The Causes of poverty

While the term 'poverty' may conjure images of destitute people living in deplorable conditions, this very term assumes a new dimension when we speak of proverty in the United States of America. Indeed, there are many impoverished people who have to live in a deprived state, but majority of these 39 million people could have passed as 'well off' about 30 years ago. However, the definition of 'poor' primarily revolves around the purchasing power of an individual. It may not be always related to fulfillment of basic needs such as food, clothing and shelter. In that context, one has to consider the purchasing power of an individual with respect to that of average population. In that case, these 39 million people are deprived of many material, social and welfare needs which majority of the population enjoys.

Just as the definition of poverty changes as per the context, the causes of poverty also differ in that sense. While population explosion, lack of infrastructure, corruption, natural disasters, political instability, war are some causes of poverty in the third world countries, proverty in America is influenced by far different causes. Given below are some factors which contribute to poverty in America.


Working Poor Facts

• Female-headed households were more than twice as likely to be among the working poor as male-headed households in 2008.
• Among families with at least one member working at least half a year, families with children were 4 times more likely than families without children to live in poverty in 2008.iii
• According to a survey on hunger and homelessness conducted by the United States Conference of Mayors, 88.5% of cities participating in the survey cited unemployment as one of three major causes of hunger in their city.
• Thirty-nine percent of all adults served by Feeding America have completed high school or equivalent degree with no further education beyond high school. ii
• 34 percent of all households served by Feeding America have had to choose between paying for food and paying for medicine or medical care. ii
• Sixty-five percent of working families that received SNAP were single-parent families