Problems of poverty and inequality

Problems of Poverty and Inequality
Name
Institution

Abstract
Poverty is a complex concept in itself that may include political,social or economic elements. Destitution, Extreme or absolute poverty refers to completely lacking necessary means of meeting the basic needs like shelter,clothing, and food. This paper examines the poverty menace and how it has affected a huge portion of the American population. This has been done through an analysis of various articles which have been developed by different scholars and authors. The paper focused more on the poverty levels and the problems that are associated with the issue as well as the issue of inequality in the society. 50 percent of the population of the United States can be described as poor or near poor. The levels of poverty are so dire that even the basic of the basic needs are only available for those that can afford them. This essay is a reaction paper to the article titled “Overwhelming Evidence that Half of America is in or Near Poverty” by Paul Buchheit.
Keywords: poverty, inequality, basic needs

Problems of Poverty and Inequality
Poverty is one of the problems that is being experienced by a larger populace of the society. There are many reasons behind some people experiencing high poverty levels while others are relatively wealthy. For instance, in the article, different countries have their definitions of poverty, and that relates to the cost of living in such countries. Various parameters are applied in measuring the poverty index of a population hence there is no absolute scale for measuring this factor.

Unequal distribution of resources is one of the root causes of poverty in the society, and this leads to inequalities which in an extension lead to devastating lifestyles.
Half of America is in or is near poverty. This statement is relatively true because the cost of living in America is high. Many people in the country live from paycheck to paycheck, and they are not able to afford various luxuries that are in the market that other people enjoy. This poverty level has led to inequalities in the society that even basic needs are available to those who can afford them. In the American society, poverty is the cause of poor sanitation, poor housing, lack of healthcare to chronic diseases and high school dropout rates. Earning an income of $35000 a year in America is low, and that cannot sustain the basic needs of a family. The basic needs include housing, food, clothing, healthcare, education and even transportation. All these needs require some financial input, and when a person earns a meager salary, they cannot be able to sustain these expenses which lead to poor lifestyles (Petrilli & Wright, 2016). In extension, people become less educated and have chronic ailments because they cannot afford quality food, shelter,and even medical care.
Half of the Americans are low-income earners. This situation is worse for the black American society. This indicates that a huge percentage of the population is living in poverty. This is the class of people who need to benefit from the safety net. The national budget is strained to try to figure out how the poor are supposed to lead a comfortable lifestyle by offering various programs which are supposed to benefit these people. Such programs as affordable housing, food subsidies, education programs among others, form part of the benefits that those living with high poverty levels can benefit from (Petrilli & Wright, 2016).
Poverty makes people lose their net worth, and this can be reflected in the poor people’s lack of investments. The poor don’t own anything, and that is why there are inequalities in the society due to lack of assets and net worth. Statistics show that the lower half of the Americans own 1.1% of the country’s wealth which constitutes $779 billion only. This is the same amount that thirty of the wealthiest Americans have to their names hence creating disparities and inequalities in society.
To conclude, poverty is the root cause of various problems that are faced by people in the society. poor health, lack of education, poor sanitation among other problems are as a result of poverty, and there is a need to develop policies that can be used to safeguard the people’s wellbeing even with their low levels of income. However, different societies have different definitions of poverty depending on the level of the cost of living.

References
Petrilli, M. J., & Wright, B. L. (2016). America’s Mediocre Test Scores: Education Crisis or Poverty Crisis?. Education Next, 16(1), 46-52.