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Theories of Poverty

            Poverty in the United States was expected be largely eliminated by the twenty first century especially after the country was feeling quite optimistic after the Great Depression was over. However, the country completely underestimated how big poverty really was. Many theories have been designed and constructed to eliminate poverty for many years yet poverty still persists. The problem is we are looking in the wrong place. Much of the research attention regarding poverty has focused on urban areas where the poor and homeless are much more visible but just as big of an issue is the poverty in rural America (Albrecht 2000). About nine million Americans are living in poverty and one in four children are living in poverty that's in a rural area (Albrecht 2000). Rural areas have higher rates of unemployment and discouraged workers than in urban areas. Theories that have been constructed on urban areas need to be used to dissect rural poverty and to figure out what the cause is. For example Wilson's structural theory of inner-city poverty can be used to better understand why rural poverty is so prevalent. Two main theories are used to evaluate rural poverty are structural and cultural. These theories have only been tested on rural poverty a few times and have not been paying much attention to any results given it's an issue that needs to have people's attention because rural poverty is rapidly growing. .
             The cultural theory of poverty generally argues that poverty results from how the poor characterize themselves and what type of stigma they let themselves fall into. For example people get caught up in the hood and can't get out because of the culture that surrounds them. Critiques of this theory have found a strong connection between declining male employment and the growth of female-headed households. With this growth of female headed households there has been an increase in poverty. Since this finding of female headed houses was found the studies were extended onto Latino families.


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