Major+Causes+of+Poverty+in+America

=**﻿Major Causes of Poverty in America**=

__Current Poor Economy__
The current weak economy has caused many unfortunate changes to America, but perhaps the biggest effect of the dwindling economy is the loss of many jobs. Many companies have been forced to cut jobs or even close their doors for business. Others have also chosen to ship their factories overseas in order to save money by hiring foreign workers at much lower pay than they paid their American workers. All of these decisions by compaines were as a direct result of the economy, and without cutting jobs or moving them overseas these compaines would of most likely had to shut their doors too. These companies may have made out but they left their workers to the world of unemployment. Also, the old days where Americans had high quality jobs with good wages and great benefits is slowly becoming a thing of the past. In addition, these unemployed people have a hard time finding new jobs since jobs are scarse and the competition for jobs is extremely high. Unfortunately, this crisis of unemployment and poverty in America continues to worsen. As of last February, about 15 million Americans were unemployed, which is proportional to about 10% of the available work force (Poverty in the United States). Some of these 15 million Americans will get their jobs back, however many others will not. Do not forget, this not only affects these 15 million people, but the lives of their families as well. Most of these people will collect unemployment benefits for only a small fraction of their previous salaries (Poverty in the United States). This changes the life styles of these families and more than often drives these families into a state of poverty and unfortunately even homelessness.

__Drug Use__
Another major cause of poverty in the United States is due to drug use. One reason for this is that some people become so involved in drugs that it dominates their lives. Therefore, they get so addicted to drugs that they dump all of their money into their habit. Drugs are also more commonly used among the lower class. This is because those in the lower class typically live in urban ghettos where drugs are most prevalent and easy to obtain (Goelz 2010). Therefore, these lower class people due to drug use are then driven from the lower class into a state of poverty. For example, a gram of cocaine sells for about $100. Therefore, say if a person were to use a gram per day that would mean $700 per week on that habit. That is more than most Americans weekly paychecks. For those who use heroine their habit could cost them thousands of dollars per week (Akerlof 2010). Based on these examples, it is easy to see how drug use could drive users and their families into poverty or homelessness.

**__Lack of Education__**
A third major cause of poverty in America is due to the lack of education. A simple high school diploma use to be all someone needed in order to find a descent job, but today a high school diploma is almost as good as nothing. Many people from the lower class just simply cannot afford to attend college and earn a degree. Therefore, the only jobs left over for these people are low paying ones with little to no benefits. These people then have to support themselves and their families on a low salary which is extremely tough. This might put a family into a state of poverty, or slowly drive the family into poverty. As of the year 2008, the average earnings for someone with just a high school diploma was about $28,000 (Pandrey 2010). It is easy to see that education was a very direct effect on poverty.

__Medical Expenses__
Many Americans, both rich and poor, develop sever illnesses which require immediate medical attention. Many of these illnesses happen very unexpectedly and require long stays in the hospital, expensive drugs, treatments, and even surgery. All of these by no means come at a cheap cost to the patient and their families. The average cost per night to stay in a hospital typically falls around $350. During your stay, a simple Tylenol in a hospital costs you about $14 dollars per pill. Treatments such as chemotherapy can cost a cancer patient $30,000 just for an eight week treatment. In addition, minor surgeries cost patients at least a few thousand dollars, while major surgeries may cost patients tens of thousands of dollars (Akerlof 2010). It is quite easy to see that these necessary practices done in order to help your illness put a deep hole in the patients pockets. Yes, medical insurance may help cover these costs, but usually not all of it. This usually leaves the patients whether able to or not, left to somehow pay the remainder of the bill. These bills can easily bring a low class or middle class person straight into poverty.

**__Conclusion__**
Major reasons such as, the current poor economy, drug use, lack of education, and large medical expenses all have a strong relationship to poverty. However, these four major examples are not the only reasons why an individual would fall into poverty. For example, a minor cause of poverty would be something such as a major gambling addiction. Another example would be the current tornado disasters in the midwest. Natural disasters ruin people's homes, families, and lives. They cause people to become homeless, starve, and even die. This leaves people's lives in shambles and makes it hard for them to get their lives back on track. Many more reasons exist causing people to fall into poverty but only account for a small portion of people who live in poverty.


 * Sources:**

Goelz, P.C. (1990). //The Sources of Wealth and the Causes of Poverty.// San Antonio, TX: St. Mary’s University Press.

Akerlof, G., & Kranton, R. (2010). //Identity Economics.// Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Pandrey, J., Sinha, Y., Parkash, A. (2010). Right-Left Political Ideologies and Attribution of the Causes of Poverty. //Journal of Social Psychology,//12, 327-331. Retrieved from [].

(2010). Poverty in the United States. //Congressional Digest,// 89, 298-300. Retrieved from []