Running head: CAUSE AND EFFECT OF POVERTY IN THE UNITED STATES 1

Cause and Effect of Poverty in the United States and

Potential Solutions to the Issue

Alejandro Naez

University of Texas at El Paso

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Abstract

This literature review explores poverty, its effects on individuals (mental and physical), and

potential solutions to the issue. The research questions used include: What are the defining

characteristics of someone living in poverty, what causes poverty in the United States, how does

living in poverty affect an individuals health (mentally and physically), and lastly what can we

do to decrease poverty rates in the United States? In answering the questions, many sources are

used to show evidence of each answer, and gives a clear and logical answer to all four of the

questions. In answering all the questions, the literature primarily mentions the fact that poverty

is a very diverse issue, which is the reason why it affects so many people differently, and why

there is no current full proof solution to decrease poverty rates. In doing my primary research, I

asked the simple question of, What defines someone who lives in poverty? The results of this

question proves the point that Americans should be much more informed on what poverty truly is

and how it is affecting people so that there will be a much higher demand for a solution.
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Cause and Effect of Poverty in the United States and

Potential Solutions to the Issue

Poverty is something that almost every individual sees daily, and may not realize how

serious it really is, and how it drastically effects every individuals health. Often times, people

will see someone who is dealing with poverty on their commute to work or school. As of 2015,

13.1% of Americans were living in poverty (Poverty Facts, n.d.). Poverty is a diverse issue that

many people may not fully understand, but with this careful examination and research, an

individual will fully grasp what poverty truly is, and will hopefully be willing to decrease

poverty rates in the United States. Poverty exists everywhere, but our focus will be solely on the

United States.

It is a common misconception that people the only people who live in poverty are the people

you see out on the streets; which is definitely not true (A. Naez, survey, March 15, 2017).

Poverty can affect anyone including you, the reader. Being homeless is not the sole factor of

somebody living in poverty, although this may be a cause of poverty, it is not the one defining

characteristic of someone dealing with poverty. Poverty is something that many people pay a

harsh price for; their mental and physical health are almost always at risk. Since poverty is such

a serious issue, four questions must be proposed in order to find the best way to decrease poverty

rates in America, and to fully understand what the issue is and who it is affecting:

1. What are the defining characteristics of someone living in poverty?

2. What causes poverty in the United States?
3. How does living in poverty affect an individuals health (mentally and physically)?
4. What can we do to decrease poverty rates in the United States?

In answering these questions, the issue of poverty begins to become narrow, which will give the

exact, narrowed down, and detailed answers to the questions listed above.

What are the defining characteristics of someone living in poverty?

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To understand the characteristics of someone living in poverty, poverty should first be

defined in its broadest sense. Poverty, in its broadest sense, can be defined as: the lack of

sufficient income to satisfy an individuals needs or wants (Yoshikawa, Aber, & Beardslee,

2012). This means that, in its broadest sense, someone who deals with poverty lacks the

sufficient amount of income in order to pay for things such as but not limited to: food, water, and

shelter. Also, they lack the income to be able to afford material things that may bring them

pleasure or convenience such as but not limited to: cell phones, computers, and any form of

entertainment that can be owned. Now that poverty has been defined, the characteristics of

someone living in poverty will be mentioned.

As previously mentioned in the introduction, it is a common misconception that the only

people who struggle with poverty are homeless individuals (A. Naez, survey, March 15, 2017).

Proven in the Do You Really Know Poverty? survey, 10 people were asked one question to see

whether or not the average person truly knows what poverty is. The question asked was, What

defines someone who lives in poverty? Out of the total ten people asked this question, eight of

them said either someone who lives on the streets or homelessness. The other two individuals

both said a lack of income or a lack of a job to get the income. The purpose of this survey was to

prove the point that it is indeed a common misconception to believe that being homeless is the

only characteristic of someone that is dealing with poverty. Since 80% of the people surveyed

thought that poverty meant to be homeless, this means that before anything is done to decrease

poverty rates, the majority of Americans must first understand what poverty is, who it affects,

and why it happens.

To understand what poverty truly is, one must be able to understand the poverty is an

incredibly diverse issue affecting each person differently. Poverty varies from person to person.
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Although some people may have fallen into poverty for the same reasons and may have been

dealing with the same issues from poverty, it is not always the same for every individual that

deals with the issue. One individual may have fallen into poverty because of reasons within

his/her control such as, but not limited to, drug use. Also, another individual may fall into

poverty for reasons beyond their control. Reasons for this would be: a poor economy, and a lack

of jobs in a given area. Also, there exists a wage gap between men and women which is very

apparent here in the United States. In 2015, 12.2% of men in the United States lived in poverty,

while 14.8% of women lived in poverty that same year (Poverty Facts, n.d.).

