Poverty
in the United States is not caused by cultural, individual deficiencies, or
moral failings which is commonly thought to be the case, but by the structural
economic failing of the government. These structural forces include a lack of
resources and opportunities for low income people to better their lives
economically. It is because the majority of those living in poverty are falsely
depicted as individually flawed and undeserving that social policy in the U.S. is
unable to adequately addresses the structural problems of poverty, and is
therefore unable to help those rise above the poverty line permanently.
Many
Americans develop their ideas about individuals in poverty based on how they
are represented in the mainstream media. In a journal article titled Poverty as We Know It authors Clawson
and Trice (2000) discuss their media research on representations of poverty and
mention: “the media often describe the underclass in behavioral terms as
criminals, alcoholics, and drug addicts, and the underclass is linked with
pathological behavior in urban areas” (p. 54). For those who are not personally
confronted by poverty, their only understanding may lie in popular media
coverage they view daily. For those ignorant of the true faces of poverty, it
is easy to imagine how many falsely come to believe it is an individualized
condition, brought on by no other than the character flaws of those living as
depicted in the mainstream media. The article goes on to describe: “The media
leave the impression that most poor people do not work: only 30 percent of poor
adults were shown working or participating in job training programs…In reality,
50 percent of the poor work in full or part-time jobs, according to the CPS” (Clawson,
R. A. & Trice, R, 2000, p. 60). With such large gaps between media
portrayals and societal reality it is no wonder public opinion largely shies
away from support for public policy to resolve issues of poverty. When many are
taught through the media to think of poverty as a self-inflicted condition, troubling
those who do not bother to strive for better lives, it is no wonder that it is
not regarded as warranting a societal resolution. More accurate portrayals of
poverty in the media could effectively garnish support for welfare policy just
as inaccurate media portrayals of poverty discourage such support.
In
the journal article titled Poverty as a Structural
Failure author Rank (2005) mentions one main example of structural
dysfunction which perpetuates American poverty as the inability of the U.S.
Labor market to provide enough reasonably paying jobs for all families (p. 53).
Due to the low earning potential for many living in poverty, it is difficult
for them to make a living substantial enough to improve their lives. Many low
income individuals are faced with the additional economic strain which comes
with employment. Albelda and Shea (2010) explain: “these
include the more obvious costs of transportation, child care, and out-of-home
food…” For middle-upper income earning individuals these often
taken-for-granted expenses produce a heavy burden for the impoverished. Albelda
and Shea (2010) go on to explain: “…for many low-income parents those costs can
also include a loss of government supports that help pay for the most basic of
needs such as housing, food, medical care, and child care” (p. 246). With such
stark economic consequences of employment, it seems illogical for many low
income individuals to pursue jobs which offer low wages which are typically all
that is available. It is necessary then, for the U.S, labor market to provide
decent paying employment opportunities in order for families living below the
poverty line to rise above it. Additionally, a change in criteria for many
social programs developed for poor families to include wage earners would also
improve their economic status. Without such opportunities families living in
poverty are destined to float between employed impoverishment and unemployed destitution.
Another structural failing which Rank (2005) mentions is the
ineffectiveness of the social safety net in preventing poverty. Rank explains:
“compared to other Western industrialized countries, the United States devotes
far fewer resources to programs aimed at assisting the economically vulnerable
(p. 60). Americans are forced to go without the resources and opportunities
available to their neighboring societies. Rank (2005) goes on to state “The
united States has also failed to offer the type of universal coverage for child
care, medical insurance, or child allowances that most other developed
countries routinely provide” (p. 60). The lack of funding and support for such social
programs in the U.S. is influenced by how recipients are viewed. While other
western industrialized countries may perceive providing such resources as
rights their people are entitled to, Americans view such practice as providing
handouts for freeloaders. Ozawa (2008) states: “the classification of recipient
groups is done with a moralistic overtone and stigma, and such families are
blamed for their economic plight” (p. 7). While other citizens of other
Westernized nations are provided with an adequate safety net to prevent many
from experiencing poverty states, the U.S. leaves its citizens to fend for
themselves in a disadvantaged society.
According to information gathered over twenty five years by the
nationally representative Panel Study of Income Dynamics, many Americans will
experience poverty at some point in their lives if not multiple times (Rank,
2005, p. 60) The majority of the causes are not due to individual deviances but
by structural failing in American society. Through an analysis of the data gathered, Rank (2005) explains that
at age twenty 10.6 % of Americans fall below the poverty line and reports that
by age 35, the percentage of Americans
experiencing poverty sharply increases with 31.4 percent of Americans having
experienced at least one year below the poverty line (p. 63). With poverty
being a condition that is likely to be experienced by large populations during
one or few times throughout a lifetime, it is necessary to recognize that the
problem lies beyond the individual. It would be preposterous to consider that
31.4 percent of Americans are morally inept and lazy, or otherwise undeserving
of a more feasible life. Clearly, such widespread economic vulnerability
symbolizes structural economic failing.
Social welfare policy could better respond to poverty and
inequality by looking to the models of neighboring westernized countries. As
Rank (2005) states: “Canada and Europe are able to lift a significant
percentage of their economically vulnerable above the threshold of poverty
through governmental transfer and assistance policies (p. 62) With the United
States having one of the highest poverty rates among the industrial world, it
is time to adopt a new perception of all those living in poverty as deserving
of aid. It is a societal problem which must be addressed with societal
remedies. Trading stigmatizing media representations of the poor for more
accurate portrayals of poverty, advocacy for support of new and improved
welfare programs, and normalizing efforts of existing assistance polices, are
necessary in order to begin resolving the high poverty rates in the United
States.
References
Albelda, R.
& Shea, J. (2010). To work more or not to work more: Difficult
choices, complex decisions for low-wage parents. Journal
of Poverty, 14(3), 245-265.
Clawson, R. A. & Trice, R. (2000). Poverty as we know it: Media portrayals of
the poor. Public Opinion Quarterly, 64(1), 53-64.
Ozawa, M. N. (2008).
Income security. In T. Mizrahi & L. E. Davis (Eds.), The
encyclopedia of social work.
National Association of Social Workers and Oxford University Press.
Rank, M. R. (2005).
Poverty as a structural failing.
In M. R. Rank, One nation,
underprivileged: Why American poverty affects us all (pp. 49-82). New York:
Oxford University Press.
