The American Way Of Poverty Abramsky Summary

Bridges out of Poverty provided valuable insight on how to better understand the constructs of poverty, as well as offering strategies for how to help those living in poverty transition to middle class. The book was designed to help readers recognize and address issues contributing to poverty. There are many different hidden rules that exist within each socioeconomic class. Using the resources available in this book can help those living in poverty gain insight on what is trapping them in the poverty cycle. In addition, it can help those of us who are already living within the middle-class identify the reoccurring patterns of poverty and what we can do to assist in the development from poverty to middle-class.

The Working Poor: Invisible in America David K. Shipler is a book that could be most accurately described as eye-opening. Shipler opens up the book on his claim that “nobody who works hard should be poor in America.” America is built upon the idea that the harder one works, the better off one will be. Shipler then goes on to explain how the poor, often times, work the hardest jobs and are put into the worse conditions, but still do not grow to become the most successful.

In the study “Racial and Class Divergence in Public Attitudes and Perception About Poverty in USA: An Empirical Study,” professor Francis O. Adeola analyzes existing data to determine if people themselves or a structural influence causes poverty (Adeola 56). Building upon the idea of structural poverty, Adeola contends “poverty rates tend to persist in the same neighborhood over many years” (61). For the other Wes Moore, this neighborhood was the Murphy Project Homes: one of the most dangerous places in Baltimore (Moore 18). Furthermore, he examines how “[t]he poor form a unique subculture,” reinforcing aspects of poverty (Adeola 61). The subculture that surrounded the other Wes Moore included the normalization of the presence of drugs and

In the article “How I Discovered the Truth about Poverty” Barbara Ehrenreich gives her view in poverty and explains why she think Michael Harington’s book “The Other American” gives a wrong view on poverty. She explained that Harrington believes that the poor thought and felt differently and what divides the poor was their different “culture of poverty.”

Throughout the text, “Changing the Face of Poverty,” Diana George is certainly precise when claiming that the common representations of poverty limit our understanding of it. She expresses that most of our knowledge of poverty becomes misinterpreted due to advertisements, media, and images. Consequently, the way that we look at poverty focuses around that in which is in third-world countries, but poverty can be anywhere, even in your backyard. American citizens are the audience for the text, because Americans typically portray as being wealthy, happy people who are oblivious to the poverty-stricken areas surrounding them. Diana George’s, “Changing the Face of Poverty” expresses to its readers that non-profit organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, utilize unauthentic pictures as a way to convince the public that there are people out there that need help.

According to the PBS Frontline video “Poor Kids” 2012, more than 46 million Americans are living beneath the poverty line. The United States alone has one of the highest rates of child poverty in the industrialized world. It is stated that 1 out of 5 children are living in poverty. The video documented the lives of three families who are faced with extreme hardships and are battling to survive a life of being poor. All three families have more than one child and could barely afford to pay their bills and purchase food for their household.

The article informs that in 1953 the federal government reported an official poverty rate, this was the first time this was done. Gallaway’s article essentially describes the war on poverty. Gallaway argues that the war on poverty, unintentionally, creates slow economic growth, greater income inequality, and high poverty rates. The author broadly examines poverty and economic growth and as a result, it is concluded that those who are below the poverty line are no longer impacted by any economic growth. In 2010, 15.75 million of America’s 70 million children were classified as living in poverty. Countries have attempted to end poverty for many years now but it seems that the numbers continue to increase. Some people blame the government while others blame the individual for their own situation. The article also addresses public attitudes towards welfare recipients which tends to be negative. Many think that the welfare system is only hurting the American economy. Therefore, many African American women are oppressed for receiving food stamps, but when compared to a disabled person the treatment is

It expands on the blame the poor and the blame society view in the book. The Article does the by bringing up the preconceived notions that most individuals would have about poverty, then shows research material with statistics to show evidence of his claim.

Poverty has been around for numerous years. Poverty can be a generational problem if people let it. James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues” and David Joy’s “Digging in the trash” both show that families in poverty do not have it easy, the children will live in poverty unless something is done, and people either find a way of escape or stand up against it.

The topic poverty was chosen due to the fact it is a serious issue that should not be taken for granted. People from the vulnerable population is often forgotten about within society. As the researcher, one’s objective is to highlight the social issue poverty the history, demographics, and its effects. Why is this social issue poverty important? In the city that the researcher resides in, individuals are without a job & shelter. There is little economic growth which results in high levels of poverty. The downtown area of Winston Salem has abandon infrastructures. Panhandling is used as

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.

A major issue in America today is poverty. However not much is being done to help those in need. Many who struggle in poverty are those who struggle getting the basic necessities we need in the everyday life such as food, clothes, water, and shelter. Different factors that can contribute to poverty are lack of education, unemployment, poor economy, race/origin, non-effective policies, and illness/disease; therefore more help should be made towards helping those in need.

In preparation for this paper I chose to read Fire in the ashes: twenty five years among the poorest children in America by Jonathan Kozol. In this book Kozol has followed these children and their family’s lives for the past twenty five years. In his writing Kozol portrays a point of view most from his background and standing would not be capable of having. He portrays what life is like for those who have been let down by the system that was meant to protect them. Kozols writing style can be very blunt at times, not for shock value, but for the sake of portraying these children’s realities, and not sugarcoating the inequalities that they are faced with. There was a lot of balance within this book. In the book there are two parts: part one

The American economic system can be defined by a baseball metaphor. The wealthy would begin the game at third base ready to rush home with a decent hit. The second and first base are filled with the middle class, far from the home plate, but still within reach. Finally, the lower class is stuck on the benches waiting for their chance to hit. There is no guarantee that the poor will cross the home plate. Although Poverty in the U.S. is minor compared to countries like Niger, Haiti, Yemen, and many more, 14.5% of our population is still living under the poverty line. This might be a small number against other countries, but compared to our immense economy, 48 million Americans under poverty is an enormous number. Within the 48 million, 22% (16 million) are children

Despite the great wealth the United States possesses, it has for long struggled with poverty which is said to be inherited from one generation to another. The culture of poverty hinders those affected from economic betterment however much assistance they obtain from social programs put in place. The term Culture of poverty is believed to have been coined by Oscar Lewis, who suggested that children who grow up in poverty-stricken families are highly likely to adopt the norms and practices that encourage poverty. Thus, these children, he believed, would replicate the adapted values in their lives which would in turn generate a cycle of intergenerational poverty in the long run (Bell et al, 2013). Thus the culture of poverty is a topic which creates heated debates in both the public and political arenas.