The Importance Of Poverty In America

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Pages: 5

The motto for America has been written through time as the land of opportunity, but unfortunately not all Americans have access to said opportunity or the “American Dream.” Some define the American Dream as the opportunity to have the career they wish, provide for themselves, their family and have a happy life. America has created an image that everyone can reach the American dream, but this much like other images painted by America is a myth. Over the years, society turned a blind eye to the horrible truth that many Americans still live in poverty. The American ideal that “if you work hard then you can move up in society” holds no values due to the jobs and wages available for those who live in poverty. Those who live in poverty have not been placed in this demographic due to their lack of work ethic but due to the inability to find jobs and jobs that pay well. …show more content…
Many of those who live in poverty are unable to gain access to the benefits that welfare creates due to the abundance of people who need welfare support but unable to access the aid. In Kathryn Edin’s and H. Luke Shaefer’s $2.00 a Day; Living on Almost Nothing in America, these two sociologist examine the lives of families who struggle daily when navigating through a life of poverty. They study people who live in poverty and determine that their American dream is a “full-time job paying $12 or $13 an hour, a modest dwelling in a safe neighborhood, and some stability above all else” (Edin & Shaefer 2015 p xxiv). The book determines that welfare alone cannot fix the problem of poverty because in order to actually enact any change minimum wage must