Source: Poverty rate in the United States from 1990 to 2015 (n.d.) U.S. poverty rate by year

1990-2015. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/200463/us-poverty-rate-since-

1990/
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Shown in the image above is poverty statistics in the United States starting from the year

1990 and ending in 2015. The reason this image is shown is to show that poverty rates

throughout the U.S. in its entirety can vary drastically depending on the situations going on in the

country. Although the poverty rate may not seem like a high percentage, different demographic

groups in the U.S. have drastically higher poverty rates than others. For example, African

Americans have the highest poverty percentage at 24.1%, with Hispanics in America at 21.4% of

them being in poverty (Poverty Facts, n.d.). As for white people, they have the lowest rate at 9%

and Asians the next lowest at 11.4% (Poverty Facts, n.d.).

What causes poverty in the United States?

In retrieving the answer from the previous question, it was noted that every individual

gets into poverty due to various reasons. There does not exist only one specific thing that if you

do that specific thing that you will instantaneously be struggling with poverty. There exist

various factors when dealing with the issue of poverty. Which is the reason that here in America,

or anywhere else in the world for that matter, there does not exist one specific fix to decrease

poverty rates and ultimately eliminate it. There are too many factors to contribute to falling in

poverty to narrow it down to one thing.

Although there are many causes of poverty, there exists factors that are far more common

than others for the reason being that people get dragged into poverty. As mentioned previously,

there are many factors within an individuals control and out of the individuals control. The

most apparent reasons for poverty in America out of a persons control may include things such

as: a poor economy, lack of affordable housing, and medical expenses (Causes of Poverty in

America, n.d.). Factors within the individuals control may include things such as heavy drug or

alcohol abuse (Causes of Poverty in America, n.d.).

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In answering the first question, it was taken into note that there are different reasons as

why to people end up living in poverty, which ultimately leads to what defines a specific

individual as someone who is living in poverty in the United States. Poverty isnt an issue that

can be described by one characteristic. There are so many things that can make someone go

from being financially stable to struggling with poverty wondering where and if they will be able

to eat at their next meal time. As mentioned in answering this question, there are both factors

that lie within and the reach of every person and out of their reach that may lead them to

struggling with poverty. Just like there are reasons in and beyond your control to get into

poverty, there also exist reasons that are in and out of your control.

How does living in poverty affect an individuals health (mentally and physically)?

Each cause and defining factor of poverty may seem like delicate issues themselves, but

they may have far worse consequences on individuals suffering with them. When dealing with

poverty, your mental and physical health are almost always at stake. Just like an adult can be

affected by poverty, their children, without a doubt, are having both their mental and physical

health at stake just as much as their parents. Almost half of the childrens population here in the

United States live in or near poverty (Duffee, Kuo, & Gitterman, 2016).

This drastically affects the childs physical health, socioemotional development, and educational

achievement (Duffee, Kuo, & Gitterman, 2016).

Mostly when injuries occur, many people will have the funds to do what is required to get

them back in their normal state of living, but when it comes to living in poverty, these people

usually do not have the funds to get the required treatment to get them back in shape. Hence the

higher stake of their health being at risk compared to others who may be able afford healthcare.
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Poverty can play a drastic role on an individuals health. As poverty has been described,

it does not just mean that an individual is homeless. There are many factors that can describe

someone who is living in poverty. One of these factors being the lack of income to pay for

healthcare for ones self and/or family. When someone does not have these funds, their health is

at major risk, especially people raising a family, as they may for their childs health over theirs.

With this comes the growth of a variety of health issues. Another way someone who is dealing

with poverty might have their health at risk, would be that they are using their minimal amount

of income to buy necessities such as: food, water, clothing, and shelter. As these may suffice to

live a healthy lifestyle, the stress of using all your income may lead to things such as depression

or anxiety. The thought of Will this check give me enough money for this months rent and

food? would most definitely give someone a great amount of stress especially in cases where

you are raising a family. People that deal with poverty also tend to have lower developmental

scores due to poverty impacting ones ability to learn new things, and adds gray matter to the

brain (Poverty and Brain Development, 2015).

As mentioned above, a few of the reasons that causes an individuals mental health to be

at risk while living with poverty, there are many other factors that may add to this. This is also

true with your physical health being at stake. One of the biggest reasons for this is the lack of

income to buy food when the individual gets hungry, and needs the food for energy. This would

be described as malnutrition. Malnutrition would be an obvious cause of your physical health not

being at its best, since those people would be missing out on key nutrients that all our bodies

need to function properly. Another factor, which many people tie with being in poverty which is

not always the case, is heavy drug and/or alcohol use (Causes of Poverty in America, n.d.). Many
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drugs have a harsh effect on your bodys system as well as alcohol since it someone may get

alcohol poisoning from drinking heavily.

