Why People Become Poor Essay

According to the New York Times, in the year 2009 alone over forty-five million Americans had been classified as living in poverty. The term poverty is often associated with jobless or lower-class people who are consider themselves as “poor”. While there are numerous situations and factors that may cause and lead a person to live in poverty, these cofactors can be broken down into three main categories. The three individual reasons for people become poor consist of instances where these individuals usually have a lack of responsibility, an overcoming sense of laziness, and an underdeveloped process of moral decision making. When considering what qualities make a person poor, one must consider the quality of lacking responsibility. People

Members of lower levels of poverty usually have a higher stigma of laziness attached to them. For example, there are programs in which poor families can receive grants and academic scholarships to receive a higher education and later get a job, but often, these advances are ignored. Multiple families who fall victims to poverty take little to no action to improve their condition. In addition to federal aid promoting a decline in responsibility, it also encourages laziness for people who receive it. For instance, if a person is receiving a cash aid from the government, it is more likely that they would not pursue more money elsewhere. If an individual would receive free money from the government, most would think it to be pointless to get and keep a job. According to a survey done by Newsweek reporter, Jason Le Miere, sixty-three percent of the American population believe that the personal characteristic of laziness has a direct impact on another individual living in poverty. Not only does an overdeveloped sense of laziness contribute to what is defined as poverty, but an underdeveloped sense of decision making seems to go together with this idea as