How to Write a Poverty Essay
Poverty is an incurable disease that has been a pestilence on humanity since the dawn of time. Ever since the first cavemen happened to hit two rocks together over some dry twigs and produce fire, there has been inequality in wealth.
People are afraid of living their lives because they simply lack the funds to do so. A simple act like going to the Supermarket and picking up a bag of groceries for the week is too much for some families. How can you afford to treat your kid to a box of Lucky Charms when you need to buy food for 7 days with 20 dollars and 49 cents in your wallet? Birthdays and Holidays are a living nightmare. When you’re on a budget and earning barely enough to pay the rent, bills and support your children, extravagant things like birthday gifts are a luxury. Living on welfare and food vouchers has been a common tradition in less developed parts of the world for a long time. Most people in such a situation don’t do it because they choose to, they simply lack the opportunity to make a better lot for themselves. Since welfare is distributed on a need to base, households of more than three take priority. As a result, these families settle for having more than 2 children (in some cases up to 5). This leads to a tricky cycle where parents can barely scrape enough to feed themselves and their children, in addition to providing them with education, all of which is balanced on the Governments’ back.
It’s not uncommon to hear a sad story about a single parent household going thousands in debt because of illness. Unexpected expenses are too common for comfort, and they can leach out whatever savings a family might have. Loans are available to those in need, but in a vast majority of cases, people simply lack the ability to cover them. The result is devastating. You either succumb to the illness or ruin your family prospects by receiving vital and potentially life-saving treatment. This is not a choice in a civilized society.
Young adults are choosing not to go to College or University because they feel pressured to start working as soon as they graduate High School. Why go a few hundred grand in debt when you can earn up to 12/hour at the local Mom & Pop Shop? Renting an apartment? Forget it; based on recent research, young people aged 18-35 are refusing to commit to owning a mortgage. Saddling yourself with debt right when you’re at your most virile and capable doesn’t seem like the most appealing prospect. All of these choices lead to more people being unqualified for specialized work. While they earn minimum wage, the cost of living keeps on growing. As a result, this new generation of workers is incapable of putting money aside for purchasing a home or, for example, traveling and exploring the world.
Because of these reasons and more, the economy cannot sustain growth. Poverty is rising, or at the very least stabilizing, with jobs requiring an expensive degree for little pay popping up everywhere. People 18 and up often work two jobs to sustain living on their own. In most cases, you are forced into living with roommates where costs for rent and bills can be shared.
There are many solutions to these problems. Unfortunately, whatever people and the Government have tried to do hasn’t solved it. It is an issue without end. Even if we educate everyone with mandatory College degrees; even if we make more job openings and raise the minimum salary; even if the cost of living were to somehow drop, there would always be filthy rich and unfortunately poor folk. What we can do now - today - is to concentrate our efforts on changing the way that poverty is perceived. Charity organizations and Neighborhood Bake Sales are a temporary solution, but they do something more important than donating cash and food: they make the more well-off people face the reality of those who are less fortunate. That is the key to making people more sympathetic. If change can start somewhere, it should be with us. Next time you see a homeless person struggling to survive, don’t grip your latte in fear and alarm, offer them help. Poverty is not catchy like the flu. It’s not a choice. It’s a socioeconomic issue that can be treated with the most fundamental of human emotions: kindness.