A mix of poor physical and mental health is the correct mixture to give someone a very

negative picture of themselves to the point that they resort to doing things like drugs to numb the

pain, but this is just digging the hole much deeper. When someone is stressing about income,

they become anxious, this anxiety may lead to depression, which is indeed a dangerous factor to

your health when there is literally nothing than can be done to reduce your stress or to help you

maintain it since you are always worried about many different things. Adding your physical

health not being at par is what causes people in poverty to be in such dangerous situations such

as losing all hope of becoming stable and resulting in things that will ultimately just be hurting

them even more.

What can we do to decrease poverty rates in the United States?

As stated from the previous paragraphs and mentioned in many of the sources used,

poverty is such a diverse issue which is one of the biggest issues with finding a solution to the

issue. Although there do exist some ways for us to decrease poverty rates here in the United

States, there is no one thing to immediately decrease and ultimately end poverty in America.

Although the issue being so diverse may make it much harder, the different issues create so many

different policies we can create which can potentially decrease poverty and find a right mixture

of policies to get poverty rates at an all-time low (Boteach & Vallas, 2014).

Sometimes there will be someone out on the streets asking for money to get a meal or

other necessities and there indeed may be an individual who will give them money. Although

this is a kind gesture, it most likely will not help in decreasing the poverty rates in the United

States. When speaking on decreasing poverty rates one must realize that there is a big picture.
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Helping one individual will not decrease the rates in America. Finding solutions to help and

prevent poverty for everyone is what will help decrease the poverty rate for the United States.

As stated in previous paragraphs, poverty is different for every individual especially with the

unequal pay rates and people part of different demographic groups having higher rates than

others (Poverty Facts, n.d.). This creates the need of giving attention and support to the pay

equity. Closing the gender wage gap would potentially decrease poverty rates by one half and

potentially add half a trillion dollars to Americas gdp (Boteach & Vallas, 2014). Other potential

solutions listed from this source include: raising the minimum wage, create more jobs, and

provide paid leave and paid sick days (Boteach & Vallas, 2014). Although these solutions may

sound great or bad depending on your current situation, in theory, no one can really ever know if

these were to work unless they were actually applied throughout the nation. Poverty is a very

diverse issue, which is why there is no one thing to immediately decrease poverty here in

America.

According to Preventing Poverty. Policy and Practice, Smith suggests that rather than

working to decrease the effects of poverty, the U.S. should put its focus towards decreasing the

causes of poverty (Smith, 2013). Meaning that instead of waiting for poverty to have its harsh

effects on Americans, we should work on decreasing what is causing poverty such as: a lack of

affordable housing, and medical expenses (Causes of Poverty in America, n.d.). Smith also

suggests that every American should be able to have access to a good education, housing, and

public transportation, including and especially people dealing with poverty. Smiths solution to

poverty makes perfect sense, and if applied can potentially decrease poverty rates in America.

As stated earlier, poverty is very diverse, so a flaw with Smiths solution is that poverty is caused
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by many different things and is different for every individual. Although this is seen as a flaw,

Smith does propose a great potential solution to decrease poverty.

Conclusion

In conclusion, poverty is a very serious yet diverse issue. Due to this, there are many

reasons why people fall into poverty. Which is why it is so difficult for the United States to find

a plan that works to decrease the national poverty rate. In conducting my survey, I was able to

prove the average American doesnt truly know what poverty can be and how dangerous it truly

is. Of all the questions answered, all the answers make sense with another. Meaning that the

answer to one question helped form another. For example, in explaining how poverty happens, it

was noted that there are so many reasons that people can end up being poor, which is why no real

solution has been found. More Americans should be informed on what poverty truly is, and

some potential effects that it may have on individuals. Bringing up awareness is only part of

solving the issue, but informing most Americans and bringing awareness would create a much

higher demand for a solution.

References
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Boteach M., Vallas R. (September 17, 2014) The Top 10 Solutions to Cut Poverty and Grow the

Middle Class. Retrieved from https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/poverty/news/

2014/09/17/97287/the-top-10-solutions-to-cut-poverty-and-grow-the-middle-class/

Causes of Poverty in America. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.pursuegod.org/causes-of-

poverty-in-america/

Duffee, J. H., Kuo, A. A., & Gitterman, B. A. (2016). Poverty and Child Health in the United

States. Pediatrics, 137(4), 59-72. doi:10.1542/peds.2O16-0339

Poverty and brain development. (2015). Archives of Disease in Childhood, 100(10), 959. doi:

10.1136/archdischild-2015-

Poverty Facts (n.d.) Poverty USA. Retrieved from http://www.povertyusa.org/the-state-of-

poverty/poverty-facts/

Poverty rate in the United States from 1990 to 2015 (n.d.) U.S. poverty rate by year 1990-2015.

Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/200463/us-poverty-rate-since-1990/

Smith, R. (2013). Preventing Poverty. Policy & Practice (19426828), 71(4), 6-38.

Yoshikawa, H., Aber, J. L., & Beardslee, W. R. (2012). The Effects of Poverty on the Mental,

Emotional, and Behavioral Health of Children and Youth. American Psychologist, 67(4),

272-284. doi:10.1037/a0028015