Bulletproof Ceilings: The Cycle of Poverty
The juxtaposition between the cycle of poverty, and the American Dream are entirely antithetical.
The United States of America is revered as the land of opportunity and equality, but these ideals are simply mirages. Although the United States of America contains most of the world’s wealth, the ratio between those containing most of the wealth and the rest of the population is microscopic.
The American Dream was first defined as, “The dream of a land in which life should be better, and richer, and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.” by James Truslow Adams. However, just as the title suggests, this is a dream, not a reality. This dream does not account for generational status and inherited socioeconomic statuses. Although mobility is possible in the United States, those born into poverty have less of a chance of achieving this notion.
There are 48.6% of the American population who make less than middle class wages. There are 30.1% of the population earning wages that classify them as the top 10% of earners. This minority of earners holds more than 3/4 of the wealth the country has. These are statistics simply on earnings,not wealth versus income.
Men who are born into the top 10% of earnings have a 26% chance of maintaining this status. There is only a 3% chance that these men will fall into the bottom 10% of earnings, but the majority of these men remain within the top 30% of earners.Men who are born into the bottom 10% of earnings have a 22% chance of maintaining this status. Half of these men will remain in the bottom 30%.
People born into poverty have less of a chance of escaping this reality and those born into riches are more likely to maintain this lifestyle because of numerous factors, but two of the major factors my paper focused on was wealth distribution in the United States, and food deserts.
Food deserts are areas where there is little to no nutritious, fresh food within 10 miles of that location. This is a large issue for those in poverty because of their financial disadvantage. They cannot afford to travel miles for food, and they cannot afford expensive food. This excludes the impoverished from a healthy form of one of the most basic needs to survive.
Food nourishes the body, and by the inaccessibility of fresh food, the country is inadvertently denying the poor from nourishment. Because the poor have the most access to unhealthy fast food, there are masses of poor who rely on fast food for their nourishment which is incredibly unhealthy over extended periods of time. The poor begin to eat this food because it is within their means, and whether this becomes the reason in the long run or not, this is a problem created by the structure not the individual.
Poverty is not an easy fix because this problem has growing exponentially for decades. Although this issue is astronomical, each person should feel personally responsible for this epidemic. This system of oppression is slowing turning into a genocide of the have-nots, and this is not because of the “survival of the fittest”, but it is because of stepping on the backs of those at the bottom and ensuring they end up paralyzed.
The cycle of poverty will take generations to mend, but we have to begin now while we still have the tools and knowledge of this epidemic or it will become too monstrous to help.
This creates a cycle of issues. Those in poverty can only buy what they can afford, and the most basic rights of food, shelter, clothing, and medical care are then ranked and those in the bottom are left out or minimally met. Food is a necessity for survival, and health detriments can lead to death. Both of these
