Poverty

Poverty is a serious and major issues that does exists in the United States whether ewer want to admit to it or not. Poverty in the United States refers to the condition of people whose annual income is less than the "poverty line" set by the United States government (Wikipedia, 2006). The poverty line is set approximately three times the annual cost of a nutritionally adequate diet (Wikipedia, 2006). People find themselves under this line for numerous reasons. Some of the causes are under one's control and others are beyond control. Family life and inadequate education are two main reasons why poverty exists in the United States.

Family life plays a big role, if not the greatest influence, especially in a child's life as they grow and develop. As we grow many of our traits and characteristics we develop are passed down from our parents and other family members. The percentage of families living in poverty has remained constant throughout the past decades in America. A divorce or split in the family is the major reason why families tend to live in poverty. A family that has both parents is not as likely to live in poverty, where as a split in the family, a child living with the mother more likely to live in poverty, then a child who lives with their father.

Families that are poor are more likely to be headed by a parent who is single, has little or no education, has low learning potential, and is young (Brooks-Gunn & Duncan, 1997). The poverty rate for children in single parent households is 35.2 percent compared to children growing up with married couple families which is only 8.2 percent (Rector, Robert, Johnson 2002).Families headed by single mothers make up the vast majority of welfare recipients prior to the 1996 welfare reform law (Jaffe, 2001).Also poor mothers are more likely to use assertion and physical punishment as a form of control (Just the facts, 1993). Poor parents stress obedience and are less likely to use reasons and explanations in their discipline practices (Just the facts, 1993). When poor parents are less likely to ask their children for ideas and opinions and parents who are poor are less likely to reward their children through praise (Just the facts, 1993).

Those who grow up in families with both parents are half as likely to live in poverty. A married couple has a huge influence on what economic condition their children grow up in. You can simply look at it as two paychecks are more than one. With two incomes you can provide more of the basic necessities of life. Two parents are able to raise their child many times greater than one parent. One thing that needs to be done in our society in order to try and reverse the problem , that not only effects our children on an emotional level , but also on an economic level , is to create laws to make it tougher to get a divorce. Now day's laws have made it easy for individual to marry and file for divorce. Tougher laws to file for a divorce would lower the poverty rates in our country, along with other beneficial side effects for the youth of our country.

A low level of educational accomplishment has also been linked to high levels of poverty in the United States (Miller, n.d). When you have a low level of formal education it links to employment in low wage earning jobs (Miller, n.d). Literacy, which is the ability to read, write, and speak in English, compute and solve problems at levels where one can function on the job in today's society is a major issue related to poverty (miller, n.d). In our society today literacy is compared with the level of education a person has completed. Education level includes a high school diploma or its equivalent the General Educational Development (G.E.D), and college graduate. Not having a high school diploma is definitely associated with a person's status of poverty. Although a diploma does not guarantee a person getting a high paying job, but it is a significant thing someone can do to keep from being poor. It's significant because at least with a high school diploma a person can get a better paying job, then a person who has no or little education.

Inadequate education does cause poverty. From the early years of preschool, into the years of kindergarten through twelve grade, without a college education and on into the workforce