In the United States, disparities between rich and
poor have risen sharply. Low-income
individuals are increasingly unlikely to escape from their economic position of poverty. There
are few stories of how someone made it from rags to riches, and poor families are increasing
their annual working hours, if they have jobs.
income inequality is far greater in the United
States than in other major countries. Australia, Canada and several other European countries
have a much more equal distribution of income than America. The latest Census
Bureau statistics show that the rich are still getting much richer, middle income Americans are
just barely raising their incomes, and the poor are still falling further behind on the income
ladder.
Although America has been long celebrated for its wealth and the abundance of material
resources,
poverty has been omnipresent in American history. From its beginnings to present
day, large numbers of Americans have been poor: they have lacked the
resources to feed, clothe,
and shelter themselves adequately according to socially defined standards. There
are many issues when looking at poverty because it is a
problem that permeates every
dimension of culture and society. Poverty means that some people will have a lack of access to
services like education, markets, health care, and the decision making process that goes on in
politics.
Just how many Americans have lived in poverty over the course of its
history is
impossible to measure; not only is data scarce, but the definition of poverty has changed too
often to permit precise measurement. Nonetheless, there can be no doubt that poverty, as a
personal condition and as a
social problem, has long been a prominent feature of the economic
and social landscape of American society.
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