Poverty in America

I. Context A. At least 80% of humanity lives on less than $10 a day B. According to UNICEF, 24,000 children die each day due to poverty C. Nearly a billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names D. More than 660 million people without sanitation live on less than $2 a day, and more than 385 million on less than $1 a day E. Close to half of all people in developing countries suffer at any given time from a health problem caused by water and sanitation problems

F. Number of children in the world: 2.2 billion G. Number of children living in poverty: 1 billion H. That’s one out of every two children I. Number of school-aged children not in school: 121 million J. 1.6 billion people — a quarter of humanity — live without electricity K. Approximately 790 million people in the developing world are still chronically undernourished, almost two-thirds of whom reside in Asia and the Pacific

Room service menu at the Holiday Inn in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

II. World Poverty: A. Measured as those making under $1/day US poverty based roughly on a $10/day scale US poverty based roughly on a $10/day scale B. Causes 1. Education barriers 2. Low skill set 3. Weak private property protection 4. Corrupt/oppressive government 5. Failure to enforce the rule of law 6. Regular natural or political disruption (drought/civil war) 7. Flawed economic policy (high inflation rates or economic collapse) 8. Low levels of world trade

III. Major U.S. federal programs for the poor A. Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF) (replaced AFDC) B. Social Security Income (SSI) (helps prevent poverty in retirement) C. Food Stamps D. Unemployment benefits (to preventative) E. Medicaid F. Earned Income Tax Credit (tax credit for poor) G. Workfare programs (poor work for benefits) H. Farm subsidies (to help poor farm families) I. Graduated income tax system to provide revenue to redistribute to those in need J. Free public education (to end cycles of poverty) K. Other state- and local-level programs including shelters and food distribution programs

IV. About 2/3 of the annual federal budget is spent on programs directly or indirectly benefiting the poor

VI. Solutions to the poverty problem A. Reduce education disparity (high dropout rates among minorities in low income areas). Ultimately, cultural patterns must be addressed. B. Immigration (especially illegal) creates a unique problem with language and social barriers C. Reduce crime and gang activity in low income neighborhoods D. Stop having babies out of wedlock