnerable to develop emotional and behavioral problems. They may develop a number of behavioral problems including spontaneity, irresponsibility, and difficulty to manage relationships with fellows and friends, violent behavior, conduct disorder, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). They are also prone to develop emotional problems that include feelings of nervousness, gloominess, dejection, and low sense of worth. It is also important to highlight that economic hardship accompanied with poverty is specifically difficult for parents (Lindsey, 2009).
Low-income parents may go through a number of problems by experiencing depression, chronic stress, marital agony, and rude parenting behaviors. Such experiences and behavioral patterns have a strong linkage to poor outcomes for their kids, both socially and emotionally. As far as insecure neighborhoods are concerned, such environs expose poor children to violent and aggressive activities. As a consequence, they experience psychosocial difficulties. Exposure to violence can also envisage violent behavior in the future. Exposed children may place them at greater possibility of physical and mental harm, death, and way in to the juvenile justice system.
Effects on Physical and Psychological Health
Furthermore, children belonging to poor classes and communities are at a greater risk to develop physical health problems. These include low weight at the time of birth, poor nutrition, and insufficient food (hunger/food insecurity). When children do not have accessibility to healthy foods, they tend to become obese or overweight. Obesity in poor children is also linked with absence of play grounds and sport areas. Such conditions also lead to risky behaviors including smoking, sexual activities at a younger age, and violence. They may also develop chronic conditions like pneumonia, anemia, and asthma. When exposed to contaminants (toxic wastes, lead paint) in the environment, children of low-income families also acquire physical disabilities. Moreover, exposure to communal violence makes them susceptible to mortality, trauma, and injury (Maholmes & King, 2012).
Poverty and Its Implications for Social Work and Practice
The role of social work is increasingly recognized for the promotion of social development. It can be said that this role is of particular importance in situations of unrelenting poverty in view of the fact that poverty affects individuals’ performance and health in a crippling manner (Twikirize, Asingwire, Omona, Lubanga & Kafuko, 2013).
Social work can be simply defined as a noble profession whereby social workers continuously strive for the enhancement of peoples’ wellbeing. It is considered an extremely significant humanizing profession as a social worker takes appropriate actions in order to change the miserable conditions of the destitute. Social work has a strong link with poverty as this profession aims to promote social change, and empowers and liberates people out of their poor and traumatic circumstances due to poor living standards. The implications of social work and practice for poverty reduction cannot be ignored as the intervention of social workers helps poor to come out of their problems in a decent way. For this reason, it is crystal clear that the social workers must be trained in such a well-equipped and skillful manner that they could perform their role adequately to help people change their circumstances (Spitzer, Twikirize & Wairire, 2014). Social work and poverty are interconnected. There are a number of ways poverty can be approached by social workers. In the present times, there is a dire need to introduce an excellent approach for the development of poverty awareness and its implications for social work practice, especially for in-training social workers (Davis & Wainwright, 2006).
It is important to note that the functions and responsibilities of modern-day social work with regard to poverty alleviation and social development realization do not qualify this profession as an eclectic field. Instead, the functionalities of social work concerning poverty reduction make it a holistic profession in the present times. There is no denying of the fact that social work is universally acknowledged as a profession that focuses on peoples’ problems holistically. However, it is important to highlight that the priorities of this profession experience variations considering different times and different regions. For this reason, social work priorities about poverty reduction and social development within the United States of America are distinctive as compared to other poverty-stricken countries in the world (Lowe, 1999). In the current times, the issue of poverty in the United States is being tackled by social workers through community organization in poor neighborhoods. This measure makes the utilization of community assets possible and then additional resources are combined for constructing local systems for the promotion of health care facilities, educational achievements, and financial viability. Social workers have also congregated at a national level for urging Congress to take appropriate measures for poverty reduction (Mizrahi, 2008).
Conclusion
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