Poverty and Children in the United States
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Poverty and Children in the United States
Kimberly Belt
University of Phoenix
Sociology
January 24, 2009
Poverty and Children in the United States
The United States is known as the richest country in the world. When poverty is mentioned most people think about third world countries and the commercials on T.V advertising for sponsors. Most people do not first think of people in our very own country. Everyone has come across someone in the United States suffering from hunger, homelessness and other forms of poverty, but few people may have realized it. Poverty in the United States is quite different from the images often seen on television in other developing countries (Cole, 2005). The face of poverty in the United States can be considered a child who is not properly nourished because his or her parents cannot afford to buy the necessary food items in order to keep them healthy. The face of poverty in the United States may represent a single parent who works full-time, but still cannot afford to pay for food, shelter, clothing or even a car. Although the United States is the wealthiest nation, poverty is still an issue (Freeman, 2005).
Child poverty is an alarming problem in the United States that affects every person in this country, regardless of economic status, age, race, or gender. In 2001, 11.7 million children, or 16.3% of children in the United States were poor (Freeman, 2005). Children represent a disproportionate percentage of the poor population. They make up 35.7 percent of the poor, but only account for 25.6 percent of the general population (U.S. Census Bureau, 2006).
As with all classes there is certain criterion you must meet in order to be in any certain class. A poverty class is when there is not enough wages or income to meet the basic needs of any living being. Basic needs would be things like food, shelter, and clothes. A child in a family in poverty would also be missing a basic need of children which would be the...
Kimberly Belt
University of Phoenix
Sociology
January 24, 2009
Poverty and Children in the United States
The United States is known as the richest country in the world. When poverty is mentioned most people think about third world countries and the commercials on T.V advertising for sponsors. Most people do not first think of people in our very own country. Everyone has come across someone in the United States suffering from hunger, homelessness and other forms of poverty, but few people may have realized it. Poverty in the United States is quite different from the images often seen on television in other developing countries (Cole, 2005). The face of poverty in the United States can be considered a child who is not properly nourished because his or her parents cannot afford to buy the necessary food items in order to keep them healthy. The face of poverty in the United States may represent a single parent who works full-time, but still cannot afford to pay for food, shelter, clothing or even a car. Although the United States is the wealthiest nation, poverty is still an issue (Freeman, 2005).
Child poverty is an alarming problem in the United States that affects every person in this country, regardless of economic status, age, race, or gender. In 2001, 11.7 million children, or 16.3% of children in the United States were poor (Freeman, 2005). Children represent a disproportionate percentage of the poor population. They make up 35.7 percent of the poor, but only account for 25.6 percent of the general population (U.S. Census Bureau, 2006).
As with all classes there is certain criterion you must meet in order to be in any certain class. A poverty class is when there is not enough wages or income to meet the basic needs of any living being. Basic needs would be things like food, shelter, and clothes. A child in a family in poverty would also be missing a basic need of children which would be the...