Poverty In America & Living Conditions
According to Robert E.
This is an excerpt from the paper...
According to Robert E. Rector and Kirk A. Johnson writing for The Heritage Foundation (online), last year, the Census Bureau released its annual report on poverty in the United States declaring that there were nearly 35 million poor persons living in this country in 2002, a small increase from the preceding year. According to the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (online), for the third consecutive year, the poverty rate and the number of Americans living in poverty both rose from the prior years. Since 2000, the number of poor Americans has grown by more than 4 million. The official poverty rate in 2003, the most current year for which figures are available, was 12.5 percent, up from 12.1 percent in 2002. There were 35.9 million Americans below the official poverty threshold, a figure 1.3 million higher than the 34.6 million in poverty in 2002. The number of Americans living in severe poverty, with incomes below half of the poverty line, increased by 1.2 million in 2003, to 15.3 million. The American Midwest and South saw the greatest numbers of people entering poverty in 2003; the number in the Midwest rose from 6.6 million to 6.9 million, while the South rose from 14 to 14.5 million people (One Nation, Free from Poverty). Sid Mohn writing in Crain's Chicago Business notes that poverty and education levels are linked. Mohn explains that recent research has demonstrated the state is facing an epidemic of teen poverty in the United States characterized by the high
. . .
d a third have an automatic dishwasher
The living conditions of the average poor person should not be taken to mean that all poor Americans live without hardship. There is a wide range of living conditions among the poor. Roughly a third of poor households do face material hardships such as overcrowding, intermittent food shortages, or difficulty obtaining medical care. The average consumption of protein, vitamins, and minerals is virtually the same for poor and middle-class children and, in most cases, is well above recommended norms. However, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 13 percent of poor families and 2.6 percent of poor children experience hunger at some point during the year. In most cases, their hunger is short-term. Eighty-nine percent of the poor report their families have enough food to eat, while only 2 percent say they often do not have enough to eat. While the majority of poor households do not experience significant material problems, roughly a third do experience at least one problem such as overcrowding, temporary hunger, or difficulty getting medical care ((Rector et al).
Cecilio Morales writing in America suggests that the United States has established a reasonable record in reducing poverty.
. . .
Some common words found in the essay are:
Census Bureau, Conclusion According, National Journal, VCR DVD, Human Development, President Johnson's, Department Agriculture, Rector Johnson, Chicago Business, African-Americans Hispanics, poor households, percent poor, single mothers, poverty rate, child poverty, minimum wage, census bureau, poverty america, percent poor households, dec 2004, 21 dec, 21 dec 2004, poor census bureau, 2004 21 dec, classified poor census,
Approximate Word count = 1512
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)
|