Custom «Poverty in America» Essay Paper Sample

America of all other developed countries in the world is least expected to be experiencing such things like poverty and food wastage. The Census Bureau of US has said that those people living below the line of poverty in America total up to 35.9 million which includes children totaling to 12.9 million. Billions of pounds of food in America is wasted yet they can afford to say that they have those below the poverty line. US Conference of Mayors in 2004 carried out a survey on 27 cities which showed that the average food emergency requests for food assistance increased to 14.3%. Thresholds of poverty are tools used to calculate the population statistics for the country which is the official one. Guidelines on poverty are used by several programs of both federal and state. Poverty phenomenon in America has changed from colonial periods to Industrial revolution onset in the 19th century to the 20th century which is the global economic period (Axelrod-Contrada, 2009).

PRWORA was aimed at saving dollars and reducing the dependency rates as stipulated by Bill Clinton who was then the President of America. Under this act Title IV categorized the immigrants who were mostly used as farmworkers as either being “qualified” and unqualified: for the “public federal benefits.” Those immigrants who entered the US after August 22, 1996, were bound to take a test after 5 years to see if they qualify to be called American citizens. All the Aids that were intended to Families that were Dependent Children (AFDC) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) were terminated. However, the State reforms succeeded in helping those families in need thus they became self-sufficient through the saving of taxpayers dollars, giving optimism and chance to those children growing up in poor conditions (poverty).

Homogeneous is the agricultural work of the respondents of four camps whereas the ones of campE had been specified different assignments all together like driving the tractor, picking and grading both fruits and vegetables. Most of the respondents originate from Florida. After harvesting and sorting the fruits and vegetables, the workers need not to go home. All the migrant workers were from the same race. Migrant children have been affected by the stigmatization they face in school from other pupils who have showed them ignorance, stereotypes, and prejudice. Most farmworkers in the U.S. are legally in the country having a work ticket while others are green card holders. Most of the working immigrants are aged between 25 and 33. Teenagers who have opted to go work have jeopardized their education with the intention of helping their parents.

The child labor laws clear states that when a minor turns 16 they become adults and thus are eligible to work. Having an education for the farmworkers did not alleviate them from their daily routines in the farm thus many of the children from poor backgrounds had to drop school in order to help their parents. This has made many of them continue being farmworkers which binds them to the same economic status throughout. No changes are bound to come their way. Both male and female from the same family work in the farms.

The new welfare reform has made life for working Americans very hard since they have to do with the merger salary they are given and low-wage-job-processes to support their families. For the single women especially, life is hard and one is forced to bear with the situations as they come. Many of the working Americans have opted to do two jobs so as to meet the needs of the family. Ehrenreich is one example of an American worker who has to do odd jobs in order to provide fro her family in three different cities. In Key West which is her first city, she has to live in an efficiency then later on moves to a park trailer. In this city, being poor has its hidden costs which include not being able to pay for a security deposit to be given an apartment, then you will be forced to live in an hotel which is quite expensive. With a roof over your head, forget about eating nutritious food, you will have to survive with the cheap food available. No health insurance cover means more health problems. These expenses are all paid for by working at a restaurant during the day and in a hotel as the house keeper (Reef, 2007).

Maine is her next destination where she works for a cleaning company during the week and at a nursing home during the weekends. Here, she lives in a cottage and realizes that little assistance is given to the poor working populace. She wanted some assistance, but sadly she encountered very rude individuals who were less willing to do very little. The final destination for Ehrenreich was Minnesota where she secured a place at Wal-Mart. Housing in this city is a problem thus she decides to stay in a hotel which is too expensive, but has no choice. Before she could organize a union at Wal-Mart, she takes her leave. These jobs were mentally and physically challenging.

Yes, most statistics found by labor department supported all the claims of Ehrenreich. Change is needed for Americans in the lower strata to be able to withstand the harsh working conditions facing the nation. Change reflected on the minimum wage workers in the U.S. has greatly improved and thus little wastage is reported. Most of the workers who were getting low wages have gone to school and thus they have minimized their chances of being exploited by their employers. For most minimum paid workers there situations have changed for the better since majority of them need not to have two jobs to sustain their families. This has been good response from the governments who have tried to promote equality in the workplace and in the nation and thus all employees are able to air their views and opinions.

The definition of people being poor has brought about controversies to the term and thus many individuals regard being poor as lack of things like cars, houses, and extra money to spend on vacations. Taking this is assumption is wrong since there are other important things in life other than material things like good health, personal well being of individuals and aspiration levels of the poor members of the community or society. Social exclusion issues with regard to the poor is a vital fact that needs to be addressed as soon as possible by the highest levels of government and thus people in the United States should treat each other with equality. The concept of people being divided due to family backgrounds should be abolished since it brings about enmity in schools, societies, and villages (United States Code, 2000).

Discrimination among the whites and blacks in America’s society is still high thus needs some adjustments in order to be able to accommodate fully the black Americans in the society. Equal opportunities should be given to both men and women of the black community since it will give them an avenue to air their grievances, suggestion, and ideas. By making the poor and the rich mingle in society brings about cohesion which is good for the development of the country and society in general. Lets all try and appreciate each other in we are doing and we are going to eradicate poverty in our nation as a whole. Work, living, and climatic conditions should be looked at so as to minimize the number of poor people reported ill in a span of time. The issue of welfare in PRWORA has been transferred to the private sector from the public sectors. Non-profit making organizations should be given the authority to provide medical services to the poor people in the rural areas (Iceland, 2006).