The Issue of Wealth and Poverty in Everyday Life

Wealth and poverty are very important topics and issues that arise in everyday conversation and life. In today's society someone either falls into the category of being wealthy or poor, most believe that there really is no in between or they disregard the middle class. Many people are now plagued with poverty, John Kenneth Galbraith believes that "People are poverty stricken when their income, even if adequate for survival, falls radically behind that of the community (251)”. Poverty is not just the product of one singular reason or issue, but in fact the result of many different issues such as; laziness, being overworked and underpaid, or just because of circumstances that have occurred in life.

I am a firm believer that laziness contributes greatly to the amount of poverty in our nation today. As of 2013 over twenty percent of people in poverty were unemployed ("20 Percent Of Poor Americans Unemployed." AOL Jobs. The Associated Press, 8 Aug. 2015. Web. 3 Nov. 2015). Many people today are relying on government welfare simply because it is there and they know they can use it.

Get quality help now

writer-marian

Verified writer

Proficient in: Wealth And Poverty

4.8 (309)

“ Writer-marian did a very good job with my paper, she got straight to the point, she made it clear and organized ”

+84 relevant experts are online

Hire writer

Our welfare recipients in 2015 are now receiving 100 percent assisted childcare and utility fees, food stamps, a form of medical insurance, housing assistance, student aid, and many other benefits. Studies have shown that some state's welfare benefits pay more than the average untaxed salary of a first year teacher. Many see welfare as a "get out of work free” pass, because why go to school for four years or more to get a job when you could get paid anywhere from $16,984 to $49,175 (Lee, Michael Ye Hee.

"Do 'welfare' Recipients Get $35,000 in Benefits a Year?" Washington Post. The Washington Post, 05 Dec. 2014. more run down or rural towns are in poverty just because of a lack of jobs or good paying jobs. People can also become poor because of loss of health, loss of transportation, loss of employment, or a natural disaster. A huge example of circumstantial poverty is the population of Detroit, Michigan, 1.5 million families cannot afford to meet their basic needs and more than 60% of the jobs in Detroit pay less than $20 an hour (Abbey-Lambertz, Kate. "Most Detroit Families Can't Report." The Huffington Post.

Afford Their Basic Needs: The Huffington Post.com, 04 Sept. 2014. Web. 03 Nov. 2015.). Michigan's minimum wage will be raised gradually to $9.25 but this will not be enough for families because the cost of living in Michigan is rising as well. Natural disaster is also a big factor in this form of poverty because it is unavoidable, many are affected by droughts or floods or other natural disasters. These can be huge factors because droughts can destroy jobs for many agricultural jobs and ruining crops for the year and flooding can wash away buildings and entire cities leaving people homeless and without jobs.