Poverty Trends in the United States

Poverty Trends in the United States
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Poverty Trends in the United States
In recent years, poverty has changed considerably across social classes in the U.S. Poverty changes have occurred inn terms of wealth distribution and increasing income inequalities. According to a 2004 U.S. Census Bureau report, the real income in the 20th income percentile families (the lowest 20 percent earners) decreased by 1.9 percent, from $18, 326 to $ 17, 984, while that of the upper 20 percent increased by 1.1 percent (Walt, Proctor, & Mills, 2004, p. 8). These statistics indicate that whereas the rich continues to increase their net wealth, lower class families get poorer. Between 209 and 2012, income among the top 1 percent increased by 31.4 percent, while it rose by just 0.4 percent within the rest of the population (Brodwin, 2013). The long term implication of this trend is the widening of the gap between the rich and the poor, both in terms of income and net wealth.
In terms of sub-group membership, three sections of the U.S. population stand out as the most affected by poverty; Blacks, families raised by single mothers, and homeless families (McKinnon 2003; Walt, Proctor, & Mills; National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, 2014). A larger percentage of Blacks (23 percent, or 8.1 million) lived below the poverty line 2001, compared to 8 percent (15.3 million) of the non-Hispanic Whites (McKinnon, 2003, p. 6). In families raised by single mothers, 35 percent Black families and 19 percent non-Hispanic White families lived below the poverty line, compared to their male counter parts at 19 percent and 10 percent respectively (McKinnon, 2003, p. 7). Among homeless families, the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty states that there is a strong connection between homelessness and income inequality, and in effect, poverty levels across social classes. Accordingly, the center considers all street families poor because they cannot afford one the most basic needs for human survival, shelter.
The high levels of poverty Black families is attributed to the lower participation level in the labor force compare to their non-Hispanic Whites. Among males, 68 percent Blacks were employed compared to 72 percent non-Hispanic Whites. Similarly, Blacks tended to occupy middle and lower level jobs, such as service jobs, fabricators, and manual laborers (McKinnon, 2003, p. 5). Among single-mother families, poverty is attributed to low education levels, since a small percentage of the Black population in general attained high school diploma and bachelors degree (p. 4). Among street families, poverty is related to their lack of a permanent address, which hinders them from holding a regular job to improve their living conditions.
Children under 18 years old are the group for which poverty has changed most. Poverty levels within this group increased by one percent from 12.1 million in 2002 to 12.9 million in 2003 (Walt, Proctor, & Mills, 2004, p. 9). Those under 6 years and raised by single mothers are particularly affected worst, considering that they account for 52.9 percent (2.4 million). This rate is more than 5 times the rate among those in married couple families (Walt, Proctor, & Mills, 2004, p. 11). The reasons for this trend can be argued in two ways. First, underage children are not able to earn a living for themselves, and therefore are not in a position to change their condition. Secondly, most of them come from poor families, and so they inherit the poverty of their parents. Their poverty simply reflects the family’s conditions, which most accurately describe the situation of homeless families. The National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty reveals interesting trend among children from homeless families; they are repeatedly denied educational opportunities because they lack a...