The American Dream: Poverty In The United States

A concerning issue in the well-shaped American society Today, there are many well-shaped societies all over the world, such as the American society. However, there are no societies in the world without issues that concerns them. Although people from poor countries would believe that the American society is perfect, just like the Utopian society, there is no perfect society. The “perfect” American society is, in fact, affected by a lot of social issues.

Poverty is affecting billions of people around our world and the number is growing with each day. Many people think they can avoid the effects of poverty, but it is something that affects all of our daily lives. Many people see poverty as a person who lacks money, although this is true poverty is caused by many more things than being without money. Just the fact that one in two children live in poverty can help people see clearly the impact it has on our world. Poverty truly does influence the type of care and treatment a person will receive when they need it.

America’s wealth gap between middle class and upper class income is at its highest level in decades. According to Pew Research Center’s article “America’s Wealth Gap,” they report in 2010, the median wealth of upper-income families was 6.2 times the median wealth of middle-income families and by 2013, that wealth ratio grew to 6.6. This makes the American Dream a very difficult thing to accomplish, especially for the lower class. The American Dream means that all people have the equal opportunity to achieve success of rising in their social ladder through hard work, determination, and initiative. Some argue that the American Dreams is available and achievable by all. However, while the American Dream is available to all, it is not achievable by all because there are issues due to health, ethnicity, location, and opportunities.

It seems that so often the subject of economic standing and wealth are said synonymously with the phrase “The American Dream.” To the enlightened individual the dream is not just a dollar sign, or desk name-tag at work, but the ability to walk into a room or a home, and know that their presence is welcomed and looked forward to. The dream is realizing that in America, we have resources to make an honest difference. In “Scratch Beginnings”, this quote says that “Hey, we all come from different backgrounds, most of which weren’t normal. We’re all messed up.”

No matter who you are or where you have come from, you have undoubtedly heard of the American Dream. The idea that no matter who you are or where you have come from, you can do whatever it is you desire in America. What was once one the main driving forces for immigrants to flock to the new world, has slowly changed over the years, but still holds its value in the eyes of those who are looking for a promising new place to live. The American dream might not hold the same awe inspiring sound that it once did, but for many generations before ours it was a beacon of hope that helped build the foundation that the United States was built on. And, still, today the American dream might not be as achievable as it once was, but it is still an important

This idea that poor workers could increase their place in society through hard work and determination truly changed the world. The American Dream is the reason that many of the early immigrants came to America. In the old world, peasants often starved and lived in crushing poverty. Many immigrants decided to journey here for the mere possibility of a better life: “ America was truly a new world, a place where one could live one’s life and pursue one’s goals unburdened by older societies’ prescribed ideas of class, caste, and social hierarchy.” (Kamp 23).

Some say the American Dream can be defined as being better off than your parent’s generation. Others may see it as the promise of riches and opportunity. But most agree that it is what immigrants come to America for. Personally, I believe it is meant to give everyone, no matter who they are, an equal opportunity to achieve success however they define it; to do so it embraces and upholds certain ideals and works to unite us a nation.

First off, the American dream isn’t accessible to impoverished families in the U.S. The American dream involves having money to occasionally blow on entertainment or extra purchases. But for 50 million Americans, according to the Huffington Post,

(Document A) Current residents also argue that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are life, Liberty and the Pursuit of happiness. (Document B) However, this is not true. The American Dream is not possible and cannot be attained since those who are already the less fortunate. The American Dream is only possible for those who have started off financially well with good social standings.

In 1776, the Declaration of Independence, in founding America, laid the foundation of the American Dream with the principles of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” (Jefferson 77). Jefferson believed that life should be better and richer for every man. He did not, however, necessarily mean that money is needed for life to be “richer.” As the American economy, society and culture have advanced, the interpretation of the American Dream has changed drastically. Nowadays, the American Dream values money and materialism over happiness.

Defined, poverty means someone who lacks the socially acceptable amount of money to survive. Poverty often leads to a cycle of not being able to afford what is needed across generations. The US has about 12.7% of its population below the poverty line and the rate has been decreasing. The two perspectives that look at this topic in both a positive and negative light are the structural functionalist and the conflict theory. The structural functionalist theory believes everything is a working part of society and is needed to create a sort of well oiled machine and that every part has its own use and needed function.

Poverty is one of the most horrific epidemics in our society today. Poverty is the state of being extremely poor. It is a very serious problem that many people suffer from today. Many issues such as illness, hunger, and bad sanitation are all causes of poverty. Statistics show that there are over 35 million Americans that live in poverty.

Poverty still occurs across the modern world which we live in nowadays. While the majority of people would relate the word poverty with less developed countries the truth is that poverty is to be found everywhere you look. Yet the term, poverty, is brought up to discussion. Because would you consider yourself poor even though you didn’t know the better scenario existed? And isn’t it sometimes enough just to have a bed to sleep in, food to eat and people around who love you? Some might say that whether or not you consider yourself poor are simply up to your mindset. Because sometimes just being grateful for what you have and not trying to search for the unattainable are more than enough. Having all the riches in the world is not necessarily the key to happiness and

Poverty can adversely affect the population in so many ways. Families living in poverty can face emotional and social challenges, cognitive lacks and health and safety issues and acute and chronic stresses. Levels of stress increase with the economic circumstances. Subsequent poverty and job loss are associated with violence in families, including child and elder abuse. These families are also more likely to be exposed to illnesses, job loss, eviction, criminal victimization and family death. Children living in constant poverty also show the worst cognitive development, compared to children from higher socio-economic backgrounds ("Hunger and poverty", 2017).

Poverty is defined as the state of being unable to fulfill basic needs of human beings. Poverty is the lack of resources leading to physical deprivation. Poor people are unable to fulfill basic survival needs such as food, clothing, shelter. These are the needs of lowest order and assume top priority. Poor people are unknown of their lack of voice, power, and rights, which leads them to exploitation.