The Poor Are Getting Poorer

Poverty In

America:

The Poor are Getting Poorer

Sheletta Mitchell

7/26/2011

        For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no-one to help.( Psalm 72:12) I found this article to be very interesting as well as enlightening. It touched on a couples arenas that I have questioned quite often. For instance, what is the true meaning of poverty? Who is considered poor and who is accountable? And lastly, how or who determines who and where the poverty lines lie. I will attempt to address all these issues to gain a better understanding of the issue noted and try to shed some light on how we can overcome poverty.

        According to Webster's, poverty is the state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support; condition of being poor. Now note, there are several elements to understanding the poverty problem. An economist by the name of Mollie Orshansky developed was it called the poverty line. She compared cost from low and middle income families from data gathered from the Dept of Agriculture to determine an estimate of what families spent on food.

        An astonishing 37 million Americans are living in poverty.  But to my dismay, it is said that African Americans head that number. Single female family homes make up about 58 percent  of all poor African Americans. While 34 percent of that number are Hispanics, 24 percent Whites.

        According to this article, some opinion makers believe that Black leadership failed poor African Americans. But again this is an opinion. Most economist agree that the rise in income inequality and the difficulty faced low-income for middle income comes from international competition for labor. Black leaders have fought to strengthen Social Security and raise the minimum wage.

        Now how can we change the poverty issue? Before anything can be accomplished, there must be a desire to change. They need to look around and see where they can get help. Not everyone treats poverty stricken folks as if they are nothing more than trash under their feet. Those who want to better themselves need to watch how others manage their lives. If they are friends, then ask them to guide you in your first steps out of poverty. Life is too short to sit around moaning and groaning over grievances. Determination is the key to overcoming poverty. It begins by earning and not by yearning, by being honest and truthful, and not surviving by taking what does not belong to them. No one actually owes anyone anything, but the world belongs to those who see needs and who sets out to fulfill those.