Essay on The rise of urban poverty in America

Submitted By Abonds32
Words: 3068
Pages: 13
Open Document
The rise of urban poverty in America

The 1970s and 1980s decades are also times when poverty in America became concentrated in urban areas, in particular the old, charming industrial centers. At the same time the population also started to change with the arrival of more and more immigrants from Latin America, reshaping the face of poverty.

Urban poverty then tripled in ten years and kept on its expansion onto the 1980s decade. It’s now one of the main features of poverty in America (country and continent). As of 1980, nearly 70% of the urban poor were black, 20% were Latinos, and 10% white.

New causes of poverty: immigration and single moms

Another thing that changed: the traditional family structure. Like it or not, things have changed and you won’t force an unhappy woman to stay married to her husband anymore. Although, some governments actually tried to by restricting welfare support to families headed by a married couple (talk about government intervention!). Well, that wasn’t the official goal but it was clearly the effect. And millions of single mothers were dropped from welfare support.

Demographic changes (immigration) as well as changes in the family structure have had a massive impact on poverty in the US for a couple of decades until things finally stabilized. Now their effect is minor, even though immigrants and single mothers (and their kids) still represent much of the poor. But in a stable way, i.e. the numbers don’t change too much. Yey. Oh no, that's without counting on the effects of the latest economic crisis! http://www.poverties.org/poverty-in-america.html Why follow the right path?

Why would anyone follow the “right path” (i.e. schools) if you see that your parents did so and are still jobless or at best exploited and humiliated? Or if your identity and your place in society are constantly questioned, often by the government itself? It certainly won't help you feel at home.

This is a problem many governments are facing all over the world and they tend to react to demonstrations quite aggressively as they try to please certain groups of voters. By doing so they also forget that the very people they repress are also voters, and that trying to divide a nation will only bring more instability and more violence.

Poverty causes crime

In the countries where the social discrimination factor isn't very strong, results have shown that less education meant more criminal offenses ranging from property crime to “casual” theft and drug-related offenses (again, mostly theft). But not violence. It appears that in fact, poverty itself is more tied with violence, criminal damage and also drug use - as a catalyst for violence.

There are huge consequences of this kind of research for public policy and the positive impact of keeping children in school and reducing poverty. But for that we would need governments to actually read the research their universities produce! It shouldn't seem like too much of a stretch to argue that having kids actually graduate from school will in itself contribute to reduce poverty, no?
It’s only when people witness the starkest wealth differences that they can start complaining about injustice. In fact, often times crime is even worse within communities. Perhaps because it’s easier, but maybe also because inequalities are felt all the more intensely when it happens between people living in the same group.

For example, in China some 90,000 demonstrations occur every year and what the media never mention is that the bulk of it it happens at the “border” between urban and rural areas, where poor farmers can see first hand the massive inequalities between rich urban residents and themselves.

Property crimes vs. violent crimes

In a broader, social sense, inequalities generate more aggressive behaviour as a reaction to social bias and discrimination, which results in an increase in violent crimes. And while it’s been well-established that where poverty
Show More

Related Documents: Essay on The rise of urban poverty in America

Essay On Rural Childhood Poverty

reside in urban areas, the ones we see and read about daily in the newspapers and on television. Childhood poverty in the rural United States is on the rise. Most government legislature set in place to fight childhood poverty is centered on “Big City America” and those who live in rural areas of the South and Southwest part of the country is often overlooked when it comes to government aid and support. More or less they are the forgotten ones. The Southern states have the highest childhood poverty rates…

Words 1861 - Pages 8

Beggary In The Urban World

to be highly interchangeable in the current day urban world. The current study attempts to understand beggary as a growing socio-economic problem and as an extreme form of poor in India. We have tried to analyse beggary from a developmental perspective and as an inevitable outcome of exploitation and criminalisation of poor under the vicious forces of political economy. We would want to recommend possible solutions to deal with beggary in the urban world based on our findings from…

Words 874 - Pages 4

Cause And Effect Essay

Effect: The Revolution of Alcohol on the New America After the birth of our nation, many freedoms were welcomed, which were once an afterthought during colonial rule. With these freedoms came the opportunity for some to capitalize on the new horizon of social birth and change. In what was supposed to be a united and unilateral based government and country, came a subversive movement of temperance and prohibition shaping the cause and effect of the New America. From colonial times up into the 20th century…

Words 2176 - Pages 9

Poverty In America Analysis

In many parts of America there are cities that are plagued by poverty. Many of its inhabitants are on welfare, and live in government assisted housing. These neighborhoods usually are the center of most violent crimes and death. History has shown that there is a direct correlation between poverty, and education which leads to crime in the United States. People living in areas where poverty is abundant, were more likely to have medical health issues, lack proper education, and commit crimes. According…

Words 1571 - Pages 7

Reggaetón Music Research Paper

Reggaetón music is at type of Latin urban music that evolved from various musical genres with influences from many countries. However, Reggaetón music's origin is most closely associated with Puerto Rico where it first gained momentum and was commercially packaged. The Reggaetón music genre spread rapidly throughout the Latin American, North and South America in the 90s and has since gained worldwide popularity. Reggaetón is sweeping the Latin music world with its irrepressible blend of tropical…

Words 556 - Pages 3

Essay on Culture of Poverty

WORKING PAPER SERIES Theories of Poverty and Anti-Poverty Programs in Community Development Ted K. Bradshaw RPRC Working Paper No. 06-05 February, 2006 Rural Poverty Research Center http://www.rprconline.org/ Introduction Community development has a variety of strategies available to meet the needs of those persons and groups who are less advantaged, usually in poverty. Community developers help all communities, but their passion lies disproportionately with people who do not have adequate…

Words 5574 - Pages 23

Why Are Urban Crimes Being Committed?

vitally important concern in American society. Crime has detrimental effects on social foundation of the United States. The ongoing population shift from rural to urban areas has helped to facilitate crime in the United States through the years. Showing the focused element and impact of crime in society and the consequence of crime in urban areas, allows for better understanding of criminals. Knowing that when criminals recognize the procedures of the crime they get new opportunity to do it. Examining…

Words 1966 - Pages 8

Dunno: Greater Cleveland Essay

Dannielle Carter Midterm Paper October 19, 2013 College of Urban Affairs When the municipal division of the labor force becomes more ethnically diverse as well as government agencies make attempts to manage that diversity, the importance of understanding how diversity affects workplace interactions and work-related outcomes increases. Little public-sector research has examined the impact of diversity on performance outcomes. My goal is to fill in some of the missing…

Words 1125 - Pages 5

World At Risk Essays

Africa it causes famine, desertification as well as seasonally arid regions like central North America By 2050 70% of people will live in urban areas putting pressure on land and there Increasing world population from 7 to 9.3billion in 2050 and 95% of growth will be in the developing world means more people will be living in areas more at risk Increasing vulnerable population 23% of people live in poverty and lower capacity to cope Corrupt governments like Myanmar in 2004 after the Tsunami prevented…

Words 937 - Pages 4

Study Guide Essay

rural America? --The rural America that had defined the country from its inception until the Civil War was one of personal relations and commonalities between residents of an area that made generalizations actual characteristics (For example, one could define the city of Raleigh, North Carolina in a few words and place an accurate representation of the entire state). The urbanization, or growth of cities, did not produce the same sort of relations or characteristics. Whereas rural America depended…

Words 5357 - Pages 22