Poverty is a major problem in the United States today. Social, economical, political and cultural factors all contribute to poverty. It has been an common social issue that has troubled the United States for years and been a constant problem. No matter what the normal income, unemployment or overall prosperity is, there will always be people that are homeless struggling to find shelter for their loved ones and hungry without food to adequately feed their children. Although the United States is one of the richest countries in the world, it can't seem to beat this epidemic. .
According to our text there are three levels to poverty or to being poor. These levels are: the transitional poor, the marginal poor and the residual poor. (Popple & Leighninger, 2011, p. 246-247). The transitional poor is someone who will only experience being poor for a short amount of time. An event in their life might have caused this brief setback and they will ultimately rebound from it over time. The marginal poor is that person who is considered the "working poor". This is someone who possesses few job or trade skills, has a low education level or has been discriminated against in some way. This group of people usually can have some sort of relief at times but usually sink back into the poverty level. Lastly, the residual poor normaly remain poor for an extended amount of time. They also are usually welfare recipients that need that supplement to make ends meet. To be in poverty is to be powerless, with lack of help, support and freedom; ultimately it simply means that that person is poor. Poverty or being poor is a vicious cycle that becomes a trap which becomes hard to escape (Popple & Leighninger, 2011, p. 267). People who are poor live in poverty everyday and who represents this population of people? There are several categories in which a poor person can be placed in; here are some of my thoughts